Why Abraham Lincoln was killed | Gary Gallagher and Lex Fridman

In this discussion, Gallagher provides context on John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of President Lincoln. Booth came from the famous Booth acting family and was himself a successful, athletic performer who was an ardent pro-Confederate sympathizer, though not committed enough to fight for the Confederacy. Booth's final breaking point came when he heard Lincoln advocate for Black soldiers receiving voting rights, after which he determined that Lincoln was a tyrant who needed to be killed.

Booth had previously plotted to kidnap Lincoln for ransom, which failed. He then organized a conspiracy with a group of what Gallagher characterizes as "losers" and "misfits" to decapitate the federal government by simultaneously assassinating Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William Seward. Lewis Powell attacked Seward with a knife but failed to kill him due to a protective neck brace from an earlier accident. The conspirator assigned to kill Johnson chickened out. Booth successfully assassinated Lincoln on April 14, 1865, just five days after Lee's surrender.

Following the assassination, a manhunt ensued. Booth was shot in a barn rather than captured for trial. Four conspirators, including Mary Surratt who ran a boarding house where some conspirators stayed, were tried by military commission and hanged at Old Capitol Prison. The commandant of Andersonville Prison was also tried and hanged. Gallagher suggests these executions may have satisfied Northern desires for retribution and helped reduce post-war tensions.

The conversation shifts to conspiracy theories about Lincoln's assassination. Beginning with chemist Otto Eisenschiml decades ago, theories emerged suggesting Secretary of War Stanton and Radical Republicans orchestrated Lincoln's death because they thought he was too lenient on the South and wanted to manipulate Vice President Andrew Johnson. These theories point to questions like why Lincoln's guard was absent, why the Potomac bridge wasn't guarded, and why General Grant didn't attend the theater. Gallagher dismisses these theories, noting that all such questions have straightforward explanations (Mrs. Grant didn't like Mrs. Lincoln, Booth knew the theater layout from prior performances, etc.).

The hosts discuss why humans find conspiracy theories appealing—they provide narrative satisfaction and suggest larger systems and meaning rather than accepting that massive historical consequences can result from random events and individual failures. Gallagher emphasizes that Booth's escape involved breaking his leg jumping from the presidential box, limping away, and managing to flee—hardly the work of an organized conspiracy. The conversation concludes with reflection on how Lincoln survived over 700,000 deaths in the Civil War only to be killed by a random actor, preventing him from witnessing the Grand Review of troops or guiding Reconstruction policy, which likely would have proceeded more smoothly under his leadership.