Introduction
In April 1865, the long and bloody Civil War finally came to an end. Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, the Union commander, at Appomattox Court House in central Virginia. Upon hearing the news, President Lincoln began to implement his “reconstruction” plan. He wanted to put the country back together as soon as possible and dispatched his personal friend and trusted bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon to Richmond to begin the process. Hill -- as he was called by the President -- did not want to leave his dear friend for fear of violence in the aftermath of the war. His worst fears were realized just a few days later. On the evening of April 14, 1865 President Lincoln and his wife attended a special performance of the comedy “Our American Cousin” at the famed Ford's Theatre. While watching the play well-known actor and passionate confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, entered the box quietly and shot President Lincoln at close range. The bullet entered behind Lincoln 's left ear and lodged behind his right eye. As Lincoln slumped forward, Major Henry Reed Rathbone, who shared the box with President Lincoln that night, tried to stop Booth but was stabbed in the scuffle. Booth leaped toward the stage, breaking his leg upon landing, but escaping out into the night nonetheless. The mortally wounded President was moved to a house across the street where he died a few hours later. This presidential assassination, the first in American history, rocked a nation that was already on very shaky ground. From the moment the nation learned of the Lincoln 's death, people began to speculate on the actual events leading up to the assassination. Conspiracy theories abounded with the trials of conspirators in the weeks following the assassination. Even today historians still debate what really happened on this sad day in our history when Abraham Lincoln became a martyred hero.
Assignment
Was Abraham Lincoln's assassination the work of an lone confederate sympathizer or was it the result of a much larger conspiracy? Were government officials involved? Was Lincoln 's life in danger prior to that night? Should Lincoln have been guarded more closely?
Examine the primary and secondary sources and develop your own theory to explain Lincoln 's assassination. Your theory must be supported by facts from the sources.
Secondary Sources
Background Information on the Assassination
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alrintr.html
Additional Information on the Assassination
http://www.alincoln-library.com/lincoln-assassination.shtml
Background Information on John Wilkes Booth
http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/assassins/booth/1.html
Trial of the Conspirators
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/lincolnconspiracy.html
Summation of the assassination and the conspiracy theories
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/lincolnsdeath/a/lincolnsdeath.htm
John Wilkes Booth Escape Trip Driving Tour
http://www.mikelynaugh.com/booth/index.htm
Primary Sources
Primary Source: New Your Times article April 15,1865
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm150.html
Primary Source: Wanted Poster 1865
http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/lm/304/
Primary Source: Co-conspirator, Lewis Payne
http://chnm.gmu.edu/lostmuseum/lm/305/
Primary Source: Baltimore Plot 1861
http://www.pddoc.com/skedaddle/articles/1861_assassination_plot.htm
Primary Source: The night of the assassination as described by his Sec. of the Navy, Gideon Welles
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/lincoln.htm
Primary Source: NY Times article April 15, 1865
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0414.html
Primary Source: Court Transcripts
http://www.surratt.org/documents/Bplact02.pdf
Primary Source: Police blotter listing the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln,
11:00 p.m. , April 14, 1865
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/lincoln.html
Primary Source: Testimony from Lincoln 's family physician
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=13
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