The Catholic Plot to Kill Abraham Lincoln
By: Tom Deignan | Published Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 2:43 PM | Updated Friday, September 9, 2011, 10:27 PM
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| Robert Redford at the New York premiere of his new movie The Conspirator on Monday night. |
MICHAEL O’Laughlin grew up on the same Baltimore Street as one of the most infamous villains in American history -- John Wilkes Booth. Booth remembered O’Laughlin -- and sought his help -- when the actor-turned-villain began to plan the crime of the century.
Booth, of course, achieved notoriety in April of 1865, when he assassinated Abraham Lincoln. This tragedy came just days after Lincoln finally managed to steer the North to victory over the South in the Civil War.
Had the result been different, the course of world history would have been radically altered.
It has been 150 years now since the first shots of the Civil War were fired. There has been a deluge of TV specials, newspaper articles and commemorative events exploring this anniversary.
Meanwhile, Robert Redford’s latest movie, The Conspirator, takes a close look at the assassination and trial of the conspirators who hatched the plot to kill Lincoln.
At the center of Redford’s new movie, in fact, is Mary Surratt (played by Robin
Wright), who was accused of participating in the plot to kill Lincoln and assist Booth’s escape.
Much was made, in the frenzy following Lincoln’s assassination, of Surratt’s religion. She was, after all, a devout Roman Catholic.
In fact, when you consider that Surratt as well as her accused son, John, were Catholics, and a man with the name of O’Laughlin was among those accused of taking part in the plot to kill Lincoln, it should be no surprise that a conspiracy theory swiftly took hold that Catholics were at the center of the plot to kill Lincoln.
The Internet, to this day, is filled with theories outlining the Vatican’s role in killing Lincoln, not to mention the Jesuits’.
An ex-priest who Lincoln had once defended in court named Charles Chiniquy, once asserted that, when it came to whacking the American president, "the Jesuits alone could select the assassins, train them, and show them a crown of glory in heaven.”
Redford’s new movie, according to reports, actually makes note of Mary
Surratt’s religious background, which certainly did not help her in the eyes of her accusers and public opinion. (Neither did it help that Surratt actually had hosted meetings held by the conspirators to kill Lincoln.)
Of course, America had a deeply anti-Catholic strain in the 1860s. The Jesuits, at this time, were accused of many evil, anti-American deeds.
O’Laughlin, meanwhile, did play a role in an earlier attempt to kidnap the president, though his religious background has been under debate for years, with some believing he was Catholic while others argued he was actually Methodist.
Either way, it should be added that it is understandable why some might believe Catholics were responsible.
John Surratt, for one, had planned on becoming a priest, had met with Booth to plan to kidnap Lincoln on March 17 (St. Patrick’s Day!) of 1865, and even fled to Rome after Booth killed the president.
Meanwhile, Lincoln is now one of the most revered men in American history. But that was not the case during the actual Civil War.
Among his most passionate opponents were certain Irish Catholics. After all, Irish loyalty to the Democratic party by then was strong.
Lincoln, of course, was a Republican. In fact, the newly-created Republican Party was a coalition which included Know Nothings and other anti-immigrant groups.
It was Lincoln who was blamed for drafting Irish immigrants into fighting a war they didn’t understand.
Not for nothing does the song “Paddy’s Lament” include the angry line, “Paddy, you must go and fight for Lincoln.”
Of course, political anger is one thing. Assassination is another.
As for Redford, he believes his movie -- which is about the trial of an outsider 150 years ago -- has relevance today.
Referring to Guantánamo Bay and other military tribunals in the news, Redford told Parade magazine, “Obviously, I could see the parallels to the present.”
Good thing we don’t assume members of certain religious groups are inherently violent anymore, right?
(Contact “Sidewalks” at tomdeignan@earthlink.net or facebook.com/tomdeignan)
10 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.LiamDavid | Apr 18, 2011, 03:51 AM EDT
There were many Irish involved in the Draft Riots in NYC, but so were many other immigrants and poor in the streets rioting. Since our poor Irish brothers and sisters escaped their bloody English landlords in Ireland, only to have met with the same Anglo hatred in their new country. Catholics were treated with great suspicion and disdain by the white gentry of that period. Therefore, it was all too easy to have laid the blame on the Irish, let alone the Catholics as well. The Irish made up a great percentage of the Union army. They also had a fair showing in the Rebel forces as well! In fact, if you were to count all of those with Celtic blood, you’d find that the Celts made up more than half of all the fighting men of both armies! Slan
irishamerica46 | Apr 17, 2011, 04:21 PM EDT
I am an Irish American Catholic. I don't believe the Irish Catholics planned to assassinate Lincoln. It was the poor of NYC who revolted as they could not get out of the Draft. Who were the poor of the city? Different nationalities including the Irish. Rich folk could buy their son's exclusion from the draft. Yes, do read more then one book! I've read many, as my ancestor signed up as a Private on July 3, 1863.
ronnie4u2o | Apr 17, 2011, 12:29 AM EDT
Lincoln's Death was due to politics & Religious issues it is well known he was not a christian he leaned toward Atheism he didn't believe in the Holy spirit , Virgin Birth or Jesus as a God. and stated that in some of his notes .it is Believed that Christians plotted to have him killed. there is no real proof that Christians or Catholics had anything to do with his Death But there is proof written by Lincoln himself he was a Atheist it was hidden from the public fot many years. but the truth always comes out. Lincol went through the Motions acting as though he was a Christian He even took the oath of office with his hand on the Bible. NO Man is perfect we all fall short. Lincoln was still a Great President no matter what his belief was Lincoln Saved the Nation. and United it.
2BorNot2B | Apr 16, 2011, 02:53 PM EDT
Hell of picture of Redford! Looks like a zombie, which he's well on his way to becoming. Unless, like Ted Williams he decides to put himself in dry ice until some new technology plumps up his cragged mien to bring him back to former hunkiness. --- But the hair dye job is not half bad. His hair dresser, perhaps in an effort to stick to 'truth in advertising' even left a shock of gray on the sidburns. -- He provides the left counterpoint to Trump's mug shot. -- Let's imagine Trump's hair on Redford's head... now, there's a Halloween prospect for ya..
jamieLM | Apr 16, 2011, 02:15 PM EDT
Good post, slainte9. I've never seen a school text book, ever, that identififed the religious backgrounds of any of the people involved in the plot to assassinate Lincoln, including John Wilkes Booth and Dr. Samuel Mudd who set Booth's leg and went to prison for it. Where's the historical evidence that most people at the time thought that Catholics were at the center of the plot to kill Lincoln? Where are the newspaper headlines -"Catholics Assassinate Lincoln"? "Catholics Plot to Kill Lincoln?" The idea that being a Catholic was the reason the conspirators were convicted and put to death is total nonsense. If they'd been Protestants, they'd all been let go? I don't think so. Redford is making a film for entertainment. He can put any kind of spin on his story and make inferences that may not be true and aren't based on historical facts. He also has a political agenda to push. Where's the proof that there was an inquiry into the religious backgrounds of everyone involved, including the judges, the jury, etc., to identify any "Catholics" and that being a Catholic was a factor in a guilty verdict. I've taken CW history classes in high school and at the university level and the religion of the conspirators was never mentioned, even by the PHD Head of History Dept. professor at at a Big 10 University. Not buying it.
slainte9 | Apr 16, 2011, 01:13 PM EDT
Don't you love it when someone tells you to read something on the internet or a "history" book [written by historians at historically Protestant colleges -- Yale, Cromwell's school, Princeton, alma mater song celebrates William of Orange Nassau, I am not making this up]. The Irish get blamed for the NYC draft riots, but the most careful book on the subject "Armies of the Streets," says that it wasn't an Irish riot. And of course it wasn't. Most of NYC didn't riot, and of the 400 arrested per the "Armies of the Streets" list, most don't have Irish names. In fact, the principal instigators Fernando Wood, August Belmont, Gov. Seymour, James Gordon and Samuel Morse were none were Irish and only Bennet was Catholic, most definitely not Belmont, leader of the Democrats, who as a German immigrant and relative of the Rothschilds. Its tremendously hilarious what when the lockstep liberal Irish start repeating this stuff. How gullible can you be.
CitizenWhy | Apr 16, 2011, 12:44 PM EDT
Well, if those good Catholics were involved, they would only be following the example of the Pope at the time, the one who wrote a mawkish letter of support to Jefferson Davis, comparing Davis to Jesus wearing a crown of thorns and the slave-holding plantationists to the valiant Catholic cavaliers of old (who fought for the rights of absolute monarchy). For all you birthers out there, you can see the ORIGINAL in the museum of the Confederacy in New Orleans.
irishamerica46 | Apr 16, 2011, 12:05 PM EDT
Read about the NYC draft riots on the internet or a history book.
slainte9 | Apr 16, 2011, 11:14 AM EDT
More Whig History from the Irish who don't know anything about America. My family's lived in New York City since the 1840s. I never heard anyone blame Lincoln for drafting Irish soldiers. Local Republicans were blamed for putting men, particularly Demomcrats, on the draft rolls more than once, hardly anyone was actually drafted during the Civil War. Hundreds of thousands of Irish fought for the Union, the vast majority were volunteers, including Phil Sheridan, George Gordon Meade. Archbishop Hughes of New York City was an ally of Lincoln. Hughes favored a draft as an equitable way to chose who would help defend the government against an unlawful rebellion. The Surrats weren't Irish Catholics, in any event.
skellmeyer | Apr 15, 2011, 01:02 PM EDT
"Good thing we don’t assume members of certain religious groups are inherently violent anymore, right?" That's right! After all, I remember all those violent crowds of rioting Catholics throughout American history who burned down Lutheran churches, raped Methodists, forcibly kidnapped and converted Episcopalians, threw acid in the face of women who dared to go outside without male chaperones, blew up girls' schools, converted American Indian tribes at the point of a gun and beheaded anyone who dared to insult the Pope! And just because Catholics still do all those things today, doesn't mean Catholics are inherently violent violent! What balderdash! Hmmm..... you know, now that I think about it, maybe I'm confusing Catholics with some other faith tradition? Hmmmm...