 When Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theater in April 1865, thousands flocked into Washington to view the coffin, further raising the profile of the city.The new president Andrew Johnson wanted to dispel the funereal atmosphere and organized a program of victory parades which revived public hopes for the future.Despite being the nation's capital, Washington remained a small city of a few thousand residents, virtually deserted during the torrid summertime, until the outbreak of the Civil War.