On April 9, 1865 Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia officially marking the end of the civil war. The end of the war did not sit well with many southern sympathizers. There was one guest that went to both Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address and his last speech on reconstruction, that guest was watching Lincoln’s actions very closely and had, in fact been following him for a long time. Booth assassinated Lincoln at Ford’s Theater on
John Wilkes Booth was the ninth of ten children to his father Junius Booth. The Booth family had a history in acting and many were famous celebrities. John Wilkes Booth made his debut at the age of seventeen. His first act was performing in a production of Richard III .The Booth family owned a farm in Bel Air, Maryland and owned multiple slaves. The fact that the Booth family owned slaves shows that John Booth had grown up with the same mentality as a southern slave owner, effectively causing him to become a southern sympathizer. Considering the fact that Booth was a southern sympathizer it makes sense that he had hated Lincoln. His political views were essentially the opposite of Lincoln, whereas Booth supported the institution of slavery and Lincoln staunchly opposed it.
Unlike John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln did not come from a wealthy family. In fact, Lincoln was born on a poor farm in Kentucky where he was forced to do manual labor for his father. Lincoln however, did not want to spend his life doing manual labor for a very small amount of income. He wanted better for himself, and essentially taught himself how to read. Once Lincoln had learned how to read it enabled him to become someone of high s...
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... How exactly would they do this? The staff and students work to advance life in the area through their teaching, research, and service. Lincoln may be gone but his legacy will live on forever.
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Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms ... and Their Values.
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Gienapp, William E. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography. New York:
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"Mary Todd Lincoln." EHistory. Ohio State University. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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Schehl, Sally A. and Carlo J. Rosati. “The Booth Deringer: Genuine Artifact or Replica?”
Forensic Science Communications 3.1 (January 2001).
Smith, Richard N. "Deringer." Ford's Theatre. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
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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.)
Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th, 1809, in a small county in Kentucky called Hardin which is now known as Larue County. His father, Thomas Lincoln, “was a migratory carpenter and farmer, nearly always poverty-stricken” . His mother, Nancy Hanks, did not play a large role in his life as she passed away when he was nine years old. Thomas Lincoln remarried a woman named Sarah Johnston Bush, who “was a kind and affectionate stepmother to the boy” . During his younger years, Lincoln did not spend much time in school. Overall, “the scattered weeks of school attendance in Kentucky and Indiana amounted to less than a year” . Although he did not attend school, Lincoln was self-educated through books and other sources available to him. Soon after his self-education, Lin...
One thing that Lincoln and Lee both had in common was that they wanted this civil war to be over as soon as possible. When we are reading through Lincoln’s speech you realize everything that has happened. 51,000 people died in three days. There was nowhere to put all of the body’s; nothing to do to clean the ground of all the blood that had spilled. When you really think about all the people that died at this battle it is horrific and to think that this is just one of the battles t...
John Wilkes Booth” (145). He continues to make plans for the day with Mrs. Lincoln, unaware
An important aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s overall performance is his personal and political background. Concerning his opinions on slavery, his personal background shaped his ideals in a very unique way. James McPherson, author of the short biography Abraham Lincoln, provides some insight into Lincoln’s background, writing that Lincoln’s fathe...
John Wilkes Booth originally planned to kidnap the president, but eventually decided that instead, he would kill the president, and he would have his co-conspirators kill the vice president and secretary of state.
Booth’s early life was spent in if not disastrous but very disturbed family conditions. Booth’s parents got divorced and Booth’s father Junius Brutus Booth married his mistress Mary Ann Holmes when Booth was thirteen year old. Booth was the second from the last among ten children. As a boy John Wilkes Booth was an able athlete and showed leaning towards horsing and fencing. He is well known among his friends as the guy who rode back and forth from school on his horse. Although Booth was good being an athlete he did not show much inclination towards the sport at a competitive level. Booth did his initial schooling at Milton Boarding School for boys, Maryland. After that he attended Episcopal Military academy where the students we...
John Wilkes Booth thought the president was determined to destroy the constitution, set aside the
On the evening of April 15, 1865, America lost one of the greatest presidents of all time. Abraham Lincoln was the sixteenth president of the united states. His most known accomplishment was writing the emancipation proclamation. The emancipation proclamation allowed all slave to be freed in the seceding states. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in ford’s theater during his second term in office. Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was unjust because he was killed for being an eloquent opponent of slavery, and he wanted to unite America; however, the confederate sympathizers disagreed with these actions.
Perhaps, one of the most interesting things to note about Lincoln's killer was the president would have recognized him instantly, if he had just turned around. John Wilkes Booth was born in a log cabin just outside of Bel Air, Maryland May 10, 1838. His family consisted of his father Tunis Booth, mother Mary Ann Holmes; they would bear 10 children. The Booth name was known for acting from John's family. He is considered to be America's first great actor. John's most known brother Edwin was quick to follow in his father's footsteps. He often practiced in the yard and was ridiculed by John and this was the beginning of a bitter rivalry. Also the house was full of alcoholism and bouts of depression. The family was often without the father as his drinking and acting kept him away. He was often under the influence when he was on stage and displayed many attributes of his son but, John never seen his father on stage. His mother also had a dream of her son's future. It showed John meeting a gypsy and he was told, " you'll die young... You've got in your hand a thundering crowd of enemies-not one friend-you'll make a bad end... You'll have a fast life-short, but a grand one." John knew this and it sometimes troubled him. Then in 1852, his dad died and John went to attend St. Timothy's Hall military school in Catonsville, Maryland. It was here that John showed his sympathy for the South when he led a revolt against the mostly northern faculty.
Lincoln was born on february 12, 1809 in Hodgenville Kentucky. For most of his childhood he was mostly self educated, constantly reading books and gaining knowledge on the world around him. Even when he started as a young lawyer, he always outwardly opposed slavery. When Abraham began to get into politics he was always popular by the people. Although he lacked an education, money or powerful friends, he still managed to gain significant popularity and was described to be able to draw crowds. When Lincoln was elected as the 16th president of the united states, that's when he made a real change to the world. Back in Lincoln's time, slavery was more accepted and was legal in many of the southern states in America. Although slavery was illegal in the northern states, they still contributed to slavery
The morals and beliefs on slavery came to him from his parents who went as far as joining a Baptist congregation that separated itself from a church due to its acceptance of slavery. On November 6, 1860, Abe became the sixteenth president of the United States of America. The southern states knew of his disapproval of slavery so they seceded from the Union, in fear that they would lose their right to have slaves. After many bloody battles, the Union came out triumphant in the Civil War, a fight over slavery and an effort to make America one again. As a result of loathing towards the president and his verdict to outlaw slavery in the country, on April 14, 1861, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater. For the heroic choice to free the African Americans of the United States, Abraham Lincoln died for what he believed was right.
John Wilkes Booth was a prominent Shakespearean actor with militant Confederate sympathies and an abhorrence for President Lincoln. Booth believed that the south’s institution of slavery was sacred and this country “was formed for the white man and not the black,” therefore anyone who challenged this belief was a tyrant that needed to be exterminated. In Booth’s hometown of Baltimore he would find a great deal of bitter opponents to share his views and it would be here where groundwork of assassination threats would take their preliminary form. Late autumn of 1864 Lincoln would be reelected and Booth’s anti-Lincoln obsession and hatred would increase. Motivated by guilt, rage and malignant narcissism, Booth would resolve to put a plan into
Chasing Lincoln’s Killer took place in mainly Washington but later took place in Maryland and Virginia, while Booth and his accomplices were on the run. President Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the Union and strongly believed in equality and disproved of slavery. Lincoln was Booth’s main enemy because Booth was a strong Confederate from the South and approved and promoted slavery. John Wilkes Booth was famous even before he killed Lincoln because he was an astounding actor.
Major Henry Rathbone, who was sitting in the box with his fiancé and President Lincoln’s wife watching the play, jumped up and lunged at John Wilkes Booth. Booth was able to jump from the box after stabbing Major Rathbone but ended up breaking his leg. He escaped Washington D.C. and escaped to Virginia and where he died on April 26, 1865. Richard Garrett who was eleven years old at the time, gave an eyewitness account of Booth’s death at his family’s farm. Garrett’s lectures were published in the Confederate Veteran and according to him, Booth had arrived at the farm without the family knowing of President Lincoln’s death due to mail being halted after the collapse of the Confederate government. During dinner, Garrett states that they informed Booth of Johnston’s army surrendering which in turn meant the Civil War was over and Booth had failed to save the Confederacy even with President Lincoln dying. Later, he states that they learned of Lincoln’s death and that there was a reward out for Booth. Lieutenant Colonel Everton Conger eventually tracked down Booth and his location, however Booth refused to surrender stating he would rather come out and fight and then began setting the barn he was hiding in on fire. Sergeant Boston Corbett then shot Booth because he saw a pistol raised at him, however there are contradicting reports against that as well. Booth by now was wounded in the neck and paralyzed as he was dragged out of the barn and put on the front porch of the Garrett’s