You will be playing the role as a person from the 1860s, a news crew, or a historian. Your are to find out why John Wilkes Booth committed the atrocity and to prove which conspiracy theory is true? The inquiry process consists of two parts.

Part One - The class will be divided into two groups.

Group One will research Abraham Lincoln and report on his character, beliefs, motivations, and his life and times. The evidence from your research may lead you to conclude that Lincoln was a giant or scoundrel. Let the evidence speak for itself. Your group will do an oral class presentation and type a five page report about Lincoln.

Group Two will research John Wilkes Booth and report on his character, beliefs, motivations, and his life and times. The evidence from your research may lead you to conclude that Booth was a giant or scoundrel. Let the evidence speak for itself. Your group will do an oral class presentation and type a five page report about Booth.

Part Two – There are several common known conspiracy theories attempting to explain the reason for the assassination of President Lincoln. The students will be divided into small groups. Each group will research one conspiracy theory. Each team will do an oral class presentation to prove the case that their theory is the absolute solution to the conspiracy controversy. After each presentation, the Senate (students in attendance) will question the presenters and we will take a straw-poll to affirm or to reject the validity of that particular conspiracy theory. After all presentations, the theory with the most yea votes will be declared as the definitive reason behind the assassination.

• * You will decide as a group which role the team will play and after some
  research, which conspiracy theory the team will investigate.

• *Collectively the team will decide which member will do what, such as the researching, writing, and/or presenting.

• *Manage your time and start assembling your project as the facts become crystallized.

RESOURCES: Guiding Questions
I am providing some guiding questions to help you through your quest.
Answer the following questions using the links below or any source that you find.

• Explain the abduction schemes/the plans to kidnap Lincoln?
• What is The Simple Conspiracy Theory?
• What is The Grand Conspiracy Theory?
• What is Eisenschmil's Grand Conspiracy Theory?
• What is the conspiracy theory involving Vice President Andrew Johnson?
• What is the conspiracy theory involving the International Bankers?
• What is the conspiracy theory involving The Roman Catholic Church?
• What is the conspiracy theory involving Secretary of War Edwin Stanton?

RESOURCE LINKS:
http://americanhistory.about.com/od/lincolnsdeath/a/lincolnsdeath_2.htm

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h124.html