WI: President Lincoln commits suicide

When the darkest hour for the United States came with the outbreak of the American Civil War, it happened at a time when the White House was occupied by Abraham Lincoln, a man who, among other things, struggled throughout his life with what modern psychology now recognizes as Clinical Depression. From his youth to adulthood, Lincoln suffered crippling bouts of sadness and hopelessness from the trials of personal tragedy and the stresses of his career in law and politics, on more than one occasion voicing thoughts of suicide and making his family and friends fear greatly at the idea of leaving him alone and unsupervised.

With the American Civil War underway, and with the Union faring poorly in its early years, what if the stresses and sorrows of those days, from the political struggles at home and to the south to the daunting possibility of failure and disgrace to the death threats received on a constant basis, had taken their toll, resulting in yet another bout of his infamous melancholy? And what if he had given in to his demons and taken his own life while still President?

The specific POD can be at any particular time during the course of the war. Depending on when it might've happened, what would've gone on from there?

While not, strictly speaking, ASB, this scenario is so unlikely as to be safely discarded. Lincoln's depression is well-documented, but his sense of duty to the country was always much stronger and his masterful ability to use humor to overcome his inner demons was sufficient to get him through the strain of war.

For this scenario to play out, Lincoln would have to be someone other than Lincoln. And that likely means he would never have become President in the first place.