Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (April 1865)

If only Lincoln were alive today, we would have the benefit of the wisdom of a great American who is 202 years old.

Extremely tragic. I read an article in The Smithsonian about Lincoln on the night he won the election. Lincoln knew he would have a lot to deal with (The South, for example), and you just couldn't help but feel bad for him.  An account of him on election night had him saying 'god, help me.'  One of the few presidents that was actually great in my opinion.

A great man, a great President and a great leader was lost that day. From what I understand of today's medical technology, President Lincoln could have survived his wounds had it happened today.

A tragedy indeed. The impact upon society of any magnicide cannot be disregarded, in this case a loss still felt and passionately debated all these 147 years later come April 15th.

Had Lincoln lived, I believe that reconciliation would have come much sooner. Though he had not been popular during the war, Lee's surrender reversed this; and many southerners had seen the handwriting on the wall something like a year before the assassination.

It is hard to say what would have happened had Lincoln survived.  To reconcile ex-Confederates while maintaining Civil Rights, Lincoln would have had to surmount formidable forces-many Northerners wanted revenge on the South, while many Southerners insisted on treating their ex-slaves as second class citizens.  Whatever the outcome, it is likely that Lincoln would have done a better job of handling the problems of Reconstruction than Andrew Johnson.  Lincoln's assassination was a terrible tragedy; but just how terrible no one can say.

The assassination of Lincoln was much more than a singular assassination plot. His entire cabinet had been targeted but Lincoln was the unfortunate one. This was a coup attempt. Had it been successful and the rest of the existing chain of progression eliminated, the US government might well have fallen. The remnants of the confederate government was still re-joinable and would have been quickly reinstated over the confederate states, in Richmond, while the northern states were busy re-establishing their chain of command. It's a frightening plot, and today's chain of succession to the presidency was developed as a result. Justice was a bit swifter in those days, nearly everyone within shouting distance of the conspiracy was rounded up and hanged quickly. How close the Confederacy had come to prevailing in the Civil War was quite fresh in the minds of the conspirators. With the hated Lincoln and his cabinet out of the way, they would prevail in their quest for independence, eve... Read more

The South was punished much worse than if he had survived. Maybe it would not have taken over 100 years to recover if his plan had been followed.

A tragedy for our nation. The death of ANY President is indeed tragic. However, the legacy that Lincoln enjoys as a Uniter is completely without merit. He was hated by most Americans, both Northern and Southern. He was only re-elected in 1864 because he did not have a strong opponent in the election. Had he lived, I hardly believe that he would have done any better than his successor in bringing the country back together. Andrew Johnson, a southernor at heart, had the ability to compromise and unite the country, but chose not to due to his own political beliefs. Lincoln, however, was viewed as a tyrant by many in the south, and would have had very little success in uniting the country behind emancipation and freedom.