Can say this is the definitive site in the federal city and the one site i have really enjoyed in the course of my career and all the interaction i have had with various historians and other scholars who i see come and go, as well as the comradeship i have daily with fellow rangers. I want to cover the history of fords theatre, sort of a general history, and work my way into the assassination. A little bit about the historical background of the theatre. The theatre was created in 1860, 1861, from what was originally a Baptist Church built on the Current Location on 511 10th street in 1833. The ford brothers were originally from maryland baltimore, where they ran three or four other theatres as well as an opera house. The theatre, when it opened at the outset of president lincolns term in office, it had a shortlived life. Following the assassination of president lincoln, the ford brothers were unable to reopen the theatre in the aftermath of the tragedy. There was public outrage at any thought of trying to continue it as a theatre given what has happened. They would be forced to sell the building to the War Department undersecretary for edward stanton, who we largely have to thank. Otherwise, the building would have been lost to history. For many years, the War Department utilized the area of the theatre as a Storage Facility for its many records. It was not until the later part of the 19th and early 20th century it came under the office of public buildings and grounds. 1933 is when the National Park service acquired the structure. That is the year the agency went from just nature parks over to historical, cultural sites. It made that shift under franklin roosevelt. It was for many years a Lincoln Museum covering artifacts of lincolns life and legacy. From 1964 to 1968, it was restored back to the 1856 appearance as you see it today. The official first play reopened on lincolns birthday, february 12, 1968, john browns body. Being a working theatre, we have a working relationship with our partners, private and nonprofit. It is a unique historic entity in that respect. It makes it quite interesting. While the rangers and our staff interpret the historical significance of what happens to our many visitors, our partners bring to life as a working theatre out of recognition for president lincolns love of the theatre in his day. The facade when original would include the front facade and the roof and attic, but everything else, about 90 of the interior was redone in the 1960s. This building to the right is where our National ParkService Offices are, where we work out of. This would have been the star saloon in 1856 where John Wilkes Booth would have had a drink before he made his entry back into the theatre. We have today what is called the Atlantic Building. The theatre was closed down several years back when we created a new lobby for our theatregoers. Fords Theatre Society and their staff work in here. Visitors, when they come to fords theatre, they dont go through the doors here. They did in the early days and in 1865, but now come in through the Atlantic Building where the Ticket Box Office is. There are more amenities there. From there, enter into the historic theatre itself. Here we have the actual wartime photo showing you the theatre so you can see the facade. The roof is all intact. The sides of the building were redone in the 1960s. You get an idea of the condition of the roads and how many taverns, saloons, and boardinghouses were along here. President lincoln, the only president to attend the theatre during his tenure in office 1861 to 1865, was an avid theatregoer. The literature of shakespeare served as a reprieve for him while carrying the country through the most destructive war in its history in which over 675,000 americans would perish. Here we have a depiction of lincoln as a family man with mary lincoln, his wife, robert todd lincoln, his oldest son and tad. When lincoln would get away from the white house, in addition to going to the theatre which he enjoyed, the Lincoln Cottage is where he would reflect as well and gather his thoughts. Lincolns enjoyment of shakespearean literature helped him as a melancholy man deal with the tragedies he had. The lincoln family had four children altogether. Eddie died in infancy. Willie died of typhoid fever in 1862. Tragically, tad lincoln would die of tuberculosis in 1871. Mary lincoln loses three of her children. The only one to live to adulthood, robert todd lincoln. Then with the assassination of her husband, quite tragic. Tragically, tad lincoln would die of tuberculosis in 1871. Mary lincoln loses three of her children. The only one to live to adulthood, robert todd lincoln. Then with the assassination of her husband, quite tragic. Mary lincoln is a complex, interesting topic. There has been interesting books written about her. The madness of mary lincoln, written by jason emerson, is one of the best works ever done that does justice to her. Here we have president lincoln the mark of war, showing almost four years of carrying the country through conflict. This photo was taken on february of 1865. It was believed for many years that photo was taken around april 10 of 1856, just days before his assassination. You get an idea of how much lincoln has aged during these four years and his tribulation of all these challenges. John wilkes booth, shakespearean actor, was called a tragedian. He was part of a renowned acting family from maryland. Maryland was a border slave state in 1861 when the war began. John wilkes had two other brothers, also famous actors. John wilkes and his brothers were renowned in the 1850s and 1860s performing shakespearean classics. John wilkes in particular, very charismatic and striking figure, comparable to the most renowned star we could think of today in his own time. At the same time he was renowned before the American Public as an actor, he thought of himself primarily as a southern actor while his other famous brother edwin was more prominent in the Northern New England states. John wilkes booth was not the refined actor edwin was. He was certainly not an unsuccessful actor, as some historians have said. He had a different style. Again, his style tended to be more renowned in scenes involving action as opposed to some of the refinements of his older brother, edwin. At the same time, the American Public has no idea John Wilkes Booths southern proclivities and sympathies. When the war begins in 1861, april 12, no one has any idea the war will go on for four long years. As the war dragged on, John Wilkes Booth becomes more convinced in his own mind that president lincoln, his attempt to suppress the souths attempt to attain independence and create its own country, was ultimately responsible for the death and destruction that had been inflicted upon the country, particularly upon the people of the south. In order to understand John Wilkes Booths frame of mind, and this is my take on this, you have to understand something about what i will call the liberties of classical republicanism. That is going back to an older notion of society and civilization whereby the society is antithetical to the creed brought out of the war between the north and south that all men are created equal, as lincoln refers to in his quotes in his gettysburg address referring to jeffersons declaration of independence. What i would argue also is while lincoln did preserve the union of the states geographically the regime itself was transformed from what i would call a federate of compound republic into a nationalized democracy. At the framing in philadelphia when the framers established the government, they thought of it primarily as a republic as opposed to a democracy. You dont see the words democracy in the constitution. It refers to a republic and republican form of government. As a result of the war, i would argue the United States became more democratic, the democratic republic overshadowing the purely republican dimension. No one wrote more eloquently about this prophetically than the french aristocrat intellectual alexis de tocqueville in his work democracy in america. John wilkes booths father was a successful, renowned actor in his own day. The temperament of Junius Brutus booth John Wilkes Booth inherited and was similar to his father in acting styles. Here we have a photo of the booth brothers in the play julius caesar. John wilkes booth, edwin, and Junius Brutus booth, jr. John wilkes booth was essentially the mastermind of a group of conspirators. When talking about the events leading up to late 1864, early 1865, it is important to distinguish between a conspiracy to kidnap president lincoln and a conspiracy to assassinate him. John wilkes booths original plan was not to assassinate president lincoln but to kidnap him. Not only John Wilkes Booth was looking to do this but also a Confederate Secret Service. A number of agents John Wilkes Booth had contact with particularly when he went north into canada, he had a number of meetings with confederate agents, with a Confederate Secret Service established to monitor lincolns movements. This came about as a result of a number of factors, one of which was the dahlgren raid, an unsuccessful attempt to take down richmond, the capital of the confederacy. There was a Union Cavalry corps that was ambushed. On dahlgren were found papers with orders to burn the white house of the confederacy and also if possible to kill Jefferson Davis. When these worked their way up the chain to the confederate high command, that is where you began to see systematically the goal going towards the formation of a confederate clandestine operation to undertake possibly kidnapping lincoln for retaliation. John wilkes booths motivation behind the kidnapping was largely due to the exchange of prisoners of war between the north and south. Lincoln implemented this at the suggestion of general grant to wear down the manpower of the confederacy. If this had been successful, John Wilkes Booth could successfully kidnap lincoln, carry him south, and hold him as hostage, he might be able to force the resumption of the exchange of prisoners of war to keep the war going on indefinitely. Here we have in 1865 depiction of the theatre box where president lincoln was seated that night. There is a framed print of george washington. That was placed there by the ford brothers. It would have served as more or less the president ial seal, like we have today, such that it did not exist in 1865. That is one of the few original artifacts we still have in the theatre itself. Many of our original artifacts are down in our museum. We do have a couple of artifacts across the street from fords theatre in what is called the center for education and leadership. President lincoln would have been seated in the rocking chair. That original rocking chair is in the Henry Ford Museum now. It was the property of the ford brothers. It worked its way to henry fords museum, no connection, long before the m. P. S. With acquired the structure. There were two guests in the box with a lincolns that night major Henry Rathbone and clara harris. President lincoln was watching the play, our american cousin, a comedy. The play written by a british playwright named tom taylor in the 1850s was a satire of American Society and manners. It was her 1000th performance. He was the one on the stage, the only one when John Wilkes Booth leaves about three quarters of the way through the play. Here we have a photo showing you the rear side of fords theatre. The alley is still there. This was taken many years after 1865. The bay windows would have been a doorway. That would have been where John Wilkes Booth would have fled out the back of the theatre where he had a horse waiting for him on which he made his escape through this alley. The area of major activity on the night of april 1415, 1865. John wilkes booth when he came to fords theatre on the morning of the 14th at around 11 00 a. M. To pick up his mail, he would go there frequently to get his mail because that is where actors picked up a correspondence where they worked great he was informed by harry for the president lincoln would be at the play that night. He sets into motion his plans very methodically which will involve not only assassinating president lincoln but also lincolns secretary of state, we considered, and his Vice President , Andrew Johnson, to be targeted by fellow coconspirators. John wilkes booth only John Wilkes Booth was successful. Right here was the location of the kirkwood house. That is where johnson was staying. During the afternoon of the 14th, John Wilkes Booth did stop at the kirkwood house and asked the clerk to stick a card in johnsons box where he wrote dont wish to disturb you. Are you at home . J. W. Booth. Some historians think he did that to frame johnson in case George Azterodt did not carry out his plan to assassinate johnson, which in fact he did not. Here is the theatre and the house across the street where president lincoln died, the petersen boardinghouse. George never carries it out. He was staying in the same house where johnson was to go to his room that same night and shoot him. Instead, he goes to germantown and the weapons are found in his room by investigators within 24 hours after president lincolns assassination. This was the rogers house, this is where secretary of state seward was recovering from a carriage accident. This is where lewis powell did make successful entry into the home of seward. On the pretense of carrying medicine for seward from his doctor, was able to get inside the room. Initially first clubbing sewards son with the butt of his revolver. Once he gets into the room where seward is in bed, he has a bowie knife and stabbed seward repeatedly. The neck brace he was wearing is what saved him. Altogether, about five people were assaulted. He flees the house, and david herold gets spooked and runs off and leaves powell. Herold does not know his way around the city and winds up wandering around and will wind up at the boardinghouse of mary surratt. Looking suspicious, he is taken in for questioning. The herndon house a block over to the east from fords theatre is where the conspirators had their final meeting that evening at around 8 00 p. M. On the 14th, given their assignments. It is now where there is a j. W. Marriott building. This over here is the National Hotel. It no longer stands. It was torn down in 1942. That is where John Wilkes Booth stayed on a number of occasions. It is believed that is where he awoke that morning of the 14th. That is also where john wilkes was met on a number of occasions with john surratt and samuel mudd, other conspirators in the plot to abduct lincoln. The other people in the box with the lincolns, Henry Rathbone, a clerk, and his fiancee, Claire Harris, daughter of senator harris of new york. They were invited at the last minute by the lincolns. Originally, the lincolns had invited the grants to be with them in the theatre box that night. General grant regretfully informs president lincoln they will be unable to attend. They decide to take a train that afternoon to new jersey. There was a reason for this. Mrs. Lincoln and mrs. Grant did not get along well together. They could not stand each other. Mrs. Grant had made it known to the general in no Uncertain Terms she would not be cooped up in the theatre box for three and a half hours with mary lincoln. There were some disagreeable incidents that occurred earlier in february of 1865. Once again, showing you in the immediate aftermath of president lincolns assassination. Again, Claire Harris was seated here. Behind her on a love sofa, which is the original in the theatre box today, was major rathbone. Rathbone was here we have shown you John Wilkes Booth entered into the theatre box during the scene. People in the theatre when John Wilkes Booth arrived thought perhaps he was going to pay his respects to mr. Lincoln. They did not have any systematic president ial protection. There was no secret service. John wilkes booth presented a calling card to the messenger in lieu of the guard who wandered off, john parker. It was more customary than mandatory for a guard to be outside president lincolns theatre box. Using his fame to his advantage, was able to talk his way in. There is a vestibule hall that leads to two doors into the box. I think John Wilkes Booth would have gone through the door marked box eight based on the angle of where president lincoln is shot. A. 44 derringer pistol, for a bold, only one shot. He has a backup knife in case that fails. He was hoping grant would be there because he wanted to take a general grant as well. Major rathbone heard a muffled sound when booth fired the weapon during the funniest line of the play. The laughter muffled the sound. Rathbone turns, sees the cloud of smoke, tries to grab booth. He drops the derringer to the floor of the theatre box and takes the knife and stabs rathbone in the left arm. When president lincoln is shot he is immediately unconscious, not killed outright. Mary lincoln does not realize what happened immediately until shortly afterwards. It all happens very quickly. She thought initially president lincoln had dozed off. John wilkes booth leaks over the balustrade after stabbing major rathbone. Rathbone attempted to lunge for the tail end of his coat. Bruce falls off balance about 12 feet onto the stage, possibly breaking the left leg, or he might have broken something in the leg. The bloody dagger in his hand from which he has stabbed rathbone utters the words thus ever to tyrants, the latin. Booth is making a public utterance running it be known it is he. That is what is so unique about this president ial assassination. When you think about assassins you tend to think of snipers those who would conceal their identity. Booth wants everybody to know it is him because he believes he will be hailed a hero by the people of the south for what he is about to undertake. What i think is interesting and no better historian has delved into this more than Michael Kaufman is the analogy to brutus going back to ancient history. John wilkes booth is very much influence by the analogy of julius caesar. Brutus stabs julius caesar. It is a public act in the roman senate to save the Roman Republic from tyranny and prevent it from becoming an empire. John wilkes booth sees himself in the same role, called upon to slay the perceived tyrant lincoln in order to save his beloved republic, the Confederate States of america, from tyranny and will likewise be hailed a hero by the people of the south. So he hopes, so he expects, and it totally backfires. We all know this was done on good friday. The timing of the assassination was opposite of anything, the worst thing booth could have done. Here we have booth fleeing on the stage. This is not very accurate because when people saw booth on the stage as he fleed after uttering the words, they thought it was part of the play. They recognized booth as an actor and had no idea what had happened here. Dr. Charles leale is the first to treat president lincoln. From the time he entered the box to the time he was out the back door of the theatre, no more than probably 15 or 20 seconds had elapsed. Major rathbone cried out to stop that man in the theatre box. By then, it was too late. Dr. Leale, when major rathbone. Cried out for a surgeon to come to their aid, he is the first to enter the theatre box. He sees the blood on the floor from major rathbones stab wound and thinks it is president lincolns blood. He steps in and sees the unconscious lincoln. He lays him down on the floor looking for a stab wound and cannot find anything. He is the one who discovers the bullet wound just above the left ear. He examines the point of entry and instantly knows the wound is mortal, the president is going to die. They have got to get him to a bed. There is no other place to carry him other than the closest bed. Otherwise, he would die in the theatre. They had no idea he would linger for nine hours. The decision is made to carry lincoln to the first place they can find where there is a bed. Several men would carry the president. A surgeon, taft, also assisted. The lead actress also assisted brought water. When they carry lincoln down the spiral staircase out to the dark of the night, gas lamps are that up, they see boardinghouses across the street. Dr. Leale ponders a spare bed in one of the homes. They walk up and down looking. A boarder emerges from the Petersen House, henry safford. Hearing the noise, opens the door, holds out a candle to investigate. As he sees the unconscious lincoln in front of fords theatre, he cries out to the men, bring him in here. Spontaneously, the 16th president would be carried up those steps. At the end of the first floor of the house is a small room with a bed readily available but too short for mr. Lincoln. There he will be placed diagonally. The room was normally occupied by a union clerk named willie clark, who was out that night celebrating the winding down of the war. The bed frame here is six feet lincoln is 64. They could not remove the frames without collapsing the bed, so his torso will be propped up on pillows with his feet hanging out on the other corner. Doctors monitoring his vital signs through the night. Dr. Leale is in that room the whole time. Several doctors will come and go, including lincolns personal physician, Surgeon General barnes will also come. Barnes will make an attempt with a probe to extract the bullet unsuccessfully from lincolns head where it has lodged behind the right eye. The unsuccessful attempt may have hastened lincolns death. At 7 22 the next morning lincoln will draw his last breath. We have the actual photo of the room, the bed, the bloodstained pillow, just hours after lincolns carried out of the house in a makeshift coffin. Lincoln is unconscious nine hours and then dead in the house about two hours before he is taken back to the white house. Secretary of war stanton will launch the investigation into lincolns murder. Secretary of war stanton is one of the first to arrive at the Petersen House along with the secretary of the navy gideon welles. He sets up in an adjoining room on the same floor and is essentially the acting president that night. He interviews witnesses in the Petersen House in the Early Morning hours and puts out the orders, the all points bulletin for booth. Telegrams are sent out for anyone resulting booth to be taken in. All kinds of other people are taken in for questioning or placed under house arrest who had any connection with booth and the theatre. The Petersen House and the theatre are literally placed under guard. Union soldiers for weeks on end, it is a crime scene. You have the mourning crate being placed. This gives you an idea of what it looked like in the weeks following. Once again, stanton puts out the reward notice. You have a major manhunt, the largest manhunt in u. S. History commences from the Petersen House. Stanton is actually in the room at 7 22 a. M. When lincoln passes, along with robert todd lincoln, Surgeon General barnes. There was a pastor. And i believe james tanner, who served as stenographer, was also in the room. As he was writing, it is said the tip of his pencil broke so he was never able to ascertain with certainty once lincoln passed did he say, now he belongs to the angels, or now he belongs to the ages. John wilkes booth is on the run for 12 days. He will flee eastward down pennsylvania avenue toward the u. S. Capitol. He then takes the navy yard bridge over the anacostia and proceeds to the surratt tavern in what is now known as clinton, maryland. Around midnight, he teams up with david herold who also meets him in the course of his run. By this time, John Wilkes Booth has a broken left leg. I am of the opinion booth broke his leg during his escape because the left leg was injured. The tibia is a very common equestrian injury. Booth claimed in his diary while he was on the run he broke it jumping onto the stage when he reads the reaction to lincolns death. He is stunned everybody is in mourning about this so he writes about how he went out of his way and broke his leg carrying out his duty as a patriot. Then on to the home of dr. Samuel mudd early april 15, he will spend a night. Dr. Mudd he had met earlier in the conspiracy to kidnap lincoln. He will fix his leg. Dr. Mudd learns in town of what has happened. He has no idea when John Wilkes Booth arrives president lincoln has been shot by him. When he learns news of this, that there is a major manhunt for John Wilkes Booth, he tells him he cannot stay in has to move on. Booth continues on through the thickets. He will be for several days in the swamps with david herold hiding. They get to where they have a confederate contact that they run into to assist them in providing them hiding places. This would have been the route booth would have used in trying to kidnap lincoln and take himself to richmond, virginia. They are provided with a boat where they cross over here. They lose their way trying to get into virginia. Vital time is lost going out of their way, and then into virginia, crossing into Caroline County with the tide of the potomac, and making their way to the lucas farm. April 23, they continue on the rappahannock river. In Caroline County, where they wind up at the garrett farm. When they crossed into King George County is where they meet up with three confederates, one of which was willie jett, who directs them to the garrett farm where they can stay. The confederates were part of the ninth virginia cavalry. When booth tells them he has shot president lincoln, they dont want to have anything to do with booth so they continue on. Willie jett would proceed on to Bowling Green in Caroline County a little ways west of the garrett farm here. It is ultimately willie jett the Union Cavalry are tipped off that a man on crutches was seen with confederates on a horse one of which who knew willie jett told them he was staying at a place called the star hotel in Bowling Green in Caroline County. The Union Cavalry will go there on the Early Morning hours of april 26. With a gun to jetts head, they tell him, tell us where booth is hiding. They get tipped off. John wilkes booth and david herold were hiding in a tobacco barn on the garrett farm. The sergeant, something of a fanatical new englander religious zealot, he is ultimately the one who takes aim at John Wilkes Booth. The tobacco barn was going up in flames. The garrets informed them they were hiding the farm. John wilkes booth does not come out of the barn. Herold gives himself up. In order to forestall looks through the outcome of the Union Troopers set the barn on fire. It becomes a burning inferno. Corbett seeing booth inside takes aim shooting booth through the neck, paralyzing him. About two hours later, booth will die from his gunshot wound on this porch just outside where the barn burns. They wanted to bring John Wilkes Booth back alive and are unsuccessful. Booth dies around 7 00 a. M. On the morning of april 26. They say his last words were as he looked at his hands useless. The other thing they think John Wilkes Booth said was, tell mother i died for my country. After his death, a round up of the conspirators. Found guilty of conspiracy to assassinate ned spangler was given six years hard labor for his role in holding the horse, and making arrangements to hold a horse behind the theatre before booth escaped. John surratt, the son of mary surratt, he is the last of the conspirators to live well into the 20th century, until 1916. He fled to new york and then canada. He was elusive for the next two years. Not until 1867 was he brought back, captured in egypt and tried in a civilian court where there is a hung jury for his role. So he was rather fortunate he did not wind up meeting the fate along the others did. George azterodt is picked up in germantown about 48 hours after the assassination for his part. Testimony is given convicting him of trying to assassinate Vice President johnson. Mary surratt along with george will be executed because weapons are found at her home. Booth worked to frame her, i believe. The circumstantial evidence was enough for the military court to doom her, the nail in her coffin. Michael, boyhood friend of booth from baltimore, involved in the scheme to abduct lincoln. Lewis powell, a shark of a man he was the last of the conspirators to join. He served in the confederate army. He was at gettysburg, captured as a prisoner of war and subsequently released. He will be hanged. David herold is also hung. Samuel arnold and olaughlen for their parts in the kidnapping scheme are given life sentences. Guilty of conspiracy, sentenced to prison. Spangler, six years. Arnold, olaughlen, dr. Mudd life sentences which is pardoned by johnson in 1869. Just as Andrew Johnson is going out of office, he pardons those four. I should say Michael Olaughlen did not live. He died in 1867 of typhoid. Dr. Mudd while in prison in florida had a role in saving lives during this time due to the yellow fever epidemic. The four sentenced to death by hanging, july 7, 1865, at fort mcnair i believe it is. With that, i will close and open it up to questions. [indiscernible] on the building of the fords theatre, the old picture of it there were three structures. Do you know the use of those . The four sentenced to death by hanging, july 7, 1865, at fort mcnair i believe it is. With that, i will close and open it up to questions. [indiscernible] on the building of the fords theatre, the old picture of it there were three structures. Do you know the use of those . Were those for drawing cooling air up through the building . Eric martin on top . Yes. The question was, yes, im not sure what the term is, like cubicles, that allowed cool air to get into the building during the sweltering heat that you see. There are three or four of them on the roof, yes. Yes, sir. What was the significance of the attack on secretary seward . Eric martin the significance of the attack on seward . Part of the general conspiracy . Eric martin John Wilkes Booth his logic, and it is very logical and methodically planned, the same night he knew president lincoln would be there to take him out, he wants to take out secretary of state seward, assassinate him and Vice President johnson. If all three were assassinated there would be no line of succession to the presidency throwing the country into constitutional turmoil. So that was the intent, the motive behind booths thinking here. Booth is not a crazy guy. He thought things out. Many people talked about John Wilkes Booth being crazy and insane. No better historian has corrected the record on this who gets into the mind of John Wilkes Booth and sees thing from John Wilkes Booths perspective more than any other historian, his work is the best scholarship of writing i have ever seen. I have looked at a survey of the literature. Along the same lines, could you elaborate on the conspiracy to abduct, the conspiracy to assassinate, was that booths idea or did he put that in motion himself . How that came about . Eric martin distinguishing between the conspiracy to kidnap and assassinate president lincoln. The conspiracy to initially kidnap president lincoln, keep in mind during the war booth is very antilincoln. As he sees more things changing as a result of the war, he builds up his hatred. Booths initial motivation behind his plan with the other conspirators to kidnap lincoln was a result of the middle of 1864 when general grant terminated the exchange of prisoners of war to wear down the manpower of the confederacy. Booth sees this as a critical turning point. He gathers his own people, as well as having agency keeps in touch with in canada confederate agents looking to kidnap lincoln, as result of the dahlgren raid, this other thing. He basically gets his own group of people that dont have direct contact with the Confederate States of america to undertake this kidnapping. It is a crazy idea the way booth wanted to do it in a couple of instances. If he can successfully abduct lincoln and hold him hostage carry him to richmond, the idea is to force the resumption of the exchange of prisoners of war to keep this going indefinitely. One crazy idea was to try to kidnap lincoln in the theatre, in the box. The gas lamps would go out and they would have rags they would place over lincolns head and forcibly carry him out. No one would see them as they did this, lowering lincolns body onto the stage and out the back door. There was an incident in march of 1865 in which they hid and waited for lincoln to show up at a crossroads a couple of miles north of the theatre, and lincoln never showed up at the appointed time because he was at the National Hotel presenting a plaque to a Union Regiment for their accomplishments. When lincoln never showed up, a couple of conspirators involved in that plan got spooked thinking word got out that they were planning this, so they never get back with booth. It is late march, early april, 1865. Things began to move quickly. Booth will change his plans to assassination. There is no one day we know. But two things transpired in the spring that will determine the outcome of the war and what happens at fords theatre on april 14. That is the fall of richmond on april 3. Union troops marched in. Grants troop, Jefferson Davis is in flight south determined to keep the war going. A few days later, general robert e. Lee surrenders, commencing the beginning of the end. Those two events, by april 9 booth is waiting for the right opportunity to present itself with lincoln. [indiscernible] eric martin do i believe mary surratt deserved to be hung . I think she got a bad rap. I thought the movie, the conspirator, was good. Im skeptical she had direct knowledge of booths plan to assassinate. Whereas the other three knew they met with booth that night. I think she was set up and booth planned things in such a way that if it failed, she would get implicated too and bring her down. And that the evidence is largely circumstantial. I think it is problematic that she knew that afternoon that this was going down. Although we will never know for sure. [applause] eric Martin Thanks for coming. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] youre watching American History tv all weekend every weekend, on cspan three. To join the conversation, like us on facebook. Monday night on the communicators, at this years consumer electronic show, we met up with author peter who says robots and other technology are likely to enhance the human condition. Robots are especially interesting because 2014, i think was the year of robot angst. I do not think it they went by when i did not see some kind of story of robots stealing jobs from humans and on a daily basis, you hear stories of robots who are better bartenders and humans, and so on and so on. The point i think is missed a lot is every revolution ordered fans and automation has resulted in better jobs for humans. We are worried about the robust taking our jobs and having a hard time matching what were doing are just 200 years from now but even 10 years from now. I think history has shown we will they grout away figure out a way to make new jobs previously unimaginable. Monday night on the communicators on cspan two. May 8 marks the 17th anniversary when germany allied forces ending world war ii in europe. Next, from the memorial in washington dc, a ceremony commemorating the victory. Speakers include the White House National security adviser susan rice and historian alex kershaw. Followed by dozens of world war ii aircrafts, with planes flying in formation is representing a major battle of world war ii, pearl harbor through the final air assault in japan