The Lincoln Assassination Conspiracy

The conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln in 1865 was led by actor John Wilkes Booth, a staunch supporter of the Confederacy. Initially planning to kidnap Lincoln, Booth shifted his plan to assassination after the Confederate surrender. On April 14, 1865, Booth shot Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., while co-conspirator Lewis Powell attacked Secretary of State William Seward. Booth fled but was eventually cornered and killed. The swift trials and executions of the conspirators highlighted the post-Civil War tensions and left a profound impact on American history, marking Lincoln as a martyr and reshaping Reconstruction policies.