Republicans had Lincoln killed.

When the Civil War was nearing its end, the Radical Republicans could see difficulty winning elections with angry Southern voters. They wanted to turn the seceded states into territories that couldn't vote in national elections. With the South unable to vote, the Republican Party could maintain its power.

Lincoln wanted to return the vote to the seceded states as soon as possible. His goals were the opposite of the Radical Republicans. For them, Lincoln was becoming a major impediment. These Radical Republicans couldn't achieve their goal with Lincoln in office. They had to remove him.

In addition, the Radical Republicans wanted to hang the South's military and political leaders. Lincoln didn't want any revenge. He believed that too many lives had already been lost. Lincoln made his position clear, "There are men in Congress who, if their motives are good, are nevertheless impracticable, and who possess feelings of hate and vindictiveness, in which I do not sympathize and cannot participate. I hope there will be no persecution, no bloody work, after the war is over. No one need expect me to take any part in hanging or killing those men, even the worst of them. Enough lives have been sacrificed. We must extinguish our resentments if we expect harmony and Union." Lincoln wanted to welcome the South back into the Union. Clearly, Lincoln had to go.

Some of the men that wanted Lincoln out of the way were the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Secretary of State William Seward, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, Congressman John C. Frémont, Senator Benjamin Wade, Senator Henry Winter Davis, Senator Charles Sumner, Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Lincoln's first vice-president Hannibal Hamlin, Colonel Everton Conger, head of the New Detective Police Chief Lafayette Baker, and many more.

These men did not want Lincoln to win a second term. They planned to end Lincoln's presidency by creating a new Party and running their candidate for President. They created the Radical Democracy Party. John C. Frémont was chosen as their Presidential Candidate, and John Cochrane was selected for Vice President.

When they saw that their new Party was going nowhere, they disbanded the Radical Democracy Party and returned to the Republican Party. Lincoln and the remaining Moderate Republicans did not welcome them back. To prevent the Radical Republicans from regaining influence, he changed the name of the Republican Party to the National Union Party. Lincoln gave his new Party a new direction to welcome the seceded state back into the Union.

National Union Party won the election. Lincoln was President and had Andrew Johnson as his Vice-president. The Radical Republicans could see their power and influence fading. They decided it was time to kill Lincoln. Surprisingly, the Radical Republicans found a new supporter, Andrew Johnson.

Johnson wasn't satisfied with being vice president. He wanted to be President and joined the Radical Republicans in killing Lincoln. Johnson was the man that found a Confederate sympathizer to assassinate Lincoln. His name was John Wilkes Booth.

Lincoln's assassination was all set when Stanton realized that if Johnson and Seward were also killed, he could declare martial law and rule the country. Johnson and Seward were helping Stanton with Lincoln's assassination, but they were now in Stanton's way. In addition to Lincoln, Stanton arranged for Johnson and Seward to be killed.

Johnson and Seward survived, but Lincoln did not. Johnson and Seward knew that Stanton had planned their assassination. But they couldn't say anything because of their involvement with Stanton in killing Lincoln. If they said anything, they would be charged as an accessory in Lincoln's murder. They even had to help Stanton cover up his crime.

Johnson was now President. The new President discovered that Lafayette Baker was spying on him. Johnson had him fired. In his defense, Baker claimed that he was working for Stanton. Now, the Radical Republicans were afraid that Johnson would fire Stanton.

The Radical Republicans passed the Tenure of Office Act to prevent Johnson from replacing Stanton. This law stated that only the person that hired a cabinet member could fire him. Lincoln hired Stanton, and he was dead. Therefore, Johnson couldn't fire Stanton, and he had a lifelong appointment.

Johnson vetoed the Tenure of Office Act. Congress was able to override Johnson's veto, and the Act became law. Despite the law, Johnson fired Stanton.

The Radical Republicans saw their opportunity to rid themselves of Johnson. For violating the Tenure of Office Act, the Radical Republicans impeached him. Johnson's impeachment failed by one vote and he remained President. Stanton lost his job.

The Radical Republicans couldn't afford to lose such a strong supporter. The Radical Republican President Ulysses S. Grant nominated Stanton as the Supreme Court's chief justice. Stanton died a few days before taking his seat on the Supreme Court. It is claimed that he died of natural causes. This writer believes Johnson had Stanton poisoned.

After Lincoln's death and Johnson's disgrace, the Republicans took over the National Union Party and changed it back into the Republican Party. It was now the same old Party with hateful and vengeful goals.

Edwin Stanton was the primary planner and mastermind behind Lincoln's assassination. Even today, Edwin Stanton is well-regarded, which is a great injustice.

 

Troy Cowan wrote this article, author of They Wanted Lincoln Dead.