Lincoln's+Assassination

toc =**Introduction**= On the night of April 14, 1865, our former president Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated. That night, he was observing the comedy show "Our American Cousin." Joining him for the performance was, officer Major Henry R. Rathbone, the officer's wife Clara Harris, Secretary of State William Henry Seward, and his own wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. He was assassinated by being shot during the play, while sitting in the presidential box of the Ford Theater in the country's capital of Washington D.C. There were several men involved in the assassination. The man who fired the deathly shot at Lincoln was John Wilkes Booth. Accompany him, was his accomplice Lewis Paine, the man who attacked William Henry Seward.



=John Wilkes Booth=

John Wilkes Booth was born on May 10, 1838 on in Maryland. Booth was the second youngest of ten children. He attended several different schools including boarding school and eventually left in 1852. After he left school, Booth worked on the family's farm. However, working on the farm did not satisfy him. Booth longed for fame, following in the footsteps of the famous actor his father was. Starting in 1855, when he was 17, Booth appeared in plays. Due to the travel of his plays, he picked up the southern way of life in Richmond, being a member of the Richmond Theatre. The life of the south settled in easy with him. During the execution of abolitionist John Brown, the man who lead the slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry, Booth stood in as a guard. His job was to block out anyone who attempted to save John Brown from being hanged. With his acting career soaring, he became wealthy and began investing in oil companies. Sometimes in the summer of 1864, Booth would stay at the McHenry House, located in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In that house in room 22, the words"Abe Lincoln Departed This Life August 13th, 1864 By The Effects of Poison." were scratched on to a room window. This was drawn interest too after the assassination due to Booth's relationship with a druggist who had easy access to poison, David Herold. However, Booth never stayed in room 22 during the that time. The end of the summer of 1864 was when Booth started to plot Lincoln's kidnapping. Lincoln would be captured, taken to the Confederacy's capital, Richmond and be held hostage in return of Confederate soldiers being held in Union camps. He recruited helpers for this plan including, John Surratt, David Herold, Michael O'Laughlen,George Atzerodt, Samuel Arnold, and Lewis Payne. The group's meeting place was a restaurant about 3 blocks away from Ford's Theatre, the destination where Lincoln was assassinated. Booth made a last minute new plan when he heard that Lincoln would be attending a play close by on March 15, 1865. However, Lincoln did not attend because he decided to speak at the 140th Indiana regiment. After that failed plan, Booth lost some of his followers in the plan. On April 14, 1865 Booth entered Ford's theatre at about 10:07 pm. The president's footman Charles Forbes, sat next to the Presidential box. Booth gave him a card and was let in. Booth pulled the trigger during a scene while the audience was laughing so no one would hear the gunshot. It is said that after Booth shot Lincoln, he loudly chanted words such as "freedom!" Rathbone started to fight off Booth, but was then stabbed in the left arm. To get away, Booth climbed over the banister of the box and dropped onto the stage. He fled from the area by horseback and was believed to have rode it to Maryland.

=Weapons Used=

John Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln by shooting him. The shot was in the back of Lincoln's head using a single shot .44 caliber derringer. The manufacturer of this gun was named Henry Deringer who was from Philadelphia. This type of gun is small only weighing in at about 8 ounces. It is about 6 inches in length with a barrel of 2 1/2 inches. After the fatal shot of Lincoln, Booth wrestled with Lincoln's officer, Major Henry R. Rathbone while Rathbone was trying to hold Booth down and protect everyone else.Booth ended up using a knife to stab Rathbone in his left arm, leaving him defenseless.

=Ford's Theatre=

Ford's theatre was built in Washington D.C. in 1861, just 4 years before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The theatre's manager John T. Ford, created out of an abandoned Baptist church. The theatre became very popular throughout the years, being the host for many musical and theatrical performances. Abraham Lincoln was very fond of the theatre, being assassinated his twelfth time there. He was sitting in Box 7 of the theater watching "Our American Cousin." After Lincoln's assassination, Ford's Theatre was closed for 100 years. Ford tried to open it back up immediately after the incident but failed. The theatre was bought by the government for $100,000. After being sold, the theatre was turned into an office space. However in 1893, the floors of the building collapsed and killed 22 people. The theater was used as storage space after that until it was redone and reopened. The official reopen of the theatre was in 1968, the theatre now being a historical site and a live theatre.

=Neighborhood of Ford Theatre=

During the 1860's, Washington D.C. was the capital of the Union (North). The North was a place were black people could be free, but there was still slave owning white men living there. Having a significant amount of slave owners made the atmosphere of Washington D.C. be like the south, while still being part of the Union. The location of Washington D.C. is next to the slave-holding states of Maryland and Virginia. Having these neighboring settings also contributed to the atmosphere of the city. The only defense against the confederacy during the war for D.C. was Fort Washington that was built in 1809. It was guarded by not a lot of soldiers, most of which switched to the confederate side. This means that the capital of the Union was very poorly protected and defended. The confederates had very easy access and a very easy way to attack. General Winfield Scott a Union commander, finally realized how poor the security of D.C. was and sent 11,000 troops to work there. Their camps were set up all over the city including City Hall and the Capitol Building. Those troops went to work building forts and trenches. Following that work came the Battle of Bull Run where the Union was drastically defeated. The terrible defeat showed the lack of protection and the need for change. General George McClellan stepped in to enhance the defense level. He appointed Barnard, a man who also fought in Bull Run to increase the fortification of Washington D.C. so it can be well protect and help them win the war.

=The Election of Lincoln=

Abraham Lincoln ran in the presidential election of 1860. He was the first person of the Republican party to ever become president. It is a common theory that his election was the first of many events that lead up to the Civil War. Lincoln was nominated by contenders at the Republican Convention of 1860. He started off as a lawyer and became noticed by the public for his campaign against Stephen Douglass in 1858. A candidate he was running against Stephen Douglass, was a Democrat also from Illinois who was loathed among the people of the Deep South. The other Democratic candidate was John Breckenridge from Kentucky, represented the people of the Deep South while Stephen Douglass was the representative for the Democrats living in the border and North states. The fourth candidate was John Bell from Tennesse, the only representative of the Whig party in this presidential race. Abraham Lincoln became the sixteenth president on November 6th, 1860. Hannibal Hamlin was Lincoln's Vice President. The final count for Lincoln was 180 electoral votes, 1,866,452 popular votes in 17 of the 33 states. Stephen Douglass's final voting count was 1,376,957 popular votes and 12 electoral votes. 849,781 popular votes from 11 of the 15 slave states went to John Breckenridge along with 72 electoral votes. The whig candidate John Bell got 588,879 popular votes and 39 electoral votes. Lincoln also carried every free state but no slave states. He only won 1/3 of the popular vote but won the electoral college vote by a landslide.

=Further Research=

For a video tour of Ford's Theatre click here []

For more information on Ford's Theatre click here [|**__http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/about-fords__**]

For more information on Fort Washington click here []

For more information about John Wilkes Booth click here []

=Bibliography=

"Capital Defense - Washington, D.C., in the Civil War." Capital Defense â Washington, D.C., in the Civil War. Web. 29 May 2012. . "EHistory.com: Election of Lincoln." EHistory.com: Election of Lincoln. Web. 29 May 2012. . "Ford's Theater History." Ford's Theater History. Web. 29 May 2012. . "Ford's Theatre." History of Ford's Theatre. Web. <**__http://www.fordstheatre.org/home/about-fords__**>. Fort Washington. Web. . "Google Images." Google Images. Web. 29 May 2012. . "John Wilkes Booth: His Life and Plot." John Wilkes Booth: His Life and Plot. Web. 29 May 2012. . "Lincoln Papers: Lincoln Assassination: Introduction." Lincoln Papers: Lincoln Assassination: Introduction. Web. 29 May 2012. .