Facebook Reels Quiz Script: The First U.S. President Assassinated
Estimated duration: 100–120 seconds
1. HOOK
Here’s a question every American history lover should know!
Four U.S. presidents are listed, and each name is connected to an important moment in American history. But do you know which president was the very first to be assassinated?
Was it John F. Kennedy, William McKinley, James Garfield, or Abraham Lincoln?
Think carefully, because the correct answer takes us back more than 160 years!
2. INTRODUCTION
The United States has experienced several presidential assassinations throughout its history.
Some Americans immediately think of John F. Kennedy, whose assassination in Dallas in 1963 shocked the entire nation. Others may remember William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901, or James Garfield, who was attacked in 1881.
However, the first U.S. president to lose his life in an assassination was a leader from an even earlier chapter of American history.
3. SUSPENSE
Let’s look at the four choices!
A: John F. Kennedy.
B: William McKinley.
C: James Garfield.
D: Abraham Lincoln.
All four were presidents whose lives were affected by political violence, but only one was the first American president to be assassinated.
Can you remember which one came first?
4. ENGAGEMENT
Before we reveal the answer, make your choice!
Comment A, B, C, or D below. Do you think you know your American presidential history?
Share this challenge with your friends and family. Let’s see who can answer correctly without searching online!
5. ANSWER REVEAL
The correct answer is D — ABRAHAM LINCOLN!
That’s right! Abraham Lincoln became the first U.S. president to be assassinated.
Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He led the country during the American Civil War, a devastating conflict that lasted from 1861 to 1865.
On the evening of April 14, 1865, Lincoln attended a performance of the comedy play Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, and their guests.
During the performance, a well-known actor named John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box and shot Lincoln in the head.
Booth was a Confederate sympathizer who strongly opposed Lincoln and his efforts during the Civil War.
After the shooting, the unconscious president was carried across the street to the Petersen House, where doctors and others tried to help him.
Sadly, Lincoln died at 7:22 in the morning on April 15, 1865.
But here’s an important historical detail: the assassination happened just days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The country was beginning to celebrate the end of the Civil War when this terrible tragedy occurred.
And what about the other three presidents?
James A. Garfield was assassinated in 1881, sixteen years after Lincoln’s death. William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, and John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.
That means Abraham Lincoln was the first, followed later by Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy.
His assassination became one of the most significant tragedies in American history and changed the way the nation thought about presidential security.
6. ENDING
Did you choose Abraham Lincoln?
If you answered D correctly, congratulations! You have excellent knowledge of American history!
Follow USA Brain Challenge for more fascinating history questions, surprising facts, and exciting trivia challenges.
Share this quiz with your friends, and let’s find out who really knows America’s past!
Historical fact-check: The National Park Service and Library of Congress confirm that Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865, and died the next morning. The later assassinations of Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy are also documented in the National Archives.
