16. Conspiracy theories emerged almost immediately following Lincoln’s death
On the morning of April 15, 1865, the Nashville Union, published a story connecting Lincoln’s assassination with officers of the Confederate government. Soon other newspapers published articles speculating over the extent of the conspiracy. Some linked Booth to Jefferson Davis. Others suggested Judah Benjamin, Secretary of State for the Confederacy. The Benjamin scandal grew to include the Rothschilds and their international banking empire. Members of the Republican extreme right-wing promoted the idea Benjamin and the Rothschilds, prominent Jewish bankers, had Lincoln killed over his trade policies. The anti-Semitic and anti-immigration Republicans on the far right had long linked abolitionism in the North to Jewish influences, as well as Catholic influences. Such ideas flourished in the aftermath of Lincoln’s death. Over the years they expanded.
In 1867 John Surratt was arrested in Egypt, and extradited to the United States for trial. By then, Washington was no longer under martial law, and he was tried in civilian court. He was acquitted. Following his arrest newspapers revealed he had received sanctuary from a Catholic priest in Canada. After his mother’s conviction and execution, Surratt fled to Europe, where he served in the Papal Guard at the Vatican. Recognized in 1866 and arrested, he escaped and fled to Egypt, where he was again arrested. At the time of his arrest, he remained in his Papal Guard uniform. Right-wing newspapers in the United States speculated over what appeared to be a clear link between the conspirator and the Catholic Church. During his trial, Booth’s diary reappeared, and the discovery of the missing pages drew further speculation, linking Edwin Stanton to the far-reaching conspiracy.
