Soon after the war ended, Lincoln gave a speech that argued for Black men and veterans to have the right to vote. John Wilkes Booth was in the audience. People were angered that Lincoln supported Black citizenship, and John Wilkes Booth vowed “That is the last speech he will ever make.” Booth shot Lincoln three days later in the back of the head. Lincoln then was attended to immediately by several doctors who were in the audience. It was felt that the president should not be moved far, so he was taken across the street to the house of William Petersen, who rented extra rooms to lodgers. The doctors had little hope that while laid unconscious Lincoln would ever recover. Throughout the night various cabinet members, officials, and physicians stayed awake in the small room waiting and hoping he would wake up. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, took place at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the next morning on April 15. Once Lincoln died, a national mourning occurred. While this was happening there was a battle to prove John Wilkes Booth's innocence in court. Once John Wilkes Booth fled, a massive manhunt happened with a $100,000 reward, this filled the countryside with troops and other searchers, Booth and Herold, aided by a Confederate, hid for days in a thicket of trees near the Zakian swamp in Maryland. While hiding, Booth kept a diary in which he recorded his actions. Observers reported that African Americans felt Lincoln's loss particularly due to all the help Lincoln has given for African Americans.
Historians have noted that Lincoln became much more respected in death than in his life. Many Northern Democrats have argued that Lincoln had permanently damaged the nation and its constitution for his actions. In December, President Lincoln proposed a reconstruction program allowing Confederate states to start a new state government after 10 percent of their male population took loyalty oaths and the states recognized the permanent freedom of formerly enslaved people this was called the Wade Davis Bill of 1864. The three points of Lincoln's reconstruction plan were to ensure that 10 percent of the citizens of former Confederate states swore an oath to the union, to then work to establish new state constitutions, and to provide opportunities for former Confederate soldiers and to be granted full pardons for their actions during wartime. But what the Northern Democrats saw was his incompetent management of a prolonged war with horrible side effects. This includes his jailing of newspaper editors and other enemies of the administration, his arming of former slaves, and his massive expansion of the federal government's powers. All of this was frowned upon. Frederick Douglass was also among those who believed Lincoln had moved slowly against slavery. Fredrick Douglass said, “When there was any shadow of a hope that a man of a more decided anti-slavery conviction and policy could be elected, I was not for Mr. Lincoln.” Frederick Douglass was a famous abolitionist who would acknowledge some of Lincoln’s achievements. Southern states feared how Lincoln would abolish slavery due to how much power he had over the people through his persuasive speeches.
Links:
https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-Abraham-Lincoln#:~:text=The%20assassination%20of%20Abraham%20Lincoln,next%20morning%20on%20April%2015.
https://www.indianamuseum.org/blog-post/why-booth-shot-lincoln/#:~:text=Soon%20after%20the%20war%20ended,shot%20Lincoln%20three%20days%20later.
https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-Abraham-Lincoln
https://time.com/5784810/lincoln-healed-divided-nation/
https://study.com/academy/lesson/lincolns-election-southern-secession-the-new-confederacy.html#:~:text=Southern%20states%20feared%20Lincoln%20would,Republican%20Party%20won%20the%20election.
https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/learn/educators/educator-resources/teaching-guides/lincolns-views-african-american-slavery/#:~:text=While%20he%20swept%20the%20North,immediately%20began%20planning%20for%20secession.
https://www.si.edu/spotlight/highlights-abraham-lincoln-1809-1865#:~:text=Lincoln's%20legacy%20is%20based%20on,social%20freedom%20for%20African%2DAmericans.
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/wade-davis-bill#:~:text=In%20December%2C%20President%20Lincoln%20proposed,freedom%20of%20formerly%20enslaved%20people.
https://study.com/learn/lesson/ten-percent-plan-reconstruction.html#:~:text=The%20three%20points%20of%20Lincoln's,granted%20full%20pardons%20for%20their
