On this day, April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was mortally wounded while watching a play in Ford’s Theater. Much has been written about that fateful event. It was a day that changed the presidency and all of America from that point forward. In an attempt to overthrow the power structure of the United States and help the South to rise from recent defeat – Lee had surrendered just five days earlier - John Wilkes Booth killed the president. But in causing the death of the man he thought to be a tyrant (he shouted the Latin phrase "sic semper tyrannus” after shooting Lincoln), Booth actually caused Lincoln to be seen as a great martyr and hero for the cause of freedom. He is typically picked as the greatest president to have ever served our country. This was not what Booth had in mind when he decided to put a bullet in Lincoln’s head. Nor was it the thinking of others who had tried the same thing.

Booth’s assault on President Lincoln was not the first time someone had attempted to take his life. In fact, there had been four other assassination attempts made on Lincoln prior to the shooting at Ford’s Theater. The first was a plot for a mob in Baltimore to cause a diversion to attract the attention of the police while the presidential train was on its way to Washington D.C. for his inauguration. While the mob caused a ruckus, others would rush his train car and knife him to death. This was to happen on February 23, 1861. Tipped off by the plot, the authorities took the Lincoln’s through Baltimore in the middle of the night by special train.

The second attempt happened on July 2, 1864. While visiting Fort Stevens outside of Washington D.C., a sniper fired at the president, hitting the man next to Lincoln in the leg.

A third attempt happened just weeks later while he was riding his horse just outside of Washington. Someone took a shot at him and the noise spooked his horse, which jumped at the sound. The bullet went through his stove-top hat and knocked it off his head.

The fourth attempt happened when Thomas Haney, a Confederate munitions specialist, tried to gain access to the White House to put explosives in the dining room. He planned to set them off as the Lincoln’s were eating. He was captured prior to getting into the White House.

Given all the failed attempts on the president’s life, why was Lincoln left vulnerable at Ford’s Theater the night of Booth’s successful assassination? The answer may be as simple as Lincoln never took any of the other attempts seriously, or if he did, he chose to joke about them instead of giving way to fear. When his hat was shot from his head, he was riding alone in the streets of Washington. He said he believed the bullet to be from an errant hunter, not an assassin. He quickly squelched any talk of an assassination plot, thinking it would be bad for the morale of the Union. The man with the entire Army at his disposal went about his life unguarded. It proved to be fatal.

What can be learned from Lincoln’s assassination? First, precious things left unguarded are vulnerable to be taken away from you. It is best to secure them than to leave them exposed. Second, life changes. It is foolish to resist altering your response to your changing circumstances, especially when there are warning signs along your way. Precious little stays the same in life. A change in response is needed to adapt to your circumstances. Third, even really smart people have blind spots. Lincoln, for all his wisdom and wit, left himself exposed, even when those around him were encouraging him to stop riding alone through the streets of Washington D.C. at night. You are not omniscient. Take the advice of trusted people around you who have your best interests at heart.