After a study of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the impact his death had on the country and on Reconstruction policy, class groups analyze primary sources that recount the writer’s response to Lincoln’s death. As guided practice, the whole class examines “The Nation Mourns” and completes an analysis worksheet. Groups then use the same approach to compare this poem to “O Captain! My Captain!” and “On the Death of President Lincoln.” Worksheets and links to the referenced poems are included.