and i will go to grover s theater for a performance of aladdin or his wonderful lamp. and there i will kill a tyrant. [small explosion sound] tom hanks: this is the true story of the killing of abraham lincoln, the first assassination of an american president, and what might be the most resonant crime in the history of the nation. john wilkes booth s plan to kill lincoln isn t the first black flag operation to target the 16th president of the united states. at least five kidnapping or assassination schemes are hatched, although none are attempted. none, save perhaps one. abraham lincoln is riding alone,
end the war and save the union. yet, during his 4 years and 41 days in office, the intensity of the hatred leveled toward him, even by members of his own party, is extreme, even by today s standards. but while the killing of abraham lincoln serves to sanctify him, to transform a controversial president into a dearly beloved martyr, it also serves to pervert the truth about his killer. john wilkes booth, a passionate and well-admired man on the path to become one of the greatest actors of his time, is reduced by history to a two-dimensional scoundrel and dismissed as a madman. john wilkes booth: harder! faster! come on! [laughs]. [audience screams]. [audience gasping]. james mccollom: good god, i ve. john wilkes booth: it s all right, old man. come on hard, for god s sake and save the fight. [audience applause] john wilkes booth: [screams] [audience gasps]
tom hanks: ironically, on this day, tad s 12th birthday, april 4th, 1865, the immediate danger to the president is not in richmond. it s on its way to washington. sergeant thomas harney, an explosives expert with the confederate torpedo bureau, has already been dispatched on a secret mission to blow up the white house and lincoln in it. and there is sound evidence that john wilkes booth learns of the plot while in new york, at the same time that abraham lincoln is walking the streets of richmond. southern gentleman: sergeant harney is with colonel mosby in virginia as we speak, seeking to infiltrate washington at the earliest convenience. john wilkes booth: and jefferson davis has sanctioned this harebrained incendiary scheme? i see. and it is true that president davis escaped intact from richmond? southern gentleman: yes. thank heaven he is safely bound for danville.
[audience applause] man: curtain! bring the curtain down. james mccollom: mr. booth. john wilkes booth: why, mr. mccollom! james mccollom: mr. booth, i, i am so very sorry. john wilkes booth: come, come, old fellow. you look as if you had lost the blood. not another word. now, if you d had gotten my eye, that would have been bad. but you didn t. and it was, well, it was splendid! james mccollom: thank you, sir. tom hanks: that is john wilkes booth. born and raised in maryland, a border state, a slave state that did not secede from the union. john wilkes booth is also a southern zealot, whose hatred of abraham lincoln is nothing less than fanatical. in october of 1864, booth makes contact with the confederate secret service. and shortly after lincoln s reelection, he determines to kidnap the president.
and i will go to grover s theater for a performance of aladdin or his wonderful lamp. and there i will kill a tyrant. [small explosion sound] tom hanks: this is the true story of the killing of abraham lincoln, the first assassination of an american president, and what might be the most resonant crime in the history of the nation. john wilkes booth s plan to kill lincoln isn t the first black flag operation to target the 16th president of the united states. at least five kidnapping or assassination schemes are hatched, although none are attempted. none, save perhaps one. abraham lincoln is riding alone,