Written by Matthew Taylor
“John Wilkes Booth was the man who pulled the trigger, capping off a coordinated plot to murder President Abraham Lincoln” (Montagne). Booth grew up in a way that would seem pretty normal, but he turned out to be a completely different person in his adult life than most. Even though he had some success as an actor, he will always be remembered as the murderer of the President of the United States of America. As he grew up following in his father’s footsteps, his father being a professional actor and an eccentric man, his choices led him through an acting career of his own and to murder Abraham Lincoln.
From a very young age, John Wilkes Booth, the ninth of ten children, was becoming like his father in many ways, one of which was his love of acting. His father, Junius Brutus Booth, was famous for his skill as an actor. John Wilkes Booth attended the Milton Boarding School for Boys, but then switched to St. Timothies Hall (Montagne). He was commonly described as being disarmingly handsome, and it was assumed that he would follow in his father’s footsteps and become an actor (biography.com). he became a very well-known actor, and became more popular than even his father. His father was also an extremely eccentric man. He had strange political views and behavior. He eloped with his second wife before divorcing the first. He was an alcoholic and even though he was a great actor, he was abusive to his family and to his peers. As John Wilkes Boothgrew older, he thought and behaved in the same way as his father. “While the people shrank away from what he did, they didn’t really shrink away from him” (Montagne). His father’s example shaped who John Wilkes Booth was as he grew older.
Led by his acting, Booth to discovered a world of politics which he quickly became obsessed with. At the age of 17, Booth left home to start his acting career. He became so popular it is said that, “When he was coming out of a theater in Boston, the manager had to come back and tell people ‘Back up, let him out, just let him walk to his hotel’” (Montagne). His performances were such hits that he was invited to tour the country with a Shakespearean acting company. Along his way he started learning a lot more about politics; especially the Civil War. Booth joined the Know-Nothing Party and showed his support for slavery by joining the militia that captured and executed John Brown after his raid on Harper’s Ferry (Montagne). His acting career was still strong but politics started becoming a much larger part of his life.
Because of his actions in the Know-Nothing Party and his service as a secret agent for the confederacy, Booth was involved in activities that escalated the war (biography.com). While he was taking a short break from acting, he became involved in a conspiracy to kidnap President Lincoln. The plan was to kidnap Lincoln and demand either the release of Confederate soldiers or demand peace. His plot was foiled ,and Booth decided to go even more extreme and planned the assassination of Abraham Lincoln (History.com). A few weeks before the assassination, Booth attended a speech where Lincoln talked about giving rights to African Americans. Booth was furious and was quoted saying, “That is the last speech he will ever give!” On April 14, 1865, while Lincoln was watching the play Our American Cousin at Washington, D.C.’s Ford Theater, Booth sneaked into the President’s box and shot Abraham Lincoln with his 44 caliber Derringer. After the shooting, Booth leapt onto the stage where he broke a bone in his left leg and shouted, “The South is avenged!” (biography.com) (History.com). If Lincoln were to live, he would have worked to make sure the slaves were free, but Booth assassinated him because he was a threat to the dominance of the Whites in both the Old South and the North as well (britanica.com).
Some were of the opinion that John Wilkes Booth was insane, affected by his acting or hard times working for the Confederacy, but others simply believe he was just acting for his political views. One man claimed Booth not to be a mad man, but “in fact he was politically motivated to assassinate Lincoln” (Montagne). A common belief however, is that the events of his life and the people surrounding him affected him. Whether John Wilkes Booth was insane or not is unknown, but his father was very influential to who he became as an adult, and his acting, fame, and political ideas led him to a position to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.
Independence 