View a FREE sample

Part 1, Chapters 1-7

• Ten days before his presidential inauguration, on February 23, 1861, Abraham Lincoln is forced to sneak into Washington, D.C. on a train from Illinois because of conspiracy threats against his life.

• Lincoln meets William H. Seward who agrees to be Secretary of State.

• Mary Surratt, a staunch opponent of abolitionism and her daughter, Annie, entertain a ruffian named David Herold who shares their views.

• Herold begins a job at a pharmacy near the White House in order to spy.
• Outgoing president, Buchanan, gives Lincoln a tour of the White House and indicates he is more than happy to leave the office.

• Lincoln meets with General Winfield Scott in the War Department to assess the military situation.

• Lincoln returns to train station where Mrs. Lincoln arrives in Washington along with her children, Robert, Tad and Willie, as well as Mr. Lincoln's secretaries, John Hay and John Nicolay...

(read more Chapter Abstracts)

This section contains 2,161 words (approx. 8 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample