In what year and who killed Lincoln?

In the history of the United States, there are many interesting and tragic events that have affected the course of the state's development. One such was the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865. Why and who killed Lincoln, in what historical era it happened - the answers to these questions will interest the readers of the article. We will reply to the nickname as much as possible.

How Abraham Lincoln was killed

Abraham Lincoln - 16th American president, who is considered a national hero and liberator of black people from slavery, is one of the most famous and beloved heroes of American history. He was president, beginning in 1861, in the most difficult years for America - the years of the Civil War and the confrontation between the North and the South. In 1865, re-elected for a second time, than showed how actively the Americans supported him.

April 9, officially ended the Civil War in the US, the country sighed freely. April 14, 1865 President Lincoln goes with his wife to a play at the Ford Theater (Washington). Coming there a southerner fanatic, actor John Wilks Booth, penetrates into the presidential box and shoots him in the head. Leaping out of the box, Booth yells: "Freedom! The South is avenged! "And fled.

Not regaining consciousness, the next morning, A. Lincoln dies. The Americans were deeply indignant when they learned that the newly elected beloved and respected by most people President Lincoln was killed. The year 1865 remained forever in the history of the United States as the year of the assassination of the president. After all, Lincoln was a very popular and attractive person, distinguished by honesty and high moral principles.

So who and why Lincoln was killed, for political reasons or because of the personal dislike of the killer for the president - we will try to understand this by examining the historical events of that time, the identity of the murderer and his victim.

Abraham Lincoln: childhood and youth

A. Lincoln was born in Hodgenville , Kentucky on February 12, 1809 in the family of a poor farmer. In order to develop free land, the family soon moved to Indiana. His mother died when the boy was 7 years old, and the father married again with a widow with three children. Abraham had to work constantly to help the family, mostly with manual labor: he was hired by a woodcutter, then a hunter, then he worked as an employee, then he wanders as an agent of a trading company.

That's why he was able to study at the school for only 1 year, having learned to read and write. However, over time, a great desire for knowledge led him to self-study, which helped him to become not only a literate person, but also an educated lawyer.

By the year 21, when Lincoln decided to start his own business, leaving the family, he turned into an intelligent young man of high stature (193 cm), in the degree of erudition superior to any young man who had studied for many years at school. The history of his life is a series of ups and downs, successes and failures.

The beginning of political career

In 1832, Lincoln first attempted to be elected to the Illinois legislature, but failed. After that, he devotes the next few years to intensive self-study of legal and other sciences. During these same years, he began to form a negative attitude towards the problem of slavery in America, which subsequently played a role in the tragedy that had happened to him. This should be taken into account when clarifying the reason why Lincoln was killed.

To have money for life and training, Abraham and his friends begin commercial activities, opening a sales store, but the business did not bring profit. Then he becomes a postmaster in New Salem, and then becomes a surveyor. Even in his youth, friends give him the nickname "Honest Abe," which he earned for absolute honesty and decency.

A repeated attempt to be elected to the legislative assembly was crowned with success in 1835, the next step was the passing of an exam for the title of lawyer, to which he was able to prepare completely independently. Over the next few years, practicing law, he became famous as a defender of indigent citizens, taking on the most difficult cases completely unselfishly. During these years he is elected four times from the Whig party, and then moves to the city of Springfield.

His personal life in those years also changed. In 1842, A. Lincoln married M. Todd. According to some reports, he suffered from his hereditary disease - Marfan's syndrome all his life, which is expressed in high expressiveness, and therefore often fell into depression. Mary's wife loved him very much and supported his political views in every possible way. Soon after President Lincoln was killed, she became insane and died.

The couple had 4 sons, but 3 of them died in childhood. The only surviving child, the eldest son of Robert Lincoln, fought in the rank of captain, then became a military minister, and in 1889 became the envoy of the United States in England, surviving to old age.

In 1846, Lincoln entered the House of Representatives of Congress from his state from the Whig party. At this time, he strongly condemns the policy of US aggression, which was manifested during the American-Mexican war, and also advocates the abolition of slavery. Because of these political views, he had to withdraw from politics and again engage in legal affairs. He became a consultant to the Illinois Central railway company.

In 1854, the Republican Party was established in the United States, which began the struggle to abolish slavery, and within two years Lincoln became its representative, but he lost the first election to his rival from the Democratic Party.

However, as early as 1860, the party nominated him as a candidate for president. Thanks to his fame as an industrious and honest politician who emerged from the people, A. Lincoln gains 80% of the vote and becomes the 16th president of the United States. But not all of his political views, especially slavery, are met with enthusiasm. Some politicians disagree with him, and even some states are trying to announce the withdrawal from the state, and he has to make a statement that in the near future abolition of slavery is not planned.

Civil War in the US

The president's fiery speeches, in which he condemned slavery as an immoral phenomenon, denied the existence of the state in a state of "semi-freedom and half-freedom." At the same time, the elected president adhered to rather moderate positions. Categorically rejecting slavery, he spoke of the impossibility of forcibly abolishing it, so as not to violate the property rights of planters and avoid a split in the state.

The election of A. Lincoln in 1860 by the president caused the separation of the southern slave states from the USA and the creation of the Confederation with its capital in Richmond. And although in his inaugural speech, Lincoln actively called for the unification of the country, he could not prevent the conflict. The war between the South and the North was started in 1861, just between states that held opposite views on slavery. The president's desire to give freedom to black Americans has multiplied the number of enemies and political opponents. Among those who disagreed was the one who killed Abraham Lincoln.

Civil war dragged on, economic losses and human sacrifices were multiplied, and the issues of slavery remained unresolved. The turning point in regard to citizens to the president was the act of Homestead adopted in 1862, according to which any citizen (who did not participate in battles on the side of the South) could receive land in ownership for a tax of $ 10. This contributed to the settlement of vacant lands, the solution of agrarian problems and led to the development of rural and farming in the country. Lincoln's popularity began to grow rapidly.

All these years, A. Lincoln has pursued a democratic policy aimed at maintaining the country's bipartisan system, preserving freedom of speech and other achievements of democracy.

December 30, 1863, the President signed the "Proclamation of Liberation", which gave freedom to all slaves. The country enters a period of destruction of slave-owning relations and the release of black people. This decision led to an increase in the influx of volunteers into the army of the northerners, consisting of liberated blacks. In 1865, the war ended in the defeat of the Confederacy, into which the southern slave states united.

Opponents of President Lincoln

During the years of government and the Civil War, the president has many opponents. The majority of the population of the southern states, defeated in the war, did not support his desire to free the slaves, so the question why people killed Lincoln who absolutely disagreed with his decisions in the state structure and the reforms carried out had a perfectly understandable answer: precisely because of the decisions on the liberation of black slaves Of America.

During this period, he adopted certain laws that benefited the country and himself as a policy:

• Imprisonment of all deserters and slavery supporters through the court;
• The Homestead Act, by which settlers, who cultivate the land and build buildings, become its owners.

Repeated elections in 1864 brought A. Lincoln a second victory (his rival was the representative of the Democratic Party, General J. McClellan). Already on January 31, 1865 the US Congress, at the insistence of the president, adopts the 13th amendment to the Constitution on the prohibition of slavery in the United States.

Abraham Lincoln in the first months of his second term begins to address the issue of the restoration of 11 separate states in the federal state, promising them an amnesty.

In his speech at the inauguration, the president calls for the preservation of "peace in his home," but he was no longer destined to realize these plans. Because in a few days there was to be a performance in the theater, where Abraham Lincoln was going to go with his wife, where his conspirators, led by J. Booth, were killed, thus ending the life of one of the people most beloved by the people of the US presidents.

Biography of the murderer

John Wilkes Booth is the person who killed Abraham Lincoln. To understand why he committed this crime, let's talk about his life and political views. After all, from time immemorial it was believed that the roots of evil should always be sought in childhood and upbringing.

J. Booth was born May 10, 1838 in the family of theater artists Yu.B.But and ME Holmes, who lived on a small farm in Maryland. In the family he was the ninth child, and his name was given in honor of a politician with the radical views of J. Wilkes from England. His family did not belong to any religious concession, and besides his parents were not even married. They formalized the marriage only after the birth of their 10th baby in 1851.

The boy at the local school was very reluctant to study, and his parents did not strongly insist on his diligent training. At the age of 12, his father forced him to enter the military academy in Milton, where the teachers demanded strict discipline and diligence in their studies. There was an interesting meeting between Bout and the fortune teller who predicted a very short life and a bad demise. Maybe she already knew that she was predicting this to a man who would become known in America as the one who killed Lincoln.

A year later, Bout moved to another educational institution, then at age 14, after his father's death, he dropped his studies and expressed a desire to receive the profession of a deceased parent - to become an actor. He begins to learn the oratory and stubbornly studies the works of Shakespeare and other playwrights. Already in 3 years, Booth made his debut on stage in "Richard the Third" in a secondary role (theater in Baltimore). The audience at first did not much welcome the new actor, but he continued to achieve success with his perseverance and dedication.

In 1857 John entered the street theater under the pseudonym YB Wilkes in Philadelphia, which helped him become a star. The audience enthusiastically accepted him as a brilliant actor and gave him the nickname "The Most Beautiful American." Now playing the leading roles, he went on his first tour of America.

The beginning of the Civil War, J. Booth met in the north and immediately began to express his admiration for the actions of the southern states, calling them heroic. All the war years he spent on traveling around the country, winning more and more fans and incidentally breaking hearts to fans. At the same time, he became a secret agent of the Confederation, helping to deliver smuggled medicines to southerners. His views on slavery, partly due to the fact that his homeland, Maryland, belonged to the slave states, largely predetermined his future destiny as a man who dreamed of forcibly changing the country's policy and daring to become the one who killed President Lincoln.

The conspirators in Washington

In the autumn of 1863 a friend of the Butov family, J. Ford, opens his theater in Washington and invites Bout to play one of the leading roles in the premiere of The Marble Heart. The Ford Theater in the future will become a place of tragedy, having gone down in history as "the theater in which Lincoln was killed".

On this presentation, there is A. Lincoln, whom actor Booth really liked. But at the invitation of the president to visit their lodge during the intermission, Booth refused, showing a strong dislike for his family. Booth treated with hatred for Lincoln, accusing him of all military misfortunes. In 1863, he even went to the police station for shouting curses towards the American president during the performance. Forced to swear allegiance to the Union, he was released, with a fine.

In 1864, before the election of the president, realizing that the Confederation had lost the war, and Lincoln would be re-elected, Booth began to think about the plan for kidnapping the president. His accomplices were his friends S. Arnold and M. O'Lowland, and the meetings took place in Baltimore in M. Branson's apartment, the supporters of the southerners. Then their hopes were not crowned with success, but upon arrival in Washington, Booth begins to bear more radical plans.

The conspirators decide to kidnap all the main members of the US government, headed by the president. The meetings held at the mother's house of one of the members of the group of J. Surrat were attended by resolute and aggressive supporters of the southerners: D. Herold, J. Atzerodt, L. Powell, etc. Headed by Booth, they became the people who planned, Helped, and who killed President Lincoln afterwards.

After Lincoln's inauguration in March 1865, J. Booth dramatically changed the plan for the operation, concluding that the most effective step would be not the kidnapping, but the murder of the American president.

When, on April 11, the newly elected US President made a speech near the White House in which he told Americans about the restoration of the rights of black slaves, J. Booth was among the spectators and, completely disagreeing with his words, decided that this speech would be the final In the life of Lincoln.

The day of the murder - April 14, 1865

The fact that the president will watch the play-comedy "My American Cousin" at the Ford Theater, Booth learned in advance from his friend - the theater's owner. Ford himself proudly informed the future murderer of the honor, which will be awarded to his institution: a visit to the head of state of the play. Booth took this news as an attractive opportunity to realize his insidious goal, because he was well-oriented in all corridors and alleyways of the theater building. The Ford Theater, according to his decision, became the place where Lincoln was killed.

On April 13, the last meeting of the conspirators took place. Booth, as the leader of the conspirators, gave his instructions for political assassinations: his friends D. Harold and L. Powell were to commit the assassination of US Secretary of State William Seward, and J. Atserodt - the destruction of Vice-President E. Jackson. J. Booth planned to accomplish his mission alone. All three murders were to occur at 22.00.

And then came April 14 - the day when Lincoln was killed. When J. Booth came to the play, he was perfectly guided in its content. The time of the murder, he deliberately picked up so as to enter the box and shoot at the time of the explosion of laughter in the hall after another cheerful line on the stage. Although everything turned out a little wrong.

J. Booth dressed in a black suit, wearing a broad-brimmed hat on his head. Entering the box, he closed the door behind him so that no one interfered. Stepping toward the president's chair, Booth fired at him from the Derringer. The sound of the gunshot spread throughout the hall, because because of the excitement the killer did not guess the moment, and a loud shot rang out in silence - all spectators immediately turned their heads to a terrible sound.

The first to be oriented was the infantry commander G. Ratbourn, who wanted to hinder the killer, but Bout wounded him with a knife and jumped into the hall from a height of 3.5 m. He caught on the flag with the spur of the boot, the criminal fell unsuccessfully and broke his leg. Lame, he stepped onto the stage and shouted the motto of the state of Virginia "So will always be with tyrants!". All the surrounding people were in shock, so the killer managed to escape from the theater through the back door. So the Ford Theater became the place where Lincoln was murdered.

At the same time, L. Powell made his way to the house of the Secretary of State, but the murder did not take place. After stabbing several knives, he could only wound him, and his partner in the meantime fled. The third "murderer" J. Atzerodt did not dare commit a crime and sat in a tavern for the night, worrying for his fate. There he heard the news that Lincoln was killed in the Ford Theater.

According to Bout's instructions, the accomplices planned a meeting near the city, but there were only two - Booth and Harold. Because of a leg injury, Butu had to urgently seek out a doctor, whom he already knew from the underground during the war. The doctor put a tire on him and gave him crutches.

Searches for the killer

Several thousand soldiers were mobilized to search for the conspirators, while they were sitting at home in Maryland. On the way further south, J. Booth suddenly learned that all the inhabitants condemned him for killing an unarmed man. Unaware that in front of them the one who killed Lincoln, people in conversation accused the cowardly of the murderer, since he shot Lincoln from the back. After hearing this, the criminal decided to tell his story and the version of all the events that happened in the diary, which he writes on the road. Moving to the south, the conspirators across the river sailed to Virginia and tried to seek help from the familiar Confederates, but everywhere they refused.

At that time, all the other conspirators had already been captured and imprisoned. Booth and Harold reached the Garrett farm in Baulin Green, this man helped the escaped southerners after the war. The assassins hid there in the barn. However, the police already attacked them.

In the evening of April 26, in Virginia, police and soldiers surrounded and set fire to the barn, and Booth came out with a revolver outward, at that moment Sergeant B. Corbett fired and mortally wounded him in the neck, after 2 hours the criminal died.

All the other conspirators appeared before the military court, who sentenced four to be hanged, the rest - to imprisonment for life.

President's funeral

The funeral of A. Lincoln proved that he was loved and respected by all. The train with his body went from New York to Springfield, breaking 2,730 km. For the entire 2.5-week journey to pay the last tribute to the president, millions of Americans, white and black, came. Lincoln was buried in the Oak Ridge cemetery. You can ask any American: "In what year did they kill Lincoln?". And he will answer immediately and without error: "In 1865," because the tragic death of this president created around him the halo of a martyr who died in the struggle to overthrow the slave system of the United States. In honor of A. Lincoln in 1876 a statue was built in Washington on the money of subscribers, the other - in Chicago.

John Wilkes Booth, forever remaining in the history of the United States as the one who killed Lincoln, showed a vivid example of the fact that a person alone can change the course of the history of the entire state. If he had not dared to kill on April 14, 1865, American history could have developed quite differently.