Chasing Lincoln’s Killer: Front Matter Summary & Analysis

The book begins with several notes on its content and inspiration. First, it notes that all the quotes used in the book are drawn from primary sources. James Swanson, the author, then adds a biographical note, explaining that his interest in John Wilkes Booth sprang from a gift his grandmother gave him for his tenth birthday: a picture of the Deringer pistol Booth used to shoot the president, along with an incomplete newspaper article from the day after the assassination. From that time on, Swanson wanted to learn and tell this history.

Next, the book gives a brief overview of the Civil War. The North and South were at war from 1861 until 1865. The North had a more industrial economy and was against slavery, while the Southern economy depended upon slavery. Southerners thought that they should either be allowed to own slaves or be allowed to form their own new country. After 600,000 deaths, the war seemed at an end when Southern General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Court House. Many soldiers began to return home. Other soldiers continued to fight, however, and many Southerners still hoped to win the war. In this climate, Washington, D.C., the capital of the Union forces, was full of people of different allegiances and backgrounds, some of them spies and Southern sympathizers.