Lincoln's assassination: 150 years later - CNN
The never-ending demands of leading the country during the Civil War had clearly taken their toll on Lincoln when this "cracked plate" photograph by Alexander Gardner was taken in February 1865, two months before the assassination. It's important to note that during his presidency, Lincoln was not universally loved, even in the North. But the officials try to make the focus more on Lincoln's legacy, his policies and his leadership. The night of the shooting, Abraham and Mary Lincoln attended a performance of "Our American Cousin" with Maj. John Wilkes Booth, who had long conspired to kill the President, entered the State Box during Act III of the play. He fired the fatal shot during laughter for the line "Well, I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, old gal -- you sockdologizing old man-trap. The weapon is in the Ford's Theatre exhibit " Silent Witnesses: Artifacts of the Lincoln Assassination. " Tracey Avant, curator of the exhibit (through May 29), said the items are from many people who were at the play, and the focus is not on Booth and his conspirators. The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History has partnered with Ford's Theatre to display (through May 25) the carriage in which the Lincolns and their guests rode on April 14, 1865. The carriage is on loan from the Studebaker National... Source: www.cnn.com
