April, 1865 -- The war ended and throughout the Northern States joy and relief reigned. Then, less than a week later, a thunderbolt: the president was dead -- struck down by an assassin's bullet. Could this have been the mad act of a single demented actor? Or was there a wider conspiracy to be rooted out? At this dark moment of national confusion, rage and despair, would the provisions of the Constitution and the procedures of established law be able to deal with the crisis -- or would extralegal methods be needed? Summary by Delmar H. Dolbier