Circle of Willis
Well-known member
Since there seems to be a bit of an ACW kick right now, an interesting WI has occurred to me: per the title, what if John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators had seen to the deaths of all their targets? Historically besides Lincoln, they were also gunning for Vice President Andrew Johnson (targeted by George Atzerodt) and Secretary of State William Seward (targeted by Lewis Powell). However while Booth himself succeeded in assassinating the president, his compatriots failed; Atzerodt got drunk and bailed instead of trying to kill Johnson, while Powell nearly took out Seward (already injured from a carriage accident) and his second son Frederick but was foiled by the guards & Seward's neck brace.
So, what if Atzerodt and Powell had successfully assassinated the VP and SoS? Who succeeds Lincoln with such a POD, and how would they handle - among other issues - the Confederate forces still active post-Appomattox (such as Edmund Kirby Smith's army west of the Mississippi), Reconstruction, the French intervention in Mexico and post-war American expansion (historically, Alaska and also an attempt at Santo Domingo)?
So, what if Atzerodt and Powell had successfully assassinated the VP and SoS? Who succeeds Lincoln with such a POD, and how would they handle - among other issues - the Confederate forces still active post-Appomattox (such as Edmund Kirby Smith's army west of the Mississippi), Reconstruction, the French intervention in Mexico and post-war American expansion (historically, Alaska and also an attempt at Santo Domingo)?