Bring the story of President Lincoln’s assassination and the world of Civil War Washington into your classrooms through our distance-learning program.

Using the words of President Lincoln and important orators, students will learn the historical context of a speech, the power of oratory and the fundamentals of performance and public speaking. 

On April 12 and 13 at 4 p.m., watch a livestreamed speaker symposium co-presented with the Abraham Lincoln Institute. This year’s speakers highlight the influence of free and enslaved African-Americans on Abraham Lincoln's presidency and on Lincoln’s evolving views of racial equality; and explore the lived experiences of Black, white, free and enslaved women during the American Civil War.

Take an intimate virtual tour of the historic theatre. You'll discover the details of the assassination conspiracy and the fate of those involved in that historic event. Tours are limited to 40 people and led by a trained Ford’s Theatre guide with a passion for history. Length: 1 hour. Recommended for ages 8 and older.

How do people recount events they’ve lived through, and how do their recollections shape the histories we know today? Join historians from The Mark Twain House & Museum, Ford’s Theatre, and President Lincoln’s Cottage as we explore how people who lived through the Civil War revised and reshaped that event’s legacy—particularly on race—reusing their own memories when faced with new contexts. Through an in-depth look at documents and images, we’ll learn how their revisions influence our current understandings and reflect on how we think about events in our own living memory. May 2nd, 7pm-8:30 pm, $12.

Free! Join us live as we stream interviews with scholars, artists and other thought leaders as they think aloud about the future of the arts, civics and history. This program is also available as a podcast.