CHAPTER 7

Agreement: Offer and Acceptance

ACTIVITY: CASE ANALYSIS

Read the case below and then answer the questions that follow.
Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, by John
Wilkes Booth and John H. Surratt, one of Booth’s suspected accomplices, the secretary of
war published the following reward offer in various newspapers:
$25,000 reward to the person who apprehends John H. Surratt and a $10,000 reward for
information leading to the arrest of John H. Surratt.
Sometime afterward, a notice revoking the offer was published. Shuey, unaware that the
offer had been revoked, reported information on the whereabouts of Surratt to the proper
government officials. The information furnished by Shuey led to Surratt’s arrest. (Based on
Shuey v. United States, 92 U.S. 73, 23 L. Ed. 697, 1875)
1. Was Shuey legally entitled to the reward? Explain your answer.
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2. If Shuey had provided the information on Surratt before the reward offer was revoked,
would he have been entitled to $25,000? Why or why not?
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