In 1864, Lincoln’s first term as president was coming to an end. There was supposed to be an election in November. But was it possible to hold an election during a civil war? Lincoln’s advisers suggested putting it off until the war was over. He refused. “We cannot have free government without elections,” he explained. So a campaign began, although people in the rebel states would not be voting. Lincoln’s opponent was George McClellan, the general who wouldn’t fight. In his speeches, McClellan hinted that he would be willing to compromise to end the war.
Lincoln was not at all sure he would win the election. Many Americans were fed up with the war. They were ready to vote for anyone who promised a quick end. But Lincoln knew that the soldiers supported him. So he made sure they were able to vote.
Then, right before the election, the Union won some huge victories. General William Sherman, who had been trained by Grant, captured Atlanta. General Philip Sheridan, also trained by Grant, won a series of battles in the Shenandoah Valley. And Grant himself was close to taking the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. With faith in the war restored, the voters elected Lincoln to a second term.
By the beginning of 1865, the end of the war was finally in sight. On March 25, Grant’s army captured Richmond. Then he cornered the troops of General Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Confederate army. Lee had no choice. On April 9, he surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox, Virginia. For all practical purposes, the Civil War was over.
Lincoln was not present for the surrender. The two generals met in a courthouse. Grant was careful to treat Lee generously. He knew that was what Lincoln wanted. The defeated soldiers would not be paraded through the streets or mocked. They would even be allowed to keep their horses. And Grant arranged for food to be given to the starving Confederate troops.
Back in Washington, excited crowds surrounded the White House. Everyone was calling for Lincoln. Tad was given a big cheer when he appeared at the window waving a Confederate flag. Then Lincoln arrived. He asked the band to play the Southern song, “Dixie.” He had always liked the tune, he said, and now the song belonged to the whole country again.
Lincoln had been planning for this day for a long time. Bringing back peace was even more important than waging war. And it was going to be just as difficult. With Lincoln’s encouragement, Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment would outlaw slavery everywhere in the United States.
In his second inaugural speech, Lincoln had said that he wanted to welcome the rebel states back to the Union. But as he spoke to the crowd outside the capitol building, not everyone was cheering for him. A photograph shows John Wilkes Booth and his comrades standing nearby. These men were already plotting to kill the president.
JOHNWILKES BOOTH
Booth was a successful actor. Some people called him the handsomest man in America. He was devoted to the Confederacy and believed slavery was not just good for white people—it was even good for black people. He despised Lincoln, who he thought was rude and uncultured. He was sure Lincoln was destroying the country.
About a month into his second term, Lincoln had a terrible dream. In it, he walked into the White House and saw himself lying dead in a coffin. He asked a guard what had happened. The guard said, “He was killed by an assassin.”
RECONSTRUCTION
LINCOLN WANTEd TO WELCOME THE REBEL STATES BACK TO THE UNION WITH OPEN ARMS. AFTER LINCOLN’S DEATH, HIS VICE PRESIDENT, ANDREW JOHNSON, TRIED TO FOLLOW LINCOLN’S WISHES. BUT HE DID NOT BELIEVE In EQUAL RIGHTS FOR BLACKS. EVEN SO, CONGRESS PASSED THE FOURTEENTH And FIFTEENTH AMENDMENTS, GRANTING BLACKS CIVIL RIGHTS And GIVING BLACK MEN THE RIGHT TO VOTE. THE SOUTH HAD TO BE FORCED TO ACCEPT THEM. TO DO THIS, INSTEAD OF RESTORING THE REBEL STATES TO THEIR FULL RIGHTS, AS LINCOLN HAD HOPED TO DO, CONGRESS IMPOSED A MILITARY GOVERNMENT On THEM. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF YEARS OF VIOLENCE And RACIAL HOSTILITY. WOULD LINCOLN HAVE DONE A BETTER JOB? WE WILL NEVER KNOW.
ANDREW JOHNSON
Three days later, on April 14, 1865, Lincoln went to a comedy at Ford’s Theatre with his wife and some friends. He and Mary wanted to relax and enjoy themselves. That afternoon he had said to her, “We must both be more cheerful in the future.” At the theater, Lincoln sat in a rocking chair and Mary hung on his arm and flirted with her husband.
John Wilkes Booth learned Lincoln was going to be at the theater. Booth had acted there and knew his way around the building. So he had no trouble getting in and sneaking upstairs to the president’s private box. He crept up behind Lincoln and fired his gun. The sound of Booth’s gunshot was drowned out by laughter from the audience. Booth escaped by leaping dramatically to the stage. This was a showy move he had often used when he was acting.
Lincoln did not die immediately. He was carried from the theater to a house across the street. The bed there was so small that the tall president didn’t fit on it. He had to be propped up on pillows. Surrounded by his family, doctors, and advisers, he lay in a coma for nine hours. At 7:22 the next morning, Abraham Lincoln died. He was fifty-six years old.
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