John Wilkes Booth
Abraham Lincoln’s views on a new America, one that granted suffrage to all races, was not as popular as one may presume. While many applauded his efforts in forging a free-er land of the free, many viewed his actions as the final nail in his coffin. One man in particular, John Wilkes Booth, took this stance to heart. The assassination of Abraham Lincoln was not only aimed at a gruesome revenge, but rather voicing the anger of a nation pushed to its limits.
From his early life, one could imagine John Wilkes Booth was a simple young man, only looking to follow in his father’s footsteps as a master actor. However, one must look deep within John’s origins to truly understand the mindset of America’s most well-known assassin. He was born as the ninth son of Junius Booth, a nationally beloved actor and a domestically known drunkard (John Wilkes Booth 1). His fellow actors went as far as to describe him as insane (John Wilkes Booth 1838-1865). His mother, Mary Ann Holmes, was largely absent throughout John’s childhood. John and his nine siblings lived on a lavish ranch in Bel-Air, Maryland. Booth received an excellent education in acting, following in his father’s footsteps. Booth turned out to be an excellent actor, and in 1858, he became a member of Richmond Theatre. Clearly John didn’t value his family name, as he quickly made sure to establish the stage name of “J.B. Wilkes.” This early life was plagued by a political rift within his family. Booth was a native to Maryland, a border state that just barely sided with the union. Much of his family favored Lincoln’s stance, but Booth made it very clear he was stanchly against Lincoln’s initiative. However, Booth swore to his mother that he would not enl...
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... Unlike Booth, Surratt did not wish to die for Booth's cause, and he stepped out of the barn into Union custody. Booth, however, was steadfast and prepared to fight his way out of the barn. The Union troops were having none of this, and under orders, they set the barn ablaze. Booth hurried outside ,gun drawn, and was immediately mortally wounded in the neck. Witnesses report that Booth's last words consisted of him staring intently at his draw hand muttering "Useless, useless!"
Despite Booth's initial dreams of a reinvigorated Confederacy, only great sympathy was held for Lincoln's death. Even other Confederate sympathizers were disappointed in Booth's actions, as the killing was unconscious to the president. Overall, Booth's lifelong goal failed to spark any sort of newfound resentment for the Union, and more or less just only unified the country further.
Shortly after the Civil war had ended and the confederate capital Richmond had fallen, the well known actor John Wilkes Booth decided to kill the President, and with the help of some friends the Vice President and Secretary of State as well. The man George Atzerodt was given the job of killing the Vice President. His plan was to book a room in the same hotel and Vice President Johnson but when the morning of the day he was supposed to commit the assassination came he backed out and could not carry through with the murder. Two other men, Lewis Powell and David Herold, were assigned to kill the Secretary of State William H. Seaward. Powell attempted to shoot him with a revolver but after a misfire attempted to stab Seaward unsuccessfully because of a jaw splint Seaward had on. After the failed assassination Powell and Herold split up. Po...
...ere given to any former confederate (excluding military and governing officials) and states were allowed to meet after 10 percent of the voters pledged allegiance to the Union. The death of Lincoln changed all of that. Some historians even argue that his death instigated the future power struggle in the government thus lowering the quality of American politics for the next few decades. 8Andrew Johnson, vice president under Lincoln, was a born southerner while the current congress was filled with radical republicans. Polar opposites indeed. All in all, I enjoyed reading Killing Lincoln. My only criticism of the book is the unnecessary chapters. I felt there were points in the book where the authors could have made their point sooner but instead dragged it out. I would recommend this book to any history student looking for an interesting yet simple read. It’s perfect!
John Wilkes Booth was a famous actor, and could have had many assassination chances, including Lincoln’s second inauguration. Wanting the South to win the war, he never wanted the punishment of assassinating the president of the United States. Being a supporter of the Confederate, Booth believed that he assassinated Lincoln the momentum would spark the Confederate troops to life and lead them to victory. This book is very vivid in detail and is a great educational tool if you would like to learn more about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
“ Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer”, was written by James L. Swanson, a dedicated Lincoln scholar and attorney. He details in his book the incredible escape of John Wilkes Booth’s from authorities, with immaculate descriptions of little-known facts in the case of Lincoln’s Killer. Swanson’s nonfiction book dives into actual pieces of literature written at the time of Lincoln’s assassination by individuals who actually took part in the real-life drama, including John Wilkes Booth himself.April 14, 1865 is a day of infamy in United States history,it is the day that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln. Swanson delves deep into the minds of Booth and his accomplices , analyzing their every move. Booth flees the scene of the crime with Davey Herold, who has been a willing participant in Booth's secret plots to kill Secretary of State William Seward, Abraham Lincoln, and Vice President Andrew Johnson.
Booth had got the news that the president would be at the Ford’s theatre. This was great news for john both Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln will be there in the same place. “Booth heard the big news: in just eight hours the man who was the subject of all his hating and plotting would stand on the very stone steps here he now sat. “Booth began to plain his assassination without having to hunt for Lincoln. John had a deep hatred for Lincoln, he had hated the state that our country had been in.
In Chasing Lincoln’s Killer, by James L. Swanson, the main characters were; John Wilkes Booth, Dr. Leale, Abraham Lincoln (even though he dies.) When John Wilkes Booth (a.k.a Booth) found out that the North had won the Civil War, he felt anger and disgust but he could do nothing. Booth had one plot that the book talked about and that was to kidnap the president and sell him to the leaders of the South but that plot never got put into action. When booth went to Ford's theatre got a letter, Booth worked at the theatre, the letter that said that the President of the United states would be visiting ford's theatre quickly he put a plot into works. First he went to get accomplices and they too would kill someone that night. When the time had come to Booth snuck into the President’s box, not even noticed he pulled out a gun and shot a bullet into the left side and under the left ear of the President's head. That didn’t kill the President, yet. When Booth tried to leave he was stopped by General Henry Rathbone, they had a knife fight while trying to stop both of them from leaving, although Booth got away jumping from the President's box and onto the stage shouting "Sic Semper Tyrannis" (Chasing Lincoln's Killer, by James L. Swanson.)
...o to do something that protects the country and to get revenge on a traitor who betrayed the country. Overall, Killing Lincoln was very successful in getting the point across that the assassination of Abraham Lincoln was not just an impulsive decision by a radical southerner. It was a long, drawn-out process that was being planned for months after the Civil War had ended.
Most Americans know John Wilkes Booth as the assassin of Abraham Lincoln- shot at a play at Ford’s Theater on April 14th, 1865. However, the names of the conspirators that surrounded Wilkes Booth are relatively unknown, especially that of Mary Surratt. Mary Surratt, a mother and boardinghouse proprietor, was arrested and tried for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln along with her son, John Surratt. Pleas from her family, lawyer, and fellow conspirators did not allow her to escape her fate, and she was hanged for her crimes on July 7th, 1865. Even from the scaffold, Lewis Powell, another conspirator condemned to die, cried, “Mrs. Surratt is innocent. She doesn't deserve to die with the rest of us.” So who was this woman, and most importantly, what role did she really play in the assassination of the President of the United States? Was she simply blindly aiding her son and thus innocent, as claimed by Lewis Powell, or did she have a more involved role in the plot? Mary Surratt opened up her home to conspirators and ended up paying the price for her decision.
John Wilkes Booth” (145). He continues to make plans for the day with Mrs. Lincoln, unaware
Abraham Lincoln’s original views on slavery were formed through the way he was raised and the American customs of the period. Throughout Lincoln’s influential years, slavery was a recognized and a legal institution in the United States of America. Even though Lincoln began his career by declaring that he was “anti-slavery,” he was not likely to agree to instant emancipation. However, although Lincoln did not begin as a radical anti-slavery Republican, he eventually issued his Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves and in his last speech, even recommended extending voting to blacks. Although Lincoln’s feeling about blacks and slavery was quite constant over time, the evidence found between his debate with Stephen A. Douglas and his Gettysburg Address, proves that his political position and actions towards slavery have changed profoundly.
. .’, concludes James Oakes’ book with the aftermath of the Civil War and Lincoln’s assassination. Oakes discussed the respect Douglass gathered for Lincoln over the years and the affect his assassination had on both himself and America as a whole. Oakes even brushed over Douglass’ relationship with Andrew Johnson, the president succeeding Lincoln. Analyzing his experience with the new president, it was safe to say that Andrew Johnson had no consideration as to what Douglass and Lincoln previously fought for. Johnson did not have the same political skills as Lincoln did, and he did not retain the same view for America that Lincoln did. It was obvious that Douglass held Lincoln at a higher standard than Andrew Johnson, stating that he was a “progressive man, a humane man, an honorable man, and at heart an anti-slavery man” (p. 269). Oakes even gave his own stance on Andrew Jackson, “It was a legacy that Andrew Johnson could ever match. When all of Lincoln’s attributes were taken into consideration - his ascent from the obscurity to greatness, his congenial temperament, his moral courage - it was easy for Douglass to imagine how much better things would be ‘had Mr. Lincoln been living today’.” (p. 262). It is hard to imagine the pre-war Douglass to have said something like that as opposed to an older, much more reserved Douglass. With the abolishment of slavery, so came much discrimination. Without
His personal beliefs had always been opposed to slavery. He believed that the Founding Fathers had put slavery on the road to extinction, and he wanted to continue it down that path. Lincoln acted very professional; he always put the nation before his personal perspective. It transformed the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. According to the history book “A People and a Nation”, the Emancipation Proclamation was legally an ambiguous document, but as a moral and political document it had great meaning.
Without any question, most people have a very clear and distinct picture of John Wilkes Booth a in their minds. It is April 1865, the night president Lincoln decides to take a much-needed night off, to attend a stage play. Before anyone knows it a lunatic third-rate actor creeps into Lincoln's box at Ford's theater and kills the president. Leaping to the stage, he runs past a confused audience and flees into the night, only to suffer a coward’s death Selma asset some two weeks later. From the very moment that Booth pulled the trigger, the victors of the Civil War had a new enemy on their hands, and a good concept of whom they were dealing with. A close examination of the facts, however, paint a different view of Booth, a picture that is far less black and white, but a picture with many shades of gray.
...ator.’ Rather than to view Lincoln as a man who sought emancipation as a primary goal, which is misleading, we should remember him as a man who rose above the prevailing prejudices of his time to cast away a morally corrupt institution
There is no doubt that Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as one of the great American presidents. The general public, when asked about Lincoln, will often tell the tale of a great man. Holding their head high, they will embark on the journey of a benevolent leader, praising the man who envisioned a new America: a great country of racial equality, and the pillar of human liberty. There are some, however, who have quite the opposite view.