Historical1865
Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the following morning. The assassination occurred just five days after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, plunging the nation into mourning at the moment of its reunion.
Why It Matters
Lincoln's assassination deprived the nation of the leader who had preserved the Union and freed the enslaved, profoundly altering the course of Reconstruction and national healing.