Opening
On March 4, 1865, Abraham Lincoln delivers his second inaugural address beneath the newly finished Capitol dome as the sun breaks through storm clouds. In a photograph from that day, the celebrated actor John Wilkes Booth stands above the crowd, staring down at the president—already within reach, already imagining violence. In the weeks that follow, Union victory surges through Washington while Booth’s despair hardens into a deadly vow.
What Happens
The prologue opens at Lincoln’s second inauguration. Crowds pack the Capitol grounds, the dome gleaming as a symbol of Union endurance. Lincoln’s brief address calls for mercy and healing—“With malice toward none; with charity for all”—as light breaks through the morning’s storm. Swanson directs attention to a chilling detail in an inauguration photograph: Booth, an adored stage star, watching from a balcony above the platform, close enough to see Lincoln’s face.
April brings collapse for the Confederacy. Richmond falls on April 3; General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9. The North explodes in celebration, but Booth spirals. In a New York saloon he broods over the “excellent chance” he missed to kill Lincoln on Inauguration Day, then returns to a Washington blazing with victory illuminations that feel to him like daily insults. Swanson frames Booth’s motive in his fanatical devotion to Southern honor and loss, aligning him with The 'Lost Cause' and Southern Honor.
The turning point arrives on April 11. From a White House window, Lincoln outlines Reconstruction and proposes limited Black suffrage, particularly for Black soldiers who served the Union. In the crowd, Booth stiffens. He hisses to his companion, David Herold, “Now, by God, I’ll put him through,” and tells Lewis Powell, “That is the last speech he will ever give.” A kidnapping fantasy becomes an assassination plot. On April 13, as Washington glows in a “grand illumination,” Booth lies awake in his hotel, consumed by the plan that will end Lincoln’s life.
Character Development
The prologue contrasts two public figures moving in opposite moral directions: Lincoln’s steady magnanimity and Booth’s escalating fury. It also sketches the circle that will carry out the plot and hints at the force that will pursue them.
- John Wilkes Booth: A famed actor revealed as a zealot driven by rage, humiliation, and racist ideology. Defeat radicalizes him; Lincoln’s support for Black suffrage triggers his shift from kidnapping to murder.
- Abraham Lincoln: A leader of restraint and vision whose call for mercy and inclusion deepens the tragedy of what follows. His words become both a moral compass and a target.
- David Herold and Lewis Powell: Accomplices whose presence at the April 11 speech confirms a widening conspiracy and foreshadows Conspiracy and Betrayal.
- Edwin M. Stanton: Briefly introduced as Secretary of War, poised to orchestrate the coming response and manhunt.
Themes & Symbols
Lincoln and Booth embody opposing moral frameworks. Lincoln advocates national healing and inclusive democracy, while Booth chooses retribution and exclusion. This hero-villain polarity anchors Heroism vs. Villainy and turns a historical account into a moral drama.
The prologue also stages a collision between restorative and punitive impulses. Lincoln’s plea for mercy stands against Booth’s thirst for punishment, sharpening Justice vs. Vengeance. Booth’s despair after Richmond’s fall and Lee’s surrender channels the mythology of The 'Lost Cause' and Southern Honor, recasting defeat as affront and murder as duty.
Symbols:
- The Capitol Dome: Completion during war signals resilience and unity—the nation Lincoln tries to bind together as Booth schemes to shatter it.
- The Inauguration Photograph: Assassin and target share a frame, crystallizing dramatic irony and the proximity of danger.
- Light and Darkness: Sunlight on Lincoln’s address and Washington’s “grand illumination” counter Booth’s shadowed plotting and moral night.
Key Quotes
“With malice toward none; with charity for all.” Lincoln’s credo articulates the nation’s path to reconciliation. Its gentleness spotlights the moral gulf between Lincoln’s vision and Booth’s vendetta, and it deepens the irony that these words precede his murder.
“Now, by God, I’ll put him through.” Booth’s oath after Lincoln endorses limited Black suffrage reveals the racist core of his motive. The line marks his pivot from frustrated fantasist to determined killer.
“That is the last speech he will ever give.” Spoken to Powell, this promise fixes Booth’s plan and supplies the prologue’s chilling cliffhanger. It transforms political disagreement into premeditated violence.
Why This Matters and Section Significance
The prologue sets the stakes and moral contours of the story: a compassionate president leading a wounded nation toward inclusion, and a celebrated actor embracing political murder to avenge a lost cause. By placing Booth in the inauguration crowd and then beneath Lincoln’s window on April 11, Swanson builds relentless foreshadowing and dramatic irony. This tension prepares the narrative for the relentless Manhunt and Pursuit to come and frames the assassination as the final, desperate act of the Civil War’s ideological struggle.