What Mary Surratt Did to Change U.S. History - Term Paper Example

Actually, it was the first case of the official female execution in the United States. Her son, John Surratt was also thought to participate in the assassination. ”Mary Surratt was born to Archibald (who died when Mary was two years old) and Elizabeth Anne Jenkins in the southern Maryland town of Waterloo” (DeWitt, 1984 p.34). Her family was rather big – she had two brothers. Mary went to the Ladies School in Virginia. Her life was quite difficult since she became wife when she was only 16 years old.

She was forced to marry John Harrisson Surratt, a Roman Catholic farmer. The spouses had three children – one daughter and two sons. The Surratts turned out to be good businessmen – they had a tobacco farm, operated several shops and in this way increased their income greatly. Despite being a prosperous family, they still had tough financial problems because of the husband constant drinking. “One biographer suggested that John Surratt was physically and emotionally abusive to his wife” (Larson, 2008 p.75). .

Mary had no other way as to sell her house to its former owner for a very small amount of money and move to the District of Columbia. That house was the ownership of her late husband and she remade the second floor to have a boarding house there. That business kept her on her toes and provided her children with sustainable level of living. At the trial Mary’s son John admitted that he was involved in the plot of Lincoln kidnapping but did never take part in the plot of his assassination. He was following the president that day of the murder but he had nothing to do with his death.

Moreover, he denied that his mother had any relation to this matter. That day she was reported to visit one of her tenants to withdraw the rent and then she came home and got in her daily home routine. ‘Though, later John Lloyd later testified against her, saying she gave him a package containing field glasses and told him to make ready the shooting irons” (Swanson, 2007 p.43 ). Moreover, after the assassination she sheltered John Wilkes Booth, who was considered to be the assassin – he was seen to stop at her boarding house just after the murder.

After a two-week trial Mary Surratt was admitted to be guilty, though she claimed to be innocent. The judge was governed by the clues found at her home place and several testimonials from the respectable citizens. The execution was demanded to be through hanging and Mary Surratt was allowed to have a priest before the execution. The ceremony took place in the square with the tickets being sold in advance. Mary’s death wasn’t as easy as of the rest of convicts. She suffered for more than 5 minutes in the noose.

Concluding everything stated above it must be mentioned that Marry Surratt played a great role in the USA history. It is