Abraham Lincoln was one of the most influential politicians in history, however, his assassination in the year 1865 pulled the whole country into grief. Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the U. S. and entered office before the Civil War.
He was elected due to his trustworthiness, superior intellectual knowledge, and humanity. During his presidency, he was invited to attend the performance of “ Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theater, located in Washington D. C. on the evening of April 14, 1865. It was a comedy show that was hosted by Laura Keene (Editors). Lincoln attended this show with his lovely wife on this magnificent evening. Lincoln was calmly relishing his evening as various jokes were getting people out of their seats! A Confederate sympathizer named John Wilkes Booth was hiding near the sitting area close to the private box that was above the stage. He sneakily entered in the private box where President Lincoln and his wife were sitting. Booth was also an actor by profession who had planned to kidnap Lincoln before the comedy event, but it didn’t work out. After various failed attempts to kidnap Lincoln, he lost his patience and hatched the plan to assassinate him (“ Assassination”).
Right before a huge laugh line during the third act at roughly 10: 00 P. M., a huge boom sound came from a pistol that hit Lincoln on the back of his head! It was an o. 44 caliber single-shot derringer pistol that was used to assassinate Lincoln. It shook the whole crowd and everyone trembled in fear. There was pin-drop silence while Mary Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s wife, screamed her lungs off as Lincoln was urgently carried to a safe place. He was carried to a bed across 10th street in the home of William Peterson. Booth then jumped onto the stage and said, “ Sic semper tyrannis!” (Wallenfeldt). As he jumped, he broke his leg but still ran away on horseback. In the next morning, Lincoln was pronounced dead and the whole nation was in dismay (Editors). There was a public outcry to find the Booth as it became the largest manhunt in history at that time. Many people really wondered the cause of this tragedy. There were various events that lead up to this terrible act. During the Civil War, Booth remained in the North as he was pursuing his successful acting career. At the same time, he started out with a plot to kidnap Lincoln once and for all. He wanted to take Lincoln to Richmond, which was the capital of the Confederate.
Booth wanted the rebel prisoners to be released so that they could assist the Confederate again. He wanted to use Lincoln as a bargaining chip as an exchange. However, on the day that Lincoln was supposed to be kidnapped, he didn’t appear in the place as it was expected by the kidnappers. (Editors) Booth tried to kidnap Lincoln at two different points from 1864-1865 but none of them worked out. Booth then organized a small group that consisted of co-conspirators so it could be easier to capture him. (Wallenfeldt) They later came up with an extraordinary plan to capture Lincoln as he was going to attend a play performance at Campbell Hospital benefiting wounded soldiers. They were all going to hide along a country road so it would be easier. However, Abraham Lincoln was busy so he was unable to attend. This made the group’s plan to fail! (“ Assassination”) Later, Richmond fell to Union forces and the Confederate armies collapsed across the South! This resulted in Booth to become impatient to revive the Confederacy. (Editors) Couple days later, General Robert E. Lee from the Confederacy surrendered to General Ulysses S, Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, which really signified the end of the Civil War. Booth became extremely infuriated and just came up with the plan to kill Lincoln instead of kidnapping him. (“ Assassination”) Booth then read on a newspaper and learned that Lincoln will be attending Ford’s Theater in the evening for a comedy! This was good for them because he had another shot to achieve his goal. In the end, he achieved his goal by shooting him on the back of his head during a laugh line in the private box and ran away safely on horseback. (Wallenfeldt) We can concur from the above that Booth’s anxiety played a significant role in Lincoln’s assassination. The aftermath of this tragedy changed our world significantly. At the time of 7: 22 A. M. the next day after Lincoln got shot, he was pronounced dead.
This news was traveling quickly as the whole world was completely shocked (Editors). “ Colonel George G. Rutherford placed silver half-dollars on both of the President’s eyes immediately after his death.” (Carole). Countless flags were being held across the country all businesses were all closed. Large crowds of people lined the railroad to pay their respect as the train was solemnly progressing through the beloved North area (Editors). Due to the fact that people wanted to actively participate in the funeral services because they actually cared about Lincoln, the officials arranged to get a funeral train that takes Abraham Lincoln’s body to different cities that end at Springfield, Illinois. For example, in Chicago, more than 125, 000 people went to view Lincoln’s body. This shows the amount of love citizens had towards Lincoln. Additionally, after Lincoln’s death, the Constitutional Rights that were given to African Americans discontinued by ensuring lawmakers and various state voters. This has significantly shaped their future of slower assimilation into American life. (Carole). Later, tons of soldiers started for the search of Booth as the news was getting spread around the whole country. “ While a massive manhunt, fueled by a $100, 000 reward, filled the countryside surrounding Washington with troops and other searchers, Booth and Herold, aided by a Confederate sympathizer, hid for days in a thicket of trees near the Zekiah swamp in Maryland.” This reward for the finding of Booth lured many citizens to find this malicious man. (Wallenfeldt).
