John Wilkes Booth: Truth of the Killer’s Mind

Yang C., 8E

June 8, 2009

I was a man of honor and great valor. I abandoned my beloved family’s Union loyalty, wounding them with insufferable betrayal, and I shot down the “greatest tyrant they ever knew” (Wilkes, John) all for the country’s sake. That tyrant “have not aided her (the South) or even heeded her cries” (Wilkes, John) and enforced a doctrine that “endangered the safety of the country”. “Even if there (were) not a man to back me” and “every men’s hand (was) against me” for what I achieved “I do not repent the blow I struck.” (“John Wilkes Booth’s Diary”) “I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh, may He, may He spare me that, and let me die bravely” (“John Wilkes Booth’s Diary) for my country.

John Wilkes Booth, so called “the handsomest man in America” by many was a charming young actor so successful and beloved by the nation. As he starred in numerous Shakespeare tragedies, he was soon hailed as the “youngest tragedian in the world”. That very phrase hid a coincidental truth in his life; Booth who was so singly devoted to the South and slavery grew hatred against America’s dear man, President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was a man who represented everything he detested; an abolitionist whom he thought was a tyrant. His fanatical abhorrence toward Abraham Lincoln led him to commit the most horrendous deed: assassination of President Lincoln. How did he come to be a southern sympathizer and a supporter of slavery? Couldn’t have his disposition ultimately led him to assassinate Lincoln?

Young Booth came from a family of staunch Unionists, and attended an academy run by Quakers who firmly preached equality of men. Facts prove John Wilkes Booth as the most unlikely candidate for supporting the South and institution of slavery, but his fondness for city of Richmond, participation in the Know-Nothing Party, and the South’s succession were what truly made him a “southern man”.

He was never charmed by the northern city, and his career in the north brought no fame and reputation, but when he moved to Richmond Theater his popularity soared, and he came to feel special kinship to Richmond and its people. To this fame-hungry man, John Wilkes Booth, success as an actor in the South seemed to have played a significant role in deepening his commitment to the South.

But the ultimate factor that led him to become an ardent patron was his sympathy for the South that was neglected and abused by the tyranny of the abolitionist-controlled government; in Booth’s 21-page manuscript that was intended as a speech he wrote, “She (South Carolina) is fighting in a just cause with God Himself upon their side… I don’t believe that any of us are represented truly in Washington (because the men there are) Abolitionists.”He was downright outraged by the fact that “the brightest half of our star upon the nation’s banner (the southern states)” was destroyed because of the abolition leaders.

Booth’s loathing for abolitionists dwelled particularly in President Lincoln because Booth believed this tyrant, this traitor he so called “entertained and advocated” abolition doctrine “which destroyed her (America’s) peace and her prosperity”, and unconstitutionally “kept and held them” from practicing slavery (Wilkes, John). His plan to kidnap Lincoln escalated to murder when Lincoln discussed voting rights for blacks “who served our cause as soldiers” (Wilkes, Booth). Booth was not only outraged because the blacks were granted rights of an American citizen, but also because the enforcement of one man’s proclamation displayed tyranny that offended and injured the South greatly.

John Wilkes Booth’s affiliation in the Know-Nothing Party was momentously responsible for upholding the institution of slavery. The Know-Nothing Party was a political organization in the 1850s that opposed against U.S. non-white immigrants. They felt that this rush of immigrants posed a threat in economic and political security of native-born Americans. It was highly likely that Booth defended slavery for the same reasons as the Know-Nothing Party did with U.S. immigrants. John W. Booth feared that the emancipation of black slaves threatened the security and privileges of the white man; "This country was formed for the white not for the black man”. This eccentric man also cruelly believed in the contentment and goodness of slavery; in his manuscript he firmly declared that slavery was “not a sin”, and that throughout the South he witnessed “the happiness of master and of man” (Wilkes, John). His crazed, outright lies and exaggerated views on life ultimately led him to commit the greatest treason against America.

When General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, and the North declared victory in the Civil War it came as a big shock for John W. Booth; he was too overwhelmed to accept the outcome of the civil war. If the south were to have won the war, it was unlikely that Booth went to the point where he assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Observing his writings, his rather obsessed and dramatic dedication to the South fueled him to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, but if you look at the core of his emotional state and disposition the real motive in assassinating Lincoln was for fame.

Accounts of his life from his family and colleagues undoubtedly proved Booth’s continuous, rabid desire for fame. When his father, Junius Booth died in 1852, Booth left the school, and spent several years working at a farm adjacent to Bel Air. According to his sister, Asia Booth Clarke, he cried out “I must have fame! Fame!” (“John Wilkes Booth”) From this quote it was evident that his ambition went beyond leading a quite life in the farm, and as expected he went on to become a famous actor like his father had been. This very phrase was heard again from Booth who was at that time a new young actor famous for not preparing well; in Philadelphia boardinghouse when he was in company with the Archstreet Stock Company his colleagues saw him marching up and down muttering “I must have fame, fame!” (“US History Videos – American History Timeline – History.com”) On the day of Lincoln’s assassination when he was visiting a tavern next to Ford’s Theater, a nearby customer said to Booth that he’ll “never be the actor (his) father was” In response, Booth replied that “when (he) leave the stage, (he) will be the most famous man in America.” (“Booth on Assassination Day”)

Booth believed that assassinating Lincoln would ultimately bring the fame he long craved. For years Booth have heard people criticizing President Lincoln. Booth realized that this was “the political view” that he should take on; he believed that this reasoning would make his deed (assassination of Abraham Lincoln), noble and almost heroic. He would be America’s hero. But of course, things didn’t turn out as he expected; papers criticized his action. Some said that Booth was a coward for shooting an unarmed man, and even his fellow confederate soldiers, officers, and people of Baltimore and Richmond condemned him for his action. During the run, John Wilkes Booth wrote in his diary that he “struck boldly, and not as the papers say”, and that he was being “looked upon as a common cutthroat for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew.” (“John Wilkes Booth’s Diary) The fact that he wrote in his diary during the run revealed his desperate desire to be remembered by people as a gallant, patriotic man; when all men hunted down for him, the man on 50,000 dollars reward, why would he take the time to write in his diary?

John Wilkes Booth was a southern man who believed in the nobility and sacrifice made to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, the “greatest tyrant” who destroyed his dear land, the South. Throughout history, Booth was criticized as a figure of pure evil, but he may have been just an unfortunate, misguided, and fanatical man who hunted for greater fame throughout his life.

Work Cited

"Booth on Assassination Day." PERSONAL WEB PAGES - home.att.net. 26 May 2009 <http://home.att.net/~rjnorton

"John Wilkes Booth." PERSONAL WEB PAGES - home.att.net. 25 May 2009

http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln72.html>.

"John Wilkes Booth's Diary." PERSONAL WEB PAGES - home.att.net. 23 May

2009. <http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln52.html>.

"US History Videos - American History Timeline - History.com." The History Channel - Home Page. 23 May 2009. <http://www.history.com/video.do?name=americanhistory&bcpid=1676043206&bclid=1716500544&bctid=1485847507

Wilkes, John, John Rhodehamel, and Louise Taper (editors) Booth. Right or Wrong, God Judge Me: The Writings of John Wilkes Booth. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997.