After the Civil War ended in 1865, tensions remained high between the North and South. John Wilkes Booth, a southern sympathizer, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. Lincoln died from his injuries several days later. Booth was later tracked down and killed, while others involved in the assassination plot were tried and hanged. Lincoln's death deeply mourned across the nation as they lost their leader during Reconstruction.

1. After the Civil War
Lincoln’s Death

2. Lincoln was elected president of
the U.S. in 1860
During his presidency, Lincoln led the
country through the Civil War where the
Northern and Southern states fought each
other in battles between 1861-1865. The
south wanted to leave the United States!
Lincoln very much believed the U.S. needed
to stay together to stay strong!

3. The Civil War was the bloodiest
war in U.S. history!

4. Over half a million U.S. citizens lost their lives in
this horrific war!

5. After the Civil War…
• Many southerners were very angry that
the North had defeated them.
• Some blamed President Lincoln for their
defeat.
• One such man was a Virginia native
named John Wilkes Booth

6. John Wilkes Booth

7. John Wilkes Booth snuck behind Lincoln
while Lincoln enjoyed a play in Ford’s
Theater and shot him in the back of the
head!

8. Lincoln lived a few days after the gunshot.
He was taken to a hotel across the street
from the theatre.

9. These are real bandages that were
used on Lincoln’s wound

10. Rewards were offered for the capture of the
people involved in planning Lincoln’s
shooting!

11. Finally, after two weeks, the military found
Booth hiding on a farm in a barn. They set
fire to the barn…

12. Booth ran out of the barn and was shot.
He died on the front porch of the farm
house.

13. As those involved in helping Booth plan the
assassination were led to their hanging, they
were forced to wear masks over their eyes.

14. Everyone involved in Lincoln’s
assassination was tried and
hanged from the neck in public.

15. The train that took Lincoln’s body
across the country where people
mourned his passing.

16. People around the nation mourned
the loss of a great leader.

17. Today, you can still visit Washington D.C.
and stand in the very room that Lincoln died
in.