Throwing more Mudd in the game

[KateH.]

As someone who has also come under the fire of verbal slapping after expressing an opinion, I understand the pain. You are not saying, "This is what happened. End of story." You are merely sharing a theory in the hopes of beginning a historical discussion. That is how history works. Everyone debates ideas and shares knowledge in the hopes of coming to a good conclusion about something we were not alive to witness. We can't read the thoughts of those involved in Lincoln's assassination. The best we can do is study and present a historical argument. Not every question will have a 100% certain answer. However, by working together, we can sometimes get pretty darn close.

Anyway, you present a very convincing argument, Laurie. The behavior of the Mudd family seems to be questionable considering the "social codes" of the time period and the post-war events that were taking place.

Let me also add this point. Mudd did allow Booth and Herold to stay for the night. Although Herold was hurrying along the medical procedure, Mudd did not finish the job and direct his guests to another place of lodging or wave goodbye because Herold said they needed to get moving. This would happen to Booth and Herold quite a few times later though. Whether Mudd gave them shelter to be kind or because he was unaware Booth had assassinated the president will never be known. However, he did permit them to stay the night and through the next afternoon. He knew of other southern sympathizers-he told Booth a few names before he departed-and could have sent the pair further on. Did he let them stay because he already knew they were going to appear on his doorstep?

Furthermore, I agree that the Mudd family was not "evil." They sympathized with the Confederacy but that does not make them cruel people. Sometimes we forget that the South was fighting for their way of life too. Just because the North won in the end doesn't mean southerners were "bad" people. They simply had different ideas. Today, there are plenty of groups that have ideas different from others. That doesn't mean one side is better. Speaking on the issue of slavery, today we know how horrible it was. However, before and during the Civil War, it was an accepted practice. That would never be said today but we have to look at the situation through the eyes of people living in the 19th century.