Questions Regarding Mary Surratt

[MaddieM]

(04-10-2013 06:03 PM)KateH. Wrote:  [/size][/font]Hello everyone,

I am currently enrolled in a public speaking class and will be giving a persuasive speech on April 17th. During the speech, I will try and persuade my fellow classmates that Mary Surratt did not deserve to die for various reasons. I have some ideas but need validation for a few of the points. I thought this would be a good place to get some expert help and maybe even a few quotes I have a few questions that I'll post here as I get deeper into the speech, but I will start with these two.

1. By the time John Wilkes Booth made the decision to kill Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward, is there evidence that the group had already split and the meetings had moved out of the boardinghouse? I know Mrs. Surratt delivered the field glasses but had actual meetings in the house ceased? Wasn’t John Surratt gone by the time kidnapping became murder?

2. Is there any evidence or documentation to show that Mary Surratt's eyesight was failing by April of 1865? I want to put that as one of the causes for her not immediately recognizing Powell but need some sort of evidence to support the claim.

Thank you all for the help

I think Mary Surratt knew exactly who Powell was. She may well have had poor eyesight, but someone is not just a face. There was his height for starters, unusual at the best of times, and doubly so in that era I should imagine. She'd taken a good enough look at him to appreciate his looks, so must have known it was him in spite of the dim lighting. Surely, she'd not just seen him in daylight?

I think she basically just gave a knee jerk reaction in her denial of him, not realising how deeply this would implicate both of them. I don't think she cared if she implicated him, but perhaps didn't realise how far she'd condemn herself. That's what fear and guilt does... takes away your common sense and anticipatory thinking.

Basically, she bottled it.