Archive for February 17th, 2010

The Baltimore Plot by Michael Kline

I wrote a few days ago about a plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore in February 1861.  What I failed to mention is a fine book on the subject entitled, oddly enough, “The Baltimore Plot,” by Michael Kline. It was most compelling to me because Kline is an attorney, and approaches the alleged plot from an investigative/intelligence perspective, which you do not see much in history books.

I found the book fascinating and exactly what Michael Kline said it was – - an in-depth investigative look at circumstantial evidence surrounding the possibility of a plot. As a former investigator myself, I found Kline’s methodology, analysis, and information gathering both interesting and thorough.

He admits that his analysis is rather circumstantial, as there are no witnesses to interview, there are no confessions, and written documents differ and contradict.  What Kline did was very much like what is done in the intelligence community today when analyzing bits and pieces of unsubstantiated data from sources of varying reliability.  Kline does a masterful job of pulling those bits and pieces together to make reasonable inferences and conclusions.

Other than going back in time, as I’m certain Kline (and I) would love to do, his analysis is as good as it gets. I personally agree that there is a high probability of a plot having existed, and who the perpetrators were

I recommend the book to anyone interested in Lincoln, the causes and political machinations of the Civil War, or anyone who wants to view an excellent word picture of those turbulent times.