Difference between revisions 110848243 and 110848244 on dewiki

{{Infobox_President 
| name = [[Abraham Lincoln]]
| image = Abraham Lincoln head on shoulders photo portrait.jpg
| order = 16th [[President of the United States]]
| term_start = [[March 4]], [[, 1861]] 
| term_end = [[April 15]], [[, 1865]]
| successor = [[Andrew Johnson]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1809|2|12|mf=y}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1865|4|15|1809|2|12}}
| death_place =[[Washington, D.C.]]
| vicepresident = [[Hannibal Hamlin]] <br>[[Andrew Johnson]] 
| signature = Abraham Lincoln Signature.png
}}
The '''Baltimore Plot''' was an alleged conspiracy in late February [[1861]] to assassinate [[President-elect]] [[Abraham Lincoln]] ''en route'' to his [[inauguration]]. [[Allan Pinkerton]], eponymous founder of the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency]], played a key role by managing Lincoln's security throughout the journey. Though scholars debate whether or not the threat was real, clearly Lincoln and his advisors believed that there was a threat and took actions to ensure his safe passage through Baltimore.

On [[November 6]], [[, 1860]], Lincoln was elected as the 16th [[President of the United States]], a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], and the first to be elected from that [[political party|party]].

Shortly after his election, many representatives of Southern states made it clear that secession was inevitable, which greatly increased tension across the nation. President-elect Lincoln survived the alleged assassination attempt in [[Baltimore, Maryland]]. On [[February 23]], [[, 1861]], he arrived secretly in Washington, D.C. But for the remainder of his presidency Lincoln's many critics would hound him for the seemingly cowardly act of sneaking through Baltimore at night, in disguise, sacrificing his honor for his personal safety. However, the efforts at security may well have been prudent. 

==Background==
[[Allan Pinkerton]] was commissioned to provide security for president-elect Lincoln on his journey to Washington, D.C., through Baltimore. 

Whether or not there was a plot, Maryland was a [[slave state]], and was considered a border state with strong Southern sympathies and was considered dangerous territory through which to travel for such a controversial politician.

==Lincoln's actions: appropriate, unnecessary, or cowardly==
[[Image:Pinkerton allan late harpers.jpg|thumb|300px|Portrait of [[Allan Pinkerton]] from ''Harper's Weekly'', 1884]]
On [[February 11]], [[, 1861]], President-elect Lincoln boarded an east-bound train in [[Springfield, Illinois]] at the start of a [[Whistle stop train tour|whistle stop tour]] of seventy towns and cities ending with his inauguration in Washington, D.C. Pinkerton had been hired by railroad officials to investigate suspicious activities and acts of destruction of railroad property along Lincoln's route through Baltimore. Pinkerton became convinced that a plot existed to ambush Lincoln's carriage between the Calvert Street Station of the Northern Central and the Camden Street Station of the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]. This opportunity would present itself during the President-elect's passage through Baltimore on [[February 23]], [[, 1861]].  Pinkerton tried to convince Lincoln to cancel his stop at [[Harrisburg]], [[Pennsylvania]] and to proceed secretly straight through Baltimore, but Lincoln insisted upon keeping to his schedule. 

(contracted; show full)
 
===Key players ===

*[[Cipriano Ferrandini]] - a hairdresser from [[Corsica]] who emigrated to the United States, and established himself as the long-time barber and hairdresser in the basement of Barnum's Hotel, in Baltimore. There he practiced his trade from the mid 1850s to his retirement long after the close of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. He was accused, but never indicted, for plotting to assassinate Abraham Lincoln on 
[[February 23]], [[, 1861]].

:Alternative spellings for his name include:
::Siprono Fernandini in 1910
::Sip Ferrandine in 1900
::Cipri Ferrandini in 1880
::Ciprian Ferrendinie in 1870
::Cipri Ferrandini in 1850
(contracted; show full)

Whether or not the President-elect was ever in any real danger of being assassinated, Lincoln's efforts to reach Washington, D.C. safely instantly became a humiliating [[cause célèbre]] across the nation, much to his chagrin.

Several elements of the initial ''[[New York Times]]'' article of 
[[February 23]], [[, 1861]] were particularly damning. Primarily, the fact that such a negative report came from an ardently Republican newspaper gave it instant credibility <ref>.Harper pg. 90</ref> - much more than it would have enjoyed if it had come from a [[Copperheads (politics)|Copperhead]] or Southern source.   When ''The New York Times'' published [[Joseph Howard, Jr.]]'s account of the President-elect disguised in a scotch-cap and long cloak, the nation "rocked with laughter, bringi(contracted; show full)*[[Cipriano Ferrandini]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

*Cuthbert, Norma Barrett (ed.). ''Lincoln and the Baltimore Plot, 1861.'' (1949) 
*Evitts, William J., ''A Matter of Allegiances- Maryland from 1850-1861''(Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press,1974)
*Flight of Abraham. Woodcut engraving from Harper's Weekly, New York, 
[[March 9]], [[, 1861]].
*Harper, Robert S., Lincoln and the Press. (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc. New York, 1951.)
*Harris, William C. Lincoln's Rise to the Presidency.  (University Press of Kansas, 2000.)
*Holzer, Harold, "Lincoln Seen & Heard." (University Press of Kansas, 2000.)
*Lamon, W: Life of Abraham Lincoln, page 513. (James R. Osgood and Company, 1872.)
*Pinkerton, A. (1883). ''The Spy of the Rebellion''; being a true history of the spy system of the United States Army during the late rebellion. Revealing many secrets of the war hitherto not made public. Comp. from official reports prepared for President Lincoln, General McClellan and the [[provost-marshal-general]]. New York, G.W. Carleton & Co. (1883)
* J Hist Dent. 2001 Mar;49(1):17-23. (2001)
*Internet Movie Database

{{U.S. cities in the Civil War}}

[[Category:History of the United States (1849–1865)]]
[[Category:Causes of war|American Civil War, Origins of the]]
[[Category:History of Maryland]]
[[Category:Lincoln conspirators]]

[[fr:Complot de Baltimore]]