On the night of April 13. 1865. crowds of people moved through the brightly lit streets of Washington to celebrate Lee's surrender at Appomattox. A man who was there wrote in his diary: "Guns are firing, bells ringing, flags flying, men laughing, children cheering, all, all are jubilant." At exactly 10:13. when the play was part way through. A pistol shot rang through the darkened theatre. As the President slumped forward in his s e at, a man in a black f let hat and high boo ts jumped from the box on to the stage. He waved a gun in the air and shouted "Sic semper tyrannist ” and then ran out of the theatre. It was discovered later that the gunman was an act or named John Wilkes Booth . He was captured a few days later, hiding in a barn in the Virginia countryside . The president Lincoln was assassinated. Lincoln was succeed ed as President by his Vice President. Andrew Johnson. The biggest problem the new President faced was how to deal...