Today, The Two Mikes had the pleasure of talking to the author James Perloff about his new

book, Exploding the Official Myths of the Lincoln Administration.

Mr. Perloff’s book is startlingly well documented and raises the distinct possibility that senior officials in Lincoln’s government – including the Secretary of War Edward Stanton – were involved in planning the operation and letting John Wilkes Booth escape after the attack on Lincoln.

Why was this murderous operation undertaken? Because the Radical Republicans in Congress wanted no part of Lincoln’s plans to let the South up easy after the war, and resume its role in the union and in

the U.S. government. The Radical Republicans wanted to squeeze what was left of the southern

economy and draw off whatever riches could be had after the war’s end. The also intended to

militarily occupy the south and then rule it by the sword. Ultimately, the scourge of military

occupation in the south lasted from 18165 until 1877.