Summary Of Abraham Lincoln's Assassination

On April 15, 1865, Americans awoke to some of the most devastating news in years. President Abraham Lincoln, the person who was to unite the country after a terrible, civil war, had been assassinated the night before. Throughout the country, American flags flew at half mast everywhere. The United States mourned the loss of a great leader. April 14, 1865 started off as a regular day for The President. He had numerous meetings all morning and even went on a carriage ride with his wife. President Lincoln had been invited to watch a play called Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. The President arrived once the play was started at about 8:30 p.m. The whole crowd stood up and clapped politely while the theater played

John Wilkes Booth was a very famous actor in the nineteenth century. He was in numerous acts of Shakespeare and was part of a family of successful actors. It was a shock to most Americans to hear that he had plotted and killed their great leader. Even as Booth was dead, he still caused fear and suffering to the living. Soon, after much research and hard work, officers discovered that John Wilkes Booth did not work alone to kill The President. In fact, there were ten conspirators in total who plotted the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The ten conspirators were John Wilkes Booth, David Herold, George Azterodt, Lewis Powell, Michael O’Laughlen, Samuel Arnold, Samuel Mudd, Edmund Spangler, John Surratt, and Mary Surratt. David Herold was a pharmacy clerk, who led Booth out of Maryland through the escape route in Virginia. Herold was found with Booth in a barn house in Virginia. As a result of being found with Booth, Herold was convicted and hanged in July

However, he got scared and decided to drink in a hotel bar instead. Azterodt was convicted and hanged in July 1865 as well. Another conspirator, Lewis Powell, who was a former prisoner of war, was assigned to kill Secretary of State William Seward. Powell entered the secretary’s house and injured him severely. Although, he failed to kill him. Powell was also hanged in July 1865 after being convicted. Michael O’Laughlen was sent to prison for life after turning himself in as a conspirator. However, his role in the conspiracy is unknown. Samuel Arnold was sentenced to life in prison after investigators tied him to Booth’s plans for originally kidnaping The President. Samuel Mudd, a doctor, was sentenced to life in prison for helping Booth by healing his leg after Booth hurt it at the theater. Also, investigators found evidence showing that he knew about the assassination before it occurred. Edmund Spangler was a stagehand and a carpenter at Ford’s theater. He was sentenced to six years in prison for assisting Booth in the assassination plot. John Surratt, the closest to Booth of all the conspirators, was a confederate spy. He plotted with Booth to kill the President. However, Surratt was not in Washington D.C. at the time of the assassination. He spent his life in the run until he was caught in Egypt in 1866. Finally, Mary Surratt was the last conspirator. She was the mother of John Surratt and