Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States and held office from March 4, 1861, until his untimely assassination on April 15th, 1865. Best known in history for his emancipation proclamation that freed slaves in the rebellion states and his Gettysburg address that proclaimed equality for all citizens, it what Lincoln stood for that led to his untimely demise. What has led Lincoln to be an iconic president in the present day is what also made him a target for confederate sympathizers of his time. In this paper, the assassination of president Lincoln will be discussed, as well the motivation behind the assassination and the man who will forever go down in history as Lincoln’s killer.
Despite being a successful actor, James Wilkes Booth will forever go down in history as the man who killed President Abraham Lincoln. Booth was a confederate sympathizer who like many others refused to believe that the Civil War was over and was confident that the Confederates could rebuild and end victorious (Steers, 2014, pg. 4). The fact that…show more content… 4). This allowed Booth to have clear access to the presidential box. As he snuck in the box, he had a clear view of the back of president Lincoln’s head. Booth pulled out his .44 caliber single shot derringer and fired a single shot to that back of Lincoln’s head (History.com, 2009, Para. 4). As he then stabbed Henry Rathbone, the Army officer seated next to the preside and plunged over the balcony, whilst shouting, “Sic Semper Tyrannis!” which is the Virginia state motto that means “thus ever to tyrants” (Steers, 2014, pg. 56) and with a broken leg, he rushed out to his horse and made his getaway. President Lincoln was hurried across the street and placed in a bed, it was at 7:22am the next Morning April 15, 1865, that President Lincoln was pronounced dead. Eleven days later, on April 26th, 1865 Booth was surrounded in a Virginia farmhouse, in a standoff, Booth was shot in the neck and later succumbs to his
