The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln - April 14, 1865

     Today in Social Studies, the eighth grade learned about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president.  Five days after the Civil War officially came to a close at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head while he was watching the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre.  Lincoln died the next morning; he had drafted the creation of the Secret Service the morning before, and his guard was absent from his post that night.  While Booth was eventually caught and killed, the first successful assassination of a United States President left the country in shock.

     You can read more about the death of Lincoln and the subsequent manhunt at the following websites:

America's Library - The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

History - The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln