Re-imagining the Lincoln timeline
Where does reality end and fantasy begin? In the case of Abraham Lincoln, the dividing line is pretty easy to spot: Take a look at the following timeline, which draws on fact and on material from Stephen L. Carter’s novel “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln.”
April 9, 1865: Robert E. Lee surrenders to U.S. Grant, ending the Civil War. Lincoln is intent on fulfilling the goal of his second inaugural address: “With malice toward none … let us strive ... to bind up the nation’s wounds.”
April 14, 1865: Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre inWashington, D.C.; the nation holds its breath until the miraculous news is announced: The crisis has passed and Lincoln has survived.
Feb. 19, 1867: The House of Representatives votes four articles of impeachment against President Lincoln arising out of his conduct of the Civil War.
March 18, 1867: Opening statements in the impeachment trial of Lincoln begins on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
March 23, 1867: Congressman James Blaine, a former Lincoln supporter who voted to impeach him, is found murdered near a notorious D.C. brothel.
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