President Lincoln’s assassination was the first presidential assassination to have happened in the United states history. He was assassinated by a Confederate sympathizer and powerful actor John Wilkes Booth, who started to plot to force Lincoln to renounce his policy. Booth and his co-conspirators planned to kidnap Lincoln and force his government to resume the transfers. On march 1865, an attempt to ambush president when he attended a play at a military hospital failed because he did not attend the ceremony. On 11 April 1865, Lincoln gave a speech in which he advocated black suffrage, which provoked Booth and his partners to change the plan from kidnap to murder. This was reflected in Booth’s dairy on 14 April where he wrote that something vast and crucial must be done (Ross, 2010).
They planned to kill Lincoln and Grand, along the vice president Andrew Johnstone and the secretary of state in order to destabilize the US government for a long period to allow the Confederacy to regroup. Booth overheard that Lincoln was planning to attend the Ford theatre in Washington DC that night, and it became a great chance because he knew the place very well. Booth planned to kill both Lincoln and Grand hoping that they would sit together at the theatre, but Grand did not attend the play. Booth shot Lincoln’s head and stabbed Major Henry and escaped (Ross, 2010).
This assassination was a shock to Americans because they believed in his leadership. Although there was some opposition that caused a heavy casualty figures, he was re-elected in 1864 by a landslide. His gift for public oratory was further indicated in his inauguration speech, which entered American folklore as an appeal for reconciliation and peace following the horrors of the civil war. The fight against slavery is the most fundamental cause for him to be considered as a folk hero, but his policies caused a rivalry between many people. However, his policies meant well for the development of the United Stated, and his assassination was a great misfortune for the Americans. Lincoln was the most influential American president from George Washington, and he regularly tops polls of the greatest president of Americans (O'Reilly and Dugard, 2012).
The influence that Lincoln’s death had on Americans was extremely intense because they did not remain the same concerning politics since his assassination. Americans bowed down and prayed that a great leader was taken to God for doing a wonderful and a fine job in the nation, which shows how his death was a loss to them. This was a day that changed the united states because since then the presidential security was reinforced to avoid such incidents. Currently, the president was not allowed to go anyplace without tight security, and if he did the claims of the conspiracy emerged. His assassination changed the Americans politics because they assumed they had the best security with JFK before this incident. Although such assassination occurred thereafter, this could be a good reason why there is a secret service for president currently to avoid such cases.
Another important factor about this assassination, is how American started to view the population as whole because prior this incident, the United Stated was an extremely good nation with a few evil people, but afterwards conspiracy started to multiply, which led to further assassinations. This also reminded Americans that when a war ends the hostility between sides does not end, and Lincoln’s assassination did not get rid of his great ideas that he had for the nation (Michael, 2011). His assassination not only unified the united State president as a target of conspiracy or terrorism but also established the president as an individual who could be killed. Therefore, this incident made American realize that to win a war no matter which side one take does not stop the human capacity to do evil, and no triumph will ever be the end.
In a recap, Lincoln’s assassination made him a hero for the Union cause. He is remembered in several memorials all over the United States, and his oratory remains a frequent source of inspirations for many politicians in the world. Therefore, Lincoln’s assassination was a day that greatly changed the history of the United State.
References
Michael, F. (2011). “Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever.” Library Journal, Vol. 136 Issue 16, p87-92.
O'Reilly, B., Dugard, M. (2012). Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever. New York: Large Print Pr.
Ross, M. (2010). “Famous Trauma Victims: Abraham Lincoln.” Trauma, Vol. 12 Issue 1, p55- 59.
