WI: John Wilkes Booth Forgets His Mail

There have been plenty of "WI Lincoln not assassinated?" threads, but I figured this would be an interesting spin on it. OTL, Booth only learned that Lincoln would be attending Ford's theater when he, on the morning of April 14th, stopped by to pick up his mail and overheard gossip that the President was attending. Since that's such an insane coincidence, I figured it's ripe for exploration. So, let's say Booth decides to skip picking up his mail that day (maybe he's too hungover, or gets sidetracked since it's Good Friday). Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln enjoy a pleasant, but uneventful, night at the theater. What happens next? Does Booth and his associates still move forward with their (harebrained) schemes to kidnap Lincoln? How does a surviving Lincoln, without the specter of assassination, handle Reconstruction/Reconciliation? Does Booth get back into acting?
 

Geon

Donor
Kill Not Kidnap

Kung Fucious

I can only answer the first of your questions definitively. After Lincoln's speech from the White House balcony a few days before Booth had decided that Lincoln had to die. There was no longer any thought of kidnapping. As to how this would effect Lincoln's future life it depends on how determined Booth and his compatriots would be to carry out a new assassination plot.

Geon
 
Maybe he decides to have his associates ambush Lincoln as he's on the road at some point? Hell maybe even a brazen daylight shooting as he's on his way through the city!
 
Top