The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was not inevitable. While there were certainly many factors that contributed to Lincoln's assassination, such as his policies on slavery and his role in the Civil War, the actual shooting was carried out by a single individual, John Wilkes Booth. Booth was a Confederate sympathizer who had been planning the assassination for some time, and while he may have been motivated by his political beliefs and anger towards Lincoln, his actions were ultimately the result of his own choices and decisions. Additionally, it's important to remember that not all Confederate sympathizers or opponents of Lincoln supported or condoned Booth's actions.