7 Lincoln Assassination Facts You Didn't Learn in School

The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as one of our nation’s most tragic events. While attending a play at Ford’s theater, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln, who died the following day. However, there is more to this story than many may realize. Here are seven facts that show there was a much deeper plot in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

#1. Lincoln dreamed about being assassinated before his death.

Three days before his death, Lincoln told his friend and biographer, Ward Hill Lamon, that he had a dream where he was assassinated. On the night Lincoln went to the theater, he also told his bodyguard, William H. Crook, about his dream, even saying “goodbye” to him as he left the White House instead of his usual “good night.”

#2. Booth may have tried to assassinate Lincoln weeks earlier.

During Lincoln’s second inauguration, six weeks before his assassination, Booth reportedly lunged at him before being stopped. However, Booth was not removed from the inauguration, and he can even be seen in photographs near Lincoln when he gave his speech.

#3. General Grant was also a target.

Lincoln was not the only target in Booth’s conspiracy. He also targeted other members of the Lincoln Administration, including General Ulysses S. Grant, who was also expected to attend the play with Lincoln. However, as Grant and his wife were not fond of the First Lady, he declined saying they were going to be visiting family.

#4. Booth’s co-conspirator got too drunk to assassinate the Vice President.

Booth conspired with George Atzerodt to kill Vice President Andrew Johnson at the same time Booth would assassinate Lincoln. However, while Atzerodt was in the hotel where Andrew Johnson was staying, he went to the hotel saloon, reportedly got drunk, and later wandered the streets, tossing his knife after losing the nerve to carry out the assassination attempt.

#5. Secretary of State William Seward survived an assassination attempt the same night.

Booth also conspired with Lewis Powell to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward on the same night. After gaining entry to Seward’s home, Powell stabbed him multiple times in the neck. But due to a carriage accident, Seward was wearing a jaw splint and surgical collar, which prevented the knife from puncturing his jugular, saving his life.

#6. Lincoln’s guests at Ford’s Theatre also ended in tragedy.

Since Ulysses S. Grant and his wife did not attend the play, Major Henry Rathbone and Clara Harris attended in their place. After shooting Lincoln, Booth stabbed Rathbone, and although he recovered from his stab wounds, he grew increasingly erratic, possibly from post-traumatic stress. In 1883, Rathbone fatally shot and stabbed Harris, then repeatedly stabbed himself in a suicide attempt. Again, he survived his stab wounds, but he lived out the remainder of his life in an asylum for the criminally insane.

#7. The First Lady thought the vice president was involved in the conspiracy.

History.com details that hours before Lincoln was shot, Booth mysteriously called on Johnson, leaving a calling card that read: “Don’t wish to disturb you. Are you at home? J. Wilkes Booth.” Mary Todd Lincoln wrote to a friend, saying, “That miserable inebriate Johnson had cognizance of my husband’s death. Why was that card of Booth’s found in his box? Some acquaintance certainly existed.” This, along with the failed attempt to assassinate the vice president, led some to believe that this was proof of Johnson’s complicity.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln remains a pivotal moment in American history, a dark stain on a nation that was still grappling with the wounds of the Civil War. While his death may hold a morbid fascination, it’s the “what if” that lingers. Would Reconstruction have unfolded differently? Would America’s path toward racial equality have been smoother? These questions serve as a reminder of the immense impact a single individual can have on the course of history.

References:10 Things You May Not Know About The Lincoln Assassination | Facts from Lincoln’s Assassination and Death