By: Tyler BreonAssassination of Abraham Lincoln

Do you know how and why Abraham

Lincoln was assassinated?

John Wilkes Booth was born May 10, 1838.

He hated Abraham Lincoln.

John Wilkes Booth blamed Lincoln for all of the South’s troubles.

John Wilkes Booth

John Wilkes Booth and six other men met at Mary Surratt’s boarding house. They planned to kidnap Lincoln.

March 17, 1865 -- John Wilkes Booth’s group made their first attempt to kidnap Lincoln. They learned he was planning to attend a play at the Campbell Hospital on the outskirts of Washington D.C. Lincoln didn’t go to the play and wasn’t kidnapped that night.

April 9, 1865 -- General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant.

April 11, 1865 -- Lincoln made a speech saying blacks should be allowed to vote.

This angered John Wilkes Booth, and he changed is plans to kill Lincoln rather than kidnap him.

John Wilkes Booth Tries to Get Revenge on Lincoln

John Wilkes Booth found out that Lincoln was going to Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. on April 14, 1865.

John Wilkes Booth’s group also planned to kill other government officials. They were Vice-President Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.

On April 14, 1865 at 10:15 p.m. Lincoln’s bodyguard, who decided to leave his post and go across the street for a drink, wasn’t at the door and John Wilkes Booth went in.

John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of his head and then jumped 11 feet to the stage below.

John Wilkes Booth got away on his horse that was in the alley.

John Wilkes Booth Kills Lincoln

• Lincoln was carried across the street from the theatre to the house of Mr. Petersen.

• Lincoln never regained consciousness. He passed away at 7:22 a.m. on the morning of April 15, 1865 in the Petersen House across from Ford’s Theatre.

Lincoln’s Death

John Wilkes Booth ran away until federal authorities caught up to him at Port Royal, Virginia on April 26, 1865. This was about 60 miles south of Ford Theatre . He was hiding in a tobacco barn.

John Wilkes Booth refused to give up. About 2:00 a.m. the barn was set on fire and he was shot by Sergeant Boston Corbett. His body was dragged out of the burning barn. John Wilkes Booth died around 7:00 a.m.

Capturing of John Wilkes Booth

Lincoln’s goal was to unite the nation with no hard feelings.

While Lincoln was President, he was able to control the Radical Republicans. He proposed a plan for reconstruction in which the U.S government tried to rebuild the Southern society and governments.

However, when Lincoln died, reconstruction died with him. President Johnson had no power and after his death Congress was controlled by the Radical Republicans. They saw this as an opportunity to teach the South a lesson and punish them.

Affect on the Nation

United States in 1861

The North lost their leader. The North’s hate for the South grew deeper

and they were looking for revenge. They pushed for bills that would punish the

seceded states.They passed a bill called the Wade-Davis bill

that demanded 50% of voters swear allegiance and give unequal treatment to Southerners.

Affect on the North

Although the South was happy at first, they soon realized Lincoln could have helped them.

After Lincoln’s death, the South suffered 20 years of painful Reconstructionist policies and carpetbaggers running the government . Carpetbaggers were white northern men who went to the South after the Civil War, and entered the south in an effort to exploit and profit from hardship of the defeated South.

If Lincoln had not died, he would have ensured Blacks were given what they needed to transition from slavery to freedom.

Affect on the South

Lincoln Monument in Washington D.C.

Abraham Lincoln's Tomb in Springfield