How long had John Wilkes Booth been planning to assassinate Abraham Lincoln?
Booth was originally plotting to abduct Abraham Lincoln. He started his planning sometime in the summer of 1864. He actually attended Lincoln’s second inauguration on March 4th, 1865. On March 17th, Booth actually assembled his men to execute the abduction plan, but Lincoln had changed plans the last minute and Booth and his men were foiled. On April 11th, Booth attended a speech made by Lincoln and stated it would be the last speech Lincoln would ever make. Three days later on April 14th, 1865 John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln in Ford Theater.
