ohn Wilkes Booth plotted and carried out the assassination of President Lincoln. Originally, the plan was to abduct President Lincoln and take him to Virginia, but when General Lee surrendered, Booth and his comrades were forced to change their plans. Fatefully, on April 15, 1865, Booth shot and killed President Lincoln. Through his actions, Booth hoped to reinvigorate the Confederacy, but the assassination only strengthened the Union's cause and destroyed any hope of a Confederate