Why doesn’t Ford’s Theatre stage Our American Cousin, the play during which John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln? Read on to learn five reasons why.

When investigators tried to piece together Lincoln’s assassination, they interviewed many witnesses, including Black Americans. Read about how a racist practice on the part of those who built the legal and historical record ironically made Black stories easier to find.

Why don’t you ever see a reenactment of Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s Theatre? We explore the reasons.

In 1931, the U.S. Army Adjutant General denied permission to display John Wilkes Booth’s deringer pistol at a new museum at Ford’s Theatre. Today the gun is on display—but with a new sign that asks visitors to consider the ethics of displaying a murder weapon.

You may be surprised to learn that multiple places within the District of Columbia that Lincoln visited are still in existence 155 years later. Which of these have you heard about or visited yourself?

Looking for something history-based to do while at home during the COVID-19 outbreak? Find out how you can enhance the Remembering Lincoln website collection or even add more primary sources.

Gonzaga College High School history teacher Ed Donnellan discusses the research origins and findings now on display in the special exhibit Searching for Truth in the Garden: Gonzaga College High School’s History with Slavery.

Euphoria and relief engulfed Washington City following Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s surrender to United States General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. When Lee signed the surrender documents, the immediate threat to Washington was over. The Civil War officially ended just over a month later. The mood this struck must have been similar to when sports fans watched Nationals’s second basemen, Howie Kendrick, hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the 2019 World Series to put the Nationals ahead for good. The game wasn’t officially over, but victory was soon to come. It was time to party.

Since our History on Foot tours began in 2008, more than 28,500 patrons have patrolled the streets of downtown D.C. as deputies with Detective James A. McDevitt as their guide. In September 2019, our tour celebrated 1,000 performances!

A new interactive museum feature will let visitors learn about the Lincoln assassination through the eyes of four real people who lived through it.