436.  Lincoln murdered, April 14, 1865.—­The national armies were victorious.  President Lincoln, never grander or wiser than in the moment of victory, alone stood between the Southern people and the Northern extremists clamoring for vengeance.  On the night of April 14 he was murdered by a sympathizer with slavery and secession.  No one old enough to remember the morning of April 15, 1865, will ever forget the horror aroused in the North by this unholy murder.  In the beginning Lincoln had been a party leader.  In the end the simple grandeur of his nature had won for him a place in the hearts of the American people that no other man has ever gained.  He was indeed the greatest because the most typical of Americans.  Vice-President Andrew Johnson, a war Democrat from Tennessee, became President.  The vanquished secessionists were soon to taste the bitter dregs of the cup of defeat.

[Illustration:  MAYOR’S OFFICE, APRIL 15th, 1865, Death notice of Abraham Lincoln]

QUESTIONS AND TOPICS

[Use maps constantly while studying this period.  The maps provided in Dodge’s Bird’s-Eye View are admirably adapted to this purpose.]

CHAPTER 37

Sec. 380.—­a.  What did Lincoln say about the Union?  What did he say about slavery?  What oath did Lincoln take?

b.  Was his inaugural conciliatory to the South?

Sec.Sec. 381, 382.—­a.  What was the result of Buchanan’s attempt to send supplies to Fort Sumter?

b.  Why did Lincoln inform the governor of South Carolina of his determination to succor Fort Sumter?

c.  What was the effect on Northern opinion of the attack on Fort Sumter?

d.  Could the Southerners have done otherwise than fire on the flag?

Sec.Sec. 383-385.—­a.  Why were the Virginians so divided?  What resulted from this division?

b.  What were the “border states”?  Could these states have been neutral?

c.  Describe the especial importance of Maryland.

d.  What oath had the officers of the United States army and navy taken?  Did Lee and other officers who resigned necessarily believe in the right of secession?  Give your reasons.

CHAPTER 38

Sec.Sec. 386, 387.—­a.  State the advantages of the Southerners from the geographical point of view.

b.  Explain how rivers were lines of defense.

c.  Describe carefully the plan of the Bull Run campaign.

d.  Why was the Shenandoah Valley so important?

Sec.Sec. 388-390.—­a.  Why was McClellan placed in command of the Army of the
Potomac?

b.  Of what advantage to the South were the negroes?

c.  Describe the plan of the Peninsular Campaign.  What was the great objection to it?