April 16, 1865

Dearest Diary,

After my recent promotion to journalist at the New York Times ,things have been splendid. Though, I now find myself wishing I had never taken the position. This morning at 9:01 AM my editor assigned me a story to write by the end of the day. Not anything very important of course, just the President of the United States of America was assassinated! Last night, he was at  a play called Our American Cousin at the Ford Theatre when one of the actors (allegedly John Wilkes Booth) shouted,  “Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus to tyrants) The South is avenged.”  Then, he shot and killed the president before fleeing on horseback. I first heard this last night at 11pm while I was reading The Scarlet Letter.  The town cryer came running through the streets yelling “Lincoln is dead!”.  I’ll never forget it.  

There are so many questions still unanswered. Could he have done it alone? Were there any accomplices?  Where is he now?  Do you think Booth will strike again? Forget the journalism – this is terrifying and heartbreaking! I know some people in this office don’t agree with me, but I always thought Abraham Lincoln was the president we needed when we needed him. 

I shouldn’t be writing this article. I should be with my children and my wife. They always know how to make me feel better. I cannot. This is my big opportunity! In three hours and two minutes I will have to have finished this article but I don’t know where to begin. What would a good headline be? President Shot Dead? No, no that’s too abrupt. What about, Assassin Still Roams Free? No, that doesn’t even make sense. I don’t think any headline is too abrupt if the President is killed. It will be “Lincoln Shot Dead!”  Good, good, this is a start. But what a terrible end to this terrible war.

This war wrought havoc and now has Wilkes brought our nation to its knees?  Even if he has, what would our nation have been without the war?  The moral sin of slavery would have continued to destroy our nation.  Sometimes I feel all the bloodshed was unnecessary.  Surely, we could have compromised to something more civilized than war.  But maybe not.  The Missouri Compromise was made for Southerners to take advantage of.  I would have a hard time trusting them, and black people deserve more than a compromise.  They deserve the same rights as you and me. What am I talking about?  Am I now comparing people to paper (a diary!).  I’ve had countless close friends fight for the Union and never return.  Yet, without it, our country may never have righted this sin of slavery.  Still, did it have to take such a high toll? Our beloved President murdered in cold blood!   

Well, I might as well start writing my story. 

Until tomorrow,

Henry Smith