There were multiple reasons why John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. One of the main reasons was his desire to avenge the capture of his co-conspirators, who had been involved in a plot to assassinate other key figures in the government. Additionally, Booth believed that killing Lincoln would remove an obstacle to peace and potentially help the Confederacy in the Civil War. Some also speculate that Booth hoped to put Lincoln's vice president, Andrew Johnson, into power, as he believed Johnson would be more sympathetic to the Southern cause. Lastly, it has been suggested that Booth wanted to cause panic and chaos in the North by assassinating the President.
