On July 7, 1865, four conspirators of the Lincoln

Learn Our History Today: On July 7, 1865, four conspirators of the Lincoln

assassination, Mary Surratt, Lewis Powell, David Herold, and George Atzerodt, were hung as a result of their involvement in the plot. The four had each played different roles in the assassination and the plot surrounding it. The plan was to murder not just President Abraham Lincoln but also the Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward. John Wilkes Booth was the leader of the conspiracy, and he assigned Lewis Powell and David Herold to kill Seward, while George Atzerodt was to kill Johnson, and Booth himself was to kill Lincoln. 
Much of the conspiracy and the plans for escape were planned at the boarding house of Mary Surrat, and it was discovered that she had given supplies to Booth for his escape. Powell, Herold, and Atzerodt all failed in their parts of the conspiracy, with only Booth succeeding. In the days following, all the conspirators were quickly rounded up, with Booth being shot and the rest being arrested. Trials commenced, and convictions were swift.  Many people at the time expected President Andrew Johnson to pardon Surratt because she was a woman, and the United States government had never before executed a woman. The execution was delayed as long as possible, but the expected pardon never came. On July 7, Surratt and her three fellow conspirators were executed. She became the first woman ever executed by the federal government.

Also, on this day in U.S. history:
1863: The U.S. institutes its 1st military draft, exemptions cost $100.
1898: President McKinley signs the Organic Act to annex Hawaii.
1930: Construction began on the famous Hoover Dam.

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