Lesson plan
Baltimore Plot
arriving in Washington with his valet and bodyguard William Henry Johnson (left hand corner), 1861. Lincoln, Johnson, and detectives traveled a secret route from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., to prevent an assassination attempt. The Baltimore Plot concerned alleged conspiracies in February 1861 to assassinate President-elect of the United States Abraham Lincoln during a whistle-stop tour en route to his inauguration. Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, played a key role in managing Lincoln's security throughout the journey. Though scholars debate whether or not the threat was real, Lincoln and his advisors clearly believed that there was a threat and took actions to ensure his safe passage through Baltimore. He ultimately arrived secretly in Washington, D.C., on February 23, 1861. A planned train route through Bellaire, Ohio, to Wheeling, Virginia (now in West Virginia) and eastward was subsequently rerouted up through the Pittsburgh vicinity, through Pennsylvania, into Maryland, and eventually to Washington. He passed through Baltimore unnoticed, which proved controversial after newspapers revealed the seemingly cowardly decision. The incident and its significance have since been debated by scholars.
Article summary
arriving in Washington with his valet and bodyguard William Henry Johnson (left hand corner), 1861. Lincoln, Johnson, and detectives traveled a secret route from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., to prevent an assassination attempt. The Baltimore Plot concerned alleged conspiracies in February 1861 to assassinate President-elect of the United States Abraham Lincoln during a whistle-stop tour en route to his inauguration. Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, played a key role in managing Lincoln's security throughout the journey. Though scholars debate whether or not the threat was real, Lincoln and his advisors clearly believed that there was a threat and took actions to ensure his safe passage through Baltimore. He ultimately arrived secretly in Washington, D.C., on February 23, 1861. A planned train route through Bellaire, Ohio, to Wheeling, Virginia (now in West Virginia) and eastward was subsequently rerouted up through the Pittsburgh vicinity, through Pennsylvania, into Maryland, and eventually to Washington. He passed through Baltimore unnoticed, which proved controversial after newspapers revealed the seemingly cowardly decision. The incident and its significance have since been debated by scholars.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.