Difference between revisions 110848275 and 110848276 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}}
(contracted; show full)
*John Gittings - hosted [[Mary Todd Lincoln]] in Baltimore.
*[[Hattie Lawton]] - also known as Hattie H. Lawton<ref>Cuthbert (1949) Lincoln 
and the Baltimore Plot. p. 4.</ref>,  Lawton was part of Pinkerton's Female Detective Bureau, formed in 1860 to ‘worm out secrets’ by means unavailable to male detectives.

==Aftermath
 - —The public's perception of Lincoln's courage==

[[Image:Lincoln in a cattle car.jpg|thumb|250px|right|"Passage Through Baltimore" -. President-elect Lincoln Ignominiously hiding in a cattle car<br>. [[Adalbert J. Volck]], Etching,  1863<br>. [[National Portrait Gallery (United States)|National Portrait Gallery]],<br> [[Smithsonian Institution]]  .]]
[[Image:Plot-kill-lincoln-1861 Picture2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Flight of Abraham", <br>''[[Harper's Weekly]]'', March 9, 1861.]]  
[[Image:Maclincoln harrisburg Highland fling.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"The MacLincoln Harrisburg Highland Fling", <br>''[[Vanity Fair (American magazine 1859-1863)|Vanity Fair]]'', March 9, 1861.]]‎
Many historians believe that Pinkerton’s perception of an assassination plot was incorrect and Lincoln came to regret that he had slipped through the city unannounced."<!-- Is the statement about Lincoln's regret a separate 'sentence', or is it merely part of what many historians believe? --><ref>[http://teachingamericanhistorymd.net/000001/000000/000015/html/t15.html teaching American History]</ref> 

Many years after the fact Ward Hill Lamon would publicly argue that there washad been no plot to assassinate the president in 1861. "It is perfectly manifest that there was no conspiracy -- —no conspiracy of a hundred, of fifty, of twenty, of three; no definite purpose in the heart of even one man to murder Mr. Lincoln in Baltimore."<ref>Lamon, W: ''Life of Abraham Lincoln,'', page . 513.   James R. Osgood and Company, 1872.</ref>

In ''Lincoln and His Administration'', Chittenden argues that there was no need for any precautions, such as a disguise, because Lincoln “entered the sleeping–car at Philadelphia, and slept until awakened within a few miles of Washington.” ⏎
⏎
This account contradicts other first-hand accounts, which recountstate that Lincoln spent a sleepless and anxious night with Lamon and Pinkerton, during which he “spoke in a quiet voice to avoid being noticed.”<ref>Harris, William C., Lincoln’s Rise to the Presidency. (Lawrence:University of Kansas Press, 2007), 318.</ref>

Legitimate or not, many sources report, “There is little doubt that the feeling and sentiment of the people of Baltimore is very bitter against Mr. Lincoln, so much so, indeed, that violence might have been attempted.”{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

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 particularespecially 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, bringing abuse and ridicule down on Lincoln."  <ref>Holzer, Harold, ''Lincoln Seen & Heard''. (University Press of Kansas, 2000.) (pg.  118)</ref>.   Substantively, the Howard article was a direct assault on Lincoln's manliness. The article states that Lincoln was reluctant - viz. —too scared -  —to go and was only compelled to go by Colonel Sumner's indignation and by the insistence - viz. —shame - —of his wife, Mrs. Lincoln, and several others.  <ref>Harper pg. 89&</ref>.  

The newspapers relentlessly<!-- Really? They NEVER stopped? --> lampooned Lincoln for slipping through Baltimore in the dead of night. [[Adalbert J. Volck]], a Baltimore dentist and caricaturist, was inspired to pen his famous satirical etching, "Passage Tthrough Baltimore.". Volck's image of a startled Lincoln in his nightshirt peering out of the side of his rail car as it passes through Baltimore has become part of the Lincoln iconography.     "In the nineteenth century, when pictures were less common and more prized, the scotch-cap symbol remained a prop in Confederate graphics, and some Northern-made prints as well, for years - —the reminder of Lincoln (sic) fleeing in disguise an automatic accusation of his supposed lack of character."<ref>Holzer, pg.  118</ref>

For the remainderst of his presidency, the story of his sneaking, like a coward, through Baltimore would be told and retold by his enemies, with particular effect by cartoonists of the day. He was drawn with many variations of Scottish headwear, which eventually morphed into a Scottish [[Balmoral bonnet|balmoral]] cap and very short [[kilt]]. The absurd disguise was frequentlyoften accompanied by a terrified expression on the President-elect's face, to further undermine the public's image of his courage and manliness. Images such as [http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1861/march/plot-kill-lincoln-1861.htm thisa comic strip] in ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'' plagued Lincoln throughout his presidency.  

Newspapers of all parties mocked Lincoln's actions, and i. In a ''[[Vanity Fair (magazine, historical)|Vanity Fair]]'' cartoon, the kilt was traded for a dress the president had borrowed from his wife. By the time Abraham Lincoln arrived in Washington, he was the laughing stock of the entire country.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=CZh2pgihScoC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=lincoln+cartoon+in+kilt&source=web&ots=EzuPgodUlw&sig=7iHJn7WkmayFNU26g-H0BRru3Q4 ]</ref>

''The New York Tribune'' was nonetheless forced to admit: "It is the only instance recorded in our history in which the recognized head of a nation [...] has been compelled, for fear of his life, to enter the capital in disguise." More blunt was the denunciation by the ''Baltimore Sun'':

":Had we any respect for Mr. Lincoln, official or personal, as a man, or as President-elect of the United States [...] the final escapade by which he reached the capital would have utterly demolished it. [...] He might have entered Willard's Hotel with a "head spring" and a "summersault," and the clown's merry greeting to Gen. Scott, "Here we are!" and we should care nothing about it, personally. We do not believe the Presidency can ever be more degraded by any of his successors than it has by him, even before his inauguration.<ref>[http://www.historynet.com/historical_figures/3704871.html?showAll=y&c=y TheHistoryNet | Historical Figures | Abraham Lincoln Takes the Heat<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

===Pratt sStreet riot===
The [[Baltimore riot of 1861|Pratt Street Rriot]] in Baltimore on April 19 and the subsequent arrest and imprisonment of many prominent city residents did little to endear Baltimore to the Union.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

===Hollywood recreations===
In 1951, [[MGMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] released a fictional re-creation of the alleged plot against Lincoln titled, ''[[The Tall Target.]]''  . Its story generally follows what is known about the Baltimore Plot, with some differences.   It is a male [[NYPD[[New York Police Department]] detective named John Kennedy, played by [[Dick Powell]], who contacts the administration about the conspiracy, and who boards the train hoping to discover whether any of the plotters are on board before they reach Baltimore.   Kennedy discovers a plot that involves a riot to distract police protection away from Lincoln and a sharpshooter armed with a rifle with a telescopic sight to shoot the pPresident-elect.   Through Kennedy's efforts, the attempt is aborted and key members of the conspiracy are identified.   There actually was an NYPD officer named, [[John Alexander Kennedy|John Kennedy]],   who claimed to have been the one who uncovered the Baltimore Plot,; but he was not actually on scene as, unlike Powell's movie character is in the film. , he was not actually on scene. Moreover, in real life, Kennedy was the [[New York City Police Commissioner|Superintendent]] of the entire force.   In the film, he is depicted as being a mere [[detective sergeant]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

The film is directed by [[Anthony Mann]] and stars [[Dick Powell]], [[Paula Raymond]], [[Adolphe Menjou]], [[Marshall Thompson]], [[Florence Bates]], [[Will Geer]], [[Victor Kilian]], [[Regis Toomey]] and [[Ruby Dee]].  It is written by [[George Worthing Yates]] and [[Art Cohn]] and is 78 minutes long.  It is also one of just two MGM movies which do not contain a music score of any kind.{{Citation needed|date=February 2010}}

T<!-- Move this info to the article on the movie. -->

"The Death Trap" , an episode of the 1966-–1967 TVtelevision series ''[[The Time Tunnel]] had "The Death Trap" episode regarding'', includes the 1861 Baltimore plot, although it also depicteds a brief difficulty with the time machine whichthat caused the showing of (an enactment of) the 1865 shooting of Lincoln at Ford's Theatre.   The episode depicteds a bomb being used in the 1861 Baltimore plot, and has the attempt being plotted by Abolitionists who were hopinghope to plunge the nation into a war in which slavery wouldill be ended; the plotters are apparent sympathizers with John Brown, who had already been hanged.   (The Civil War would actually startbegan in April 1861, with the attack on Fort Sumter.)

==See also==
*[[List of United States Presidential assassination attempts]]
*[[Abraham Lincoln assassination]]
*[[American Civil War spies]]
*[[Allan Pinkerton]]  
*[[Kate Warne]] 
(contracted; show full){{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]]