0:00

In

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a democracy, change comes

0:02

from the ballot box, but sometimes

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the will of the people is overridden by

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an assassin's bullet. From Wondery, American

0:09

History TELERS is a podcast that explores

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the events and people who shaped our country,

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including assassins, the focus of

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our newest season. Long before the secret

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service was created, presidents walked

0:20

freely amongst the people and that was by

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design as armed guards were synonymous

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with European monarchs and dictators.

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But America's idealistic innocence

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would soon change, starting with president

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Lincoln's assassination. And as recently

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as Ronald Reagan, an American president

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has comparulously close to being killed

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in office. Each episode this season

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details a different madman's pursuit

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and the root of their animosity for the leader

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they struck down. You'll learn about every

0:47

critical moment leading to the assassination and

0:49

how as a result they change the country

0:51

forever. You're about to hear a clip from

0:53

American history tellers. While you're listening.

0:56

Follow American History Tellers wherever you

0:58

get your podcasts and hey, Prime members.

1:00

You can listen to American History Tellers

1:02

Gad free on Amazon Music. Download

1:05

the Amazon Music app today.

1:17

Imagine

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it's before dawn on April

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twenty sixth eighteen sixty five.

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You're

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inside a tobacco barn in rural northern

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Virginia. You're on the run with

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the most wanted man in America, John

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Wilkes booth. Twelve days

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ago, booth assassinated president

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Abraham Lincoln, but he didn't do

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it alone. You helped him in the plot.

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And now you're both fleeing ahead of federal

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troops. You're pretending to be confederate

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soldiers on the way home from the war,

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and you've convinced a local farmer to give you

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shelter. You wake

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to the sound of barking. Booth

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stirs beside you. Hey, you wake.

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You hear that? Something's got the dogs

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going. You shoot up

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right as booth presses his ear against a crack

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in the barn wall, listening to the sounds

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outside. I hear

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hooves. Your heart starts

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pounding in your chest. You sure?

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Yeah. We gotta get out of here.

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Grab the revolvers. I'll take the car

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mine. You snatch up

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the weapons and rush to the front of the barn.

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But when you reach the door and pull,

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it won't open. It's lot.

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That was bad enough, the farmer refused to

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spend. Now he's trapped us in here. You

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and booth try to force the door open,

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but it won't budge. You feel

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sweat trickling down your neck. God's

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no use. Now they're getting closer.

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Come on. We gotta find another way. Booth

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wheels around and limps over to the back wall.

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He injured his leg jumping from a balcony

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when he shot the president. Let's try and

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kick a board off and crawl up. Moon

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swings his good leg at the barn wall,

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but his wounded leg can't support his weight.

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And he collapses in the ground and agony.

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Let me try. But your

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attempts are no better. It's clear

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there's no way out. Oh, this is

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it. We better give up.

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No. I'd rather die than surrender.

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Booth looks at you with a steely gaze,

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and you know that look. You may

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be ready to turn yourself in, but he's

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still spoiling for a fight. You

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just hope that when booth dies at

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the hands of soldiers. He doesn't

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take you with him.

3:29

From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and

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this is American History Tellers. Our

3:34

history, your story.

3:51

In

3:51

our show, we'll take you the events, the

3:54

times and the people that shaped America

3:56

and Americans. Our values are

3:58

struggles and our dreams. We'll

4:00

put you in the shoes of everyday people

4:02

as history was being made, and we'll

4:04

show you how the events of the times affected

4:06

them, their families, and affects you

4:08

now. On April twenty six,

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eighteen sixty five, union soldiers

4:13

closed in on the barn where Lincoln's Wilkes

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booth and his co conspirator David

4:18

Harold were hiding. When Booth

4:20

refused to give himself up, soldiers

4:22

whipped the barn on fire to drive him

4:24

out. Harold surrendered and

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was later tried and executed. But

4:28

booth refused surrender and was instead

4:30

shot at the scene. It was the

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end of a twelve day Monaghan that gripped

4:34

a grieving nation. Abraham

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Lincoln was the first American president

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to be assassinated, but he would not be

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the last. In the decades that

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followed, more American president

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would find themselves in the crosshairs of an

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gun. Some would survive these

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attempts on their lives, but three more

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presidents would not. The

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motives behind these murderous plots

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varied, but all left a deep mark

4:58

on American history. The

5:00

bullets ricocheting through the years

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causing far reaching political shifts,

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social change, and international consequences.

5:08

The effects of Lincoln's death were obvious

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and immediate, The nation not only

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lost its leader just at the moment of victory

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in a bloody civil war, but also

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its most steady moral compass.

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Sorely missed in the subsequent years

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of reconstruction. But only

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sixteen years after Lincoln's death,

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another assassin again forever

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changed America by plotting to

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kill the man who stood between him and his

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thirst for power, president

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James Garfield. This is

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the first our four part series on

5:37

Assassinations, exploring

5:39

their perpetrators, their targets, and

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the fallout few could predict. This

5:43

is episode one. Murder

5:45

for spoils. Hey,

5:48

Prime members. You can listen to American

5:50

History Tellers free on Amazon

5:52

Music. Download the Amazon Music

5:54

app today.