On this Memorial Day Weekend, let us remember the 700,000 American casulties who gave their lives to form a more perfect Union. As the American Civil War came to an end, new questions would arise. How would we heal as a nation? What is the status of the newly freed enslaved persons? Will the hope of forgiveness and empathy conquer the forces of hate and revenge? These questions became even more poignant when a pistol is fired in Ford's Theater.