“Now he belongs to the ages,” Stanton is supposed to have said as Lincoln took his last breath. Many thought of Lincoln as a martyr. The assassination had occurred on Good Friday, and on the following Sunday, memorable as “Black Easter,” hundreds of speakers found a sermon in the event. Some of them saw more than mere chance in the fact that assassination day was also crucifixion day. One declared, “Jesus Christ died for the world; Abraham Lincoln died for his country.” Thus the posthumous growth of his reputation was influenced by the timing and circumstances of his death, which ...(100 of 9224 words)