Lincolns Assasination and Booths Escape

I just read the book Manhunt which is about the assasination of Lincoln, and Booths escape and the chase after him.

I was wondering what difference it would have made on Booths escape and subsequent U.S. history if after he killed Lincoln, that Powell succesfully killed Seward and Sewards son, and Atzerodt did not back out, and ended up killing Johnson, and both Powell and Atzerodt were able to escape Washington along with Davey Herold and Booth.

Would the escape and chase be different? and If I am not mistaken, which I may be, wouldnt Stanton be next in line of sucession for President or would it be Welles?
 
Actually, you bring up a very interesting point. Many folks talk about Booth trying to throw the government into dissarray by assassinating as many people in the line of succession as possible, but to my knowledge his plot never included members beyond Vice-President Johnson: in 1865, the 1792 Act of Succession was still in force, according to which the President Pro Tempore of the Senate becomes Acting President upon a dual vacancy of the Presidency and Vice-Presidency and such an eventuality necessiates a special election for the Presidency, to a new 4 year term.

Hence if Johnson is killed the Presidency would devolve upon the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. It's slightly unclear who exactly was Pres. Pro Tem of the Senate because the Senate was in the midst of electing new leadership; Lafayette S. Foster was elected by the 39th Congress, but he doesn't seem to have been chosen until May. Daniel Clark was PPT in the 38th Congress, but the dates seem to suggest that the appointment expired in February 1865; nevertheless, I think Clark is the next in line. If there isn't a PPT, then the succession would devovle on Schuyler Cofax, Speaker of the House of Representatives, except that if Clark is not next in line on the basis of the fact that the Senate hadn't yet elected a PPT for the 39th Congress then Cofax is not Speaker either. In this case, there truly would be chaos, since the Act of 1792 did not allow for succession beyond the Speaker of the House. If Clark is easy to find and his succession unchallenge, then things progress to a new election, which is certain to be quite interesting.

If Clark is difficult to find or his succession challenged, I suspect the Cabinet would run matters until either the Senate or House elected the PPT or Speaker to serve as Acting President until the new election yielded a President.
 
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