Assassination Vacation

Analyze how Vowell discusses the nature of political violence. What do all three of the assassinations in the book have in common? In what ways, if any, do they differ?

Research one of the historical sites or relics visited or seen by Vowell. What does this site or relic say about US history and/or how civic memory is shaped and preserved?

Discuss Vowell’s views on US history. How does Vowell approach historical subjects like the US Civil War, enslavement, the treatment of Indigenous Americans, and/or the U.S. occupation of the Philippines? What do her positions say about modern and liberal views of US history?

Approach Assassination Vacation as a historical source in its own right and in its own time. What does Vowell’s writing say about liberal views of, and anxieties over, United States politics and the George W. Bush administration in the 2000s?

Compare and contrast Assassination Vacation with a similar work dealing with a personal connection to American history, such as Ty Seidule’s Robert E. Lee and Me (2021). How are the two texts different or similar in their narrative approach and key ideas?

How does Vowell portray Lincoln and Booth? Compare these portrayals to how other writers and historians present Lincoln and Booth and their place in history.

How does Vowell’s description of President Garfield’s life and death inform your understanding of his time in history? How can Garfield and Guiteau be used as a lens into the history of the Gilded Age in the United States?

Examine how Vowell creates parallels between religious practices and civic institutions and memory. What are some of these parallels? How do they help to illuminate her key themes and ideas?