Scott Ellsworth is a writer and historian based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he also teaches at the University of Michigan. His new book, Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the...

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth was part of a conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. Lincoln’s death united the nation in grief and set the stage for a tumultuous Reconstruction era.

This video discusses the establishment of the Freedmen's Bureau in 1865, an organization created to support newly freed men, women, and children with essentials like food, land, and education. It also covers the tragic assassination of...

History Abridged: John Wilkes Booth (ft. Atun-Shei Films)

I don’t know about you, but the impression I always got of Lincoln’s assassination was that John Wilkes Booth was an actor who really, really hated the president and so in the middle of his show he snuck into the president’s box and...

In 1861, the Civil War was a conflict that threatened to permanently divide the United States. Without President Abraham Lincoln's leadership, courage and determination to maintain the Union, our country may have ceased to exist. From...

The 16th President of the United States of America is recognisable for many things – his distinctive beard, his height, his black bow tie – but it's the impressive stove hat that he bought in Washington, DC that became his enduring...

Abraham Lincoln is one of the best known presidents, and for good reason, as he was one of the best! After a series of weak presidents, Lincoln had the ability to lead the nation through the Civil War, the most tumultuous event in our...

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC. Much has been written about Booth's motivations: that he was a Confederate sympathizer, or suffering from professional jealousy, or simply...

This Week In History 4/12 - 4/18 (Footage by Getty Images)

CLEAN: Interior shots of the historic Washington DC Ford's Theatre on the 150th anniversary of the murder of Abraham Lincoln, including the box where Lincoln was assasinated and a bronze bust of the former president on April 12, 2015 in...