The assassination of Abraham Lincoln on 14 April 1865 remains one of the most shocking and consequential moments in American history. As the 16th President of the United States, Lincoln successfully led the country through its bloodiest conflict, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and pushing for the abolition of slavery. However, his victory was marred by his untimely death at the hands of an assassin, John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln’s assassination not only cut short the life of one of America’s most revered leaders but also cast a shadow over the nation’s recovery from the war.
By April 1865, the Civil War had largely come to an end. General Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederate Army, had surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant on 9 April 1865 at Appomattox Court House. The long and brutal war had resulted in the deaths of more than 600,000 soldiers and civilians, leaving deep scars on the nation. Yet, Lincoln’s leadership had been critical in holding the Union together, and his re-election in 1864 signalled the American people’s faith in his vision for the country’s future.
Lincoln’s primary focus in the immediate post-war period was to heal the North and South divisions. His policy of “malice toward none” was aimed at reconciliation rather than punishment for the Southern states that had seceded. He had already set in motion plans for Reconstruction, a programme to rebuild the South and integrate the formerly enslaved African Americans into society as free citizens. However, his lenient stance angered many who wanted harsher consequences for the defeated Confederacy.
One of those who opposed Lincoln’s policies was John Wilkes Booth, a well-known actor and Confederate sympathiser. Booth was a staunch supporter of the South and deeply resented Lincoln for his role in the defeat of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery. In Booth’s eyes, Lincoln was a tyrant who had trampled on states’ rights and destroyed the Southern way of life. His hatred for the President intensified as the war drew to a close, and he became increasingly determined to take matters into his own hands.
Originally, Booth had devised a plan to kidnap Lincoln and hold him for ransom in exchange for the release of Confederate prisoners of war. However, as the Confederacy collapsed and the opportunity for such a plot dwindled, Booth shifted his focus to assassination. He believed that by killing Lincoln and several high-ranking members of his administration, he could reignite the Confederate cause and destabilise the Union government.
On the evening of 14 April 1865, Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, attended a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. It was a rare night of leisure for the President, who had been tirelessly working to guide the country through its darkest period. Accompanying the Lincolns were Major Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clara Harris. The group sat in the presidential box overlooking the stage, unaware that Booth had carefully laid out his plan to strike that very night.
Booth, familiar with the theatre layout due to his acting career, had little difficulty accessing the box. Armed with a single-shot Derringer pistol and a knife, he waited for a key moment in the play when the audience would be distracted by a comedic line. At approximately 10:15 p.m., during a burst of laughter, Booth crept into the box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head at point-blank range. Major Rathbone, hearing the shot, attempted to apprehend Booth but was slashed with a knife for his efforts.
Booth then leapt from the box to the stage, reportedly shouting “Sic semper tyrannis!” (Thus always to tyrants) as he landed. Though he broke his leg during the jump, Booth managed to escape through the back of the theatre, where he had a horse waiting. He fled the city, evading capture for several days.
Meanwhile, Lincoln was gravely wounded and carried across the street to a boarding house, where doctors made desperate efforts to save him. Despite their attempts, it became clear that the President’s injury was fatal. He never regained consciousness and died at 7:22 a.m. the following morning, 15 April 1865. The nation was plunged into mourning as news of his assassination spread. Flags were lowered to half-mast, and citizens gathered in stunned disbelief to mourn the loss of their leader.
Booth’s plot had included attacks on other government figures as well. On the same night as Lincoln’s assassination, Lewis Powell, one of Booth’s co-conspirators, attacked Secretary of State William Seward, stabbing him multiple times in his home. Though Seward was seriously injured, he survived the attack. Another conspirator, George Atzerodt, was tasked with killing Vice President Andrew Johnson but lost his nerve and failed to carry out the assassination.
The search for Booth and his accomplices became a nationwide manhunt. After 12 days on the run, Booth was tracked to a Virginia farm, where he was cornered in a tobacco barn. Refusing to surrender, Booth was shot by Union soldiers and died from his wounds on 26 April 1865. Several of Booth’s co-conspirators, including Powell, Atzerodt, and Mary Surratt, the owner of a boarding house where the plotters had met, were captured, tried, and executed by hanging.
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln had far-reaching consequences for the United States. Lincoln’s death not only deprived the nation of a leader uniquely suited to guide the country through Reconstruction, but it also encouraged those in the South who opposed his conciliatory policies. His successor, Andrew Johnson, lacked Lincoln’s vision and political insight, leading to a much harsher and more contentious period of Reconstruction than Lincoln had intended.
Moreover, Lincoln’s assassination was a devastating blow to the newly emancipated African American population, for whom Lincoln had become a symbol of hope and freedom. His commitment to ending slavery and securing civil rights for Black Americans was left unfulfilled, and the struggles for equality and justice would continue long after his death. In the years since Lincoln’s assassination, his legacy has only grown. He is remembered as one of America’s greatest presidents, a leader who preserved the Union and ended the institution of slavery. The circumstances of his death, at the hands of a man who sought to tear the country apart, only underscore the magnitude of his achievements. Today, Lincoln’s memory symbolises perseverance, leadership, and the ongoing fight for equality and justice in the face of adversity.
