Inquiry+Paper+Outline


 * Inquiry Project Outline **

// Question: What was the role of Mary Surratt in Lincoln’s assassination? Was she an active conspirator or a bystander who looked the other way? //

INTRODUCTION Background of the conspiracy to kill Lincoln and the other conspirators, focusing on their relationship to Mary Surratt. Also including some background of Surratt herself before Lincoln’s assassination.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT
 * End of the Civil War, Surratt’s Confederate sympathies
 * Short recap of the conspiracy and Surratt’s involvement
 * Brief summary of trial and results, public sentiment (people were angry and wanted someone punished)

ANALYSIS From reading court testimonies related to Mary Surratt three inferences have been made:
 * Mary Surratt had some idea of what Booth was up to, at least that he was conspiring to kidnap the president (his original plan)
 * Mary Surratt sympathized with the Confederate cause and wanted to protect her son who was also involved
 * Mary Surratt did not actively participate in planning to kill President Lincoln, nor did she know details of the plot, but was either easily misled or obliging to doing some small favors for her son or his friends. She accommodated her son and his friends without realizing how dangerous they really were.

SOURCES Primary:
 * Court Transcripts of Testimony and Evidence relating to Mary Surratt: []
 * Testimony from John Lloyd: []