President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, and he died the following day on April 15. The assassination took place at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., carried out by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer. This act not only shocked the nation but also had profound implications for the United States during a critical period of Reconstruction following the Civil War. Lincoln's leadership had been pivotal in preserving the Union and ending slavery; his untimely death added to the challenges of rebuilding the nation and addressing the deep social divisions that persisted in American society.