1865 murder of the 16th President of the United States to counter the emancipation of African American slaves
Factsheet
Location Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Date April 14, 1865; 160 years ago (1865-04-14)
10:15 pm
10:15 pm
Location Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C., U.S.
Date April 14, 1865; 160 years ago (1865-04-14)
10:15 pm
10:15 pm
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln - Wikipedia
3 weeks ago - With Union victory imminent, Booth and his conspirators, including Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, originally plotted to kidnap Lincoln to aid the Confederacy. After that plan failed to materialize, they decided to assassinate him, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and ...
Reddit
reddit.com › r/civilwar › what was booth motive for the assassination of lincoln?
r/CIVILWAR on Reddit: What was Booth Motive for the Assassination of Lincoln?
April 29, 2025 -
It does not seem rational to believe that his motive was to avenge the south. The war was pretty much over by the time and to kill the one man that wanted to reconcile peacefully just seems dumb. As it is portrayed in media I think deep down he was Jealous of his brother and his father and wanted to be more famous which seems to be the rational motive and avenging the south was just an excuse
Top answer 1 of 45
65
It was revenge for the South losing. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision. It was a conspiracy that had morphed over the years from providing intel to a kidnap plot to an attempted assassination of the entire United States leadership. The level of support was always correlated to how well the CSA was holding its own.
2 of 45
52
Booth was a staunch confederate sympathizer and he thought Lincoln’s death could provide a way for the south to still win the war. Lincoln also wasn’t the only planned target, it was a fairly large conspiracy. Secretary of State Seward and Vice President Johnson were also supposed to be assassinated and Grant could have been another possible target. It was an attempt to disrupt the power structure in the north and give the south a chance to succeed.
Videos
01:18:23
John Wilkes Booth - The Lincoln Assassination Documentary - YouTube
03:49
The Conspirators Behind the Plot to Kill President Lincoln - YouTube
04:22
Why Did John Wilkes Booth Assassinate President Lincoln? - ...
00:43
The Motives Behind Lincoln's Assassination #shorts #history - YouTube
00:27
The Untold Story Behind Lincoln's Assassination ⚔️💔 - YouTube
Ford's Theatre
fords.org › lincolns-assassination › investigating-the-assassination
Investigating the Assassination — Ford's Theatre
At some point, possibly after Lincoln endorsed limited African-American voting rights during a speech on April 11, 1865, Booth’s plan changed from kidnapping to assassination. He and other conspirators came up with a plan to kill the President, Vice President and Secretary of State on the same night. The conspirators believed their plan would throw the U.S. government into chaos, renewing the Confederacy’s ability to fight. How did ...
HistoryExtra
historyextra.com › home › period › victorian › why did john wilkes booth kill abraham lincoln? and how was he caught?
Why Did John Wilkes Booth Kill Abraham Lincoln? And How Was He Caught? The Real History Of Manhunt | HistoryExtra
October 10, 2024 - He had acted in that theatre – in fact, Lincoln had seen Booth on that stage in 1863 – so he knew his way around, and his celebrity status should help gain access to the presidential box. Killing the president was only part of the plan, though.
TeachingHistory.org
teachinghistory.org › history-content › ask-a-historian › 24242
Booth's Reason for Assassination | TeachingHistory.org
Booth appears to have plotted the murders in the belief that the simultaneous assassination of four top officials would throw the North and the Republican Party into chaos long enough for the Confederacy to reassemble itself. The other parts of Booth’s plan did not come to fruition.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › John_Wilkes_Booth
John Wilkes Booth - Wikipedia
December 29, 2025 - During the speech, Lincoln stated that he was in favor of granting suffrage to former slaves; infuriated, Booth vowed to kill him and allegedly declared that it would be the last speech that Lincoln would ever make.
Grateful American® Foundation
gratefulamericanfoundation.org › grateful american® foundation › today in history › why was john wilkes booth so determined to kill president lincoln?
Why was John Wilkes Booth so determined to kill President Lincoln? | Grateful American® Foundation
December 3, 2020 - A Maryland native born in 1838, he remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies, initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait. Two weeks later, Richmond fell to Union forces. In April, with Confederate armies near collapse across the South, Booth hatched a desperate plan to save the Confederacy.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/askhistorians › why did john wilkes booth assassinate lincoln at a point during the american civil war when the south had essentially already been defeated?
r/AskHistorians on Reddit: Why did John Wilkes Booth assassinate Lincoln at a point during the American Civil War when the South had essentially already been defeated?
October 11, 2023 -
I can get why anyone would think it was a good idea to murder Lincoln to help the CSA earlier in the war, because then it could indeed maybe change the outcome of it. But Booth shoot the president after general Lee and much of the Southern army had already capitulated to the North, so what did he think he could concivbly acchive by killing Lincoln? Or was John Wilkes Booth either stupid, insane or so missinformed about the situation that rational plans doesn't apply in this case?
Top answer 1 of 2
3
Well, he actually had a profound impact on the direction of the country, in a sense he kind of won. After Lincoln gave a speech advocating for the rights of citizenship for black Americans, chiefly the right to vote, Booth decided he would kill Lincoln. Lincoln's death led to Andrew Johnson's presidency, the goal of which was, to prevent nearly all reconstruction efforts. So egregiously in fact, he was our first president to be impeached. Even if he didn't live to see it, Booth set race relations in this country back quite a bit.
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Boundary Stones
boundarystones.weta.org › 2018 › 03 › 02 › john-wilkes-booths-abduction-plot-gone-wrong
John Wilkes Booth's Abduction Plot Gone Wrong | Boundary Stones
December 30, 2021 - Originally, John Wilkes Booth's plan was not to kill President Lincoln. It was to abduct him and exchange him for Confederate prisoners.
National Park Service
nps.gov › foth › learn › historyculture › faq-the-assassin.htm
FAQ The Assassin - Ford's Theatre National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
An official website of the United States government · Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States
HowStuffWorks
history.howstuffworks.com › culture › historical figures
John Wilkes Booth Didn't Act Alone: The Conspiracy to Kill Lincoln | HowStuffWorks
June 28, 2023 - Instead, the actor had been joined in the plot by a group of Confederate sympathizers, whose intention was to somehow stave off the demise of the Confederacy and slavery by killing the Union's leadership. Four of Booth's fellow plotters — George Atzerodt, David Herold, Mary Surratt and Lewis Powell — were put on trial and executed. Several others were sentenced to prison for their roles in the event. ... Booth and his co-conspirators originally didn't intend to assassinate Lincoln.
Quora
quora.com › Why-did-John-Wilkes-Booth-assassinate-Lincoln-at-a-point-in-time-where-the-North-essentially-already-had-defeated-the-South-Was-he-insane-stupid-or-severely-misinformed-about-how-the-war-was-going
Why did John Wilkes Booth assassinate Lincoln at a point in time where the North essentially already had defeated the South? Was he insane, stupid, or severely misinformed about how the war was going? - Quora
Answer (1 of 44): I wouldn’t say that John Wilkes Booth was insane, stupid, or severely misinformed. He was outraged and desperate. Booth came from an extremely prominent family. His father Junius Booth was considered the finest Shakespearean actor of his generation.
USAHEC
ahec.armywarcollege.edu › exhibits › CivilWarImagery › edwards_Assassination.cfm
Lincoln's Assassination
As the war drew to a close with the fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865, and Lee's surrender at Appomattox on April 9, there were Southern sympathizers who believed that the Confederacy could be restored. John Wilkes Booth held that belief, and it was the motive behind his plot to murder President ...
Pearce Museum
pearcemuseum.com › education › seventh-grade-curriculum › facts-from-lincolns-assassination-and-death
Pearce Museum | Facts from Lincoln’s Assassination and Death
Booth had several co-conspirators on the night of the assassination to carry out his plan to destroy the leadership of Lincoln’s government, with a man named George Atzerodt sent to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson at his resident at the Kirkwood House hotel.
EBSCO
ebsco.com › research-starters › history › assassination-abraham-lincoln
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
The assassination of President ... Theater in Washington, D.C. Booth's motive was rooted in his opposition to Lincoln's plans for peace and the abolition of slavery, particularly after hearing Lincoln's speech detailing these ...
Encyclopedia Britannica
britannica.com › politics, law & government › law, crime & punishment › crime & anti-crime
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Summary, Conspirators, Trial, Impact, & Facts | Britannica
March 31, 2011 - Rumours persisted that it was not Booth but another man thought to be him who was killed, but there is no acceptable evidence to support that notion. Eight “conspirators” were tried by a military commission for Lincoln’s murder (several of them had participated in the plot to kidnap Lincoln but were less clearly involved in the assassination attempt).
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
gilderlehrman.org › history-resources › lesson-plan › what-events-led-lincoln’s-assassination
What Events Led to Lincoln’s Assassination? | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The fact that President Lincoln was shot while enjoying a show at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, leaves students wondering how it could have happened. A week earlier General Lee had surrendered to General Grant. The nation was finally looking forward to peace. Yet out of the shadows came Booth to kill the president, while one of his conspirators attempted to murder the secretary of state.
HISTORY
history.com › home › this day in history › april-14 › john wilkes booth shoots abraham lincoln | april 14, 1865 | history
John Wilkes Booth shoots Abraham Lincoln | April 14, 1865 | HISTORY
February 18, 2025 - Shortly afterward, the South surrendered to the Union and the conspirators altered their plan. They decided to kill Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward on the same evening.
Ford's Theatre
fords.org › lincolns-assassination › material-evidence-powell-atzerodt
Material Evidence: Powell & Atzerodt — Ford's Theatre
John Wilkes Booth’s murder of President Abraham Lincoln was one of a series of planned acts designed to throw the United States government into chaos, thus enabling the fallen Confederacy to live on. George Atzerodt was tasked with killing Vice President Andrew Johnson, but he could not bring himself to carry out the deed.
Quora
quora.com › Why-was-John-Wilkes-Booth-the-killer-of-President-Lincoln-killed-on-the-spot-without-trial
Why was John Wilkes Booth, the killer of President Lincoln, killed on the spot without trial? - Quora
Answer (1 of 22): John Wilkes Booth was part of a conspiracy which sought to overthrow the Government of the United States. While their professed purpose was Anti-Abolition, their real intentions were quite clear: they wanted to end the Civil War with the South as the Winners as the mechanism of ...