# data[].attributes.headline
John Wilkes Booth was a man whose actions significantly changed the outcome of history. By killing Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth became the first person to assassinate a United States President. John Wilkes Booth was born on May 10, 1838, in Hartford County Maryland to Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann Holmes. He was raised on a slave farm that his father owned. As a boy he was very popular among his peers, he was extremely athletic and competed in fencing and in horsemanship at his school, Bel Air Academy. Unfortunately both dropped out of school at the age of 14 when his father died. His Family consisted of several well known actors at the time and incidentally by the age of 17 Booth appeared in his first play, Richard III. Booth wasn’t the most talented of actors, but his good looks made him popular among the ladies. Booth continued to act through the 1850s and became a well-known celebrity. In the 1960s as tensions grew between the North and the South, Booth openly supported the South and advocated for secession. He opposed abolitionists and showed his support of slavery by attended the hanging of John Brown, an abolitionist extremist who led a revolt that raided Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Around the time when the Civil War started, Booth was forced to take a break from acting due to medical problems. Around that time he became a courier and a spy for the Confederate Secret Service. It was then that Booth found himself apart of a conspiracy to kidnap president Lincoln. Lincoln was supposed to attend the play, Still Waters Run Deep, at a hospital. On his way to the showing Booth along with and six of his counterparts planned to wait for the Lincoln to pass so they could abduct the president and hold him ransom for the release of Confederate prisoners of war. However, this plot failed when the president changed his mind at the last minute, deciding instead to attend a reception at a hotel in Washington DC. Shortly after the failed kidnapping attempt, Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, consequently, ending the Civil War. The news of this enraged Booth as he pointed to President Lincoln as the source of the nations problems.  At this point Booth had made up in his mind that he would indeed assassinate President Lincoln, (since the war was over and a kidnapping of Lincoln was no longer a viable war tactic) however, he did not have a plan in place set for him to execute the task. Remarkably, the would be elaborate plan that Booth put in place was relatively impromptu. On the morning of April 14, 1865, Booth learned that the president would be attending Ford’s Theater for the play, Our American Cousin. Upon hearing the news, Booth meet with some of his fellow conspirators, George Atzerodt,  David Herold and Lewis Powell. George Atzerodt was assigned to assassinate vice president Andrew Johnson. Lewis Powell was given the task of to assassinating Secretary of State, William Seward and David Herold would help them escape. Booth would kill President Lincoln himself. Later that night Booth entered Ford’s Theater, his celebrity status as an actor granted him all access in theater so he didn't draw any suspicion when he made his way towards the presidential box. When the play reached its climax Booth opened the door to the presidential box, pulled out his .41 caliber Deringer and shot President Lincoln in the back of the head (he was instantly brain-dead and would officially die the next morning). Major Henry Rathbone who was accompanying the president in his box attempted to apprehended Booth, however in a scuffle with him, Rathbone was stabbed by Booth from his shoulder to his elbow (he would later recover from his wounds). After stabbing Rathbone, Booth swung himself from the presidential box onto the stage, however in the process of doing that, one of his spurs got caught on the George Washington picture frame that hung in front of the presidential box causing him land awkwardly on the stage, breaking his left ankle. People disagree agree on what happened next, some eyewitnesses claim he said, "Sic semper tyrannis" ("Thus always to tyrants”); however others claim he said, "The South is avenged.” Historians do agree that after whatever Booth said he then proceeded to bolt out of the back door of the theater, climb aboard his get-away horse he had arranged earlier and escape into the night all before people could comprehend the magnitude of the situation. Booth, being an actor left many people wondering if it was part of the show at first  and by the time everyone realized what happened, Booth was long gone. Booth was the only one of his conspirators to successfully complete his mission. George Atzerodt, who was assigned to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson, got cold feet and instead went to a pub and got drunk that night. Lewis Powell, who was assigned to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward, did manage to infiltrate Secretary Seward’s house and stab Seward who was bedridden after being involved in a carriage accident. Secretary Stewart's accident turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Fortunately for him the carriage accident forced Secretary’s jaw to have to be wired together so when Harold stabbed Secretary Stewart intending to slash his jugular vein, the wires clamping his jaw together saved his life. By this point, one of Seward sons and a nurse rushed into the room at the sound of the altercation causing Harold drop his knife and retreat. Meanwhile, Booth rendezvoused with David Harold and after gathering supplies they stoped at the house of Dr. Samuel Mudd to receive medical treatment for his leg and Doctor Mudd allowed Booth and Harold to rest the night at his house. In the morning, Dr. Mudd read the paper and discovered he was housing fugatives and kicked them out. An $100,000 bounty had been placed for Booth and $25,000 bounty for Harold. Booth and Harold hid in the woods for 5 nights hoping to wait out pursuing union troops. When they felt the trouble had pasted they attempted to cross the Potomac river into Virginia and to the deep South. Mistakenly they rowed upriver staying in Maryland. However, fortunately for them Booth and Harold met some confederate troops who escorted them across the river by a ferry boat into Virginia and to Richard H. Garrett’s farm. They were introduced as soldiers and allowed to sleep in a tobacco barn. However, someone on the ferry boat spotted them and tipped off the Union soldiers. The soldiers were able to track down Booth and Harold and surrounded the barn they were sleeping in. Harold surrendered but Booth stayed in the barn where he tried to persuade the troops to have a standoff with him. They refused and set the barn on fire hoping he would surrender, but instead he picked up his gun and ran for the door. Before he could escape the barn, Sergeant Boston Corbett shot him in the neck. Booth fell to the ground and the Union soldiers rushed in and dragged out Booth’s body before the barn fully engulfed in flames. His wounds proved to be fatal but before he died he muttered his last words, "Tell my mother I died for my country...Useless, Useless” The way Booth saw it, Lincoln was a tyrant that threatened southerners liberty and the South had to be Avenged. He hoped that by killing Lincoln and his administration he could save the Confederacy, instead the assassination of Abraham Lincoln caused great chaos in the nation. Up to two-hundred people were murdered in the streets of Washington DC after the assassination as fear and confusion turned to anger. Any person that didn't show grievance from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln were persecuted. Many people living in the North believed the Confederates were behind the assassination since they had just lost the war and newly freed slaves feared they would be enslaved again. Before the assassination the war had just ended and it appeared that peace had finally come and the union could begin reconstruction. However, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln delayed reconstruction efforts and increased the social divide between the North and the South. 

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John Wilkes Booth was a man whose actions significantly changed the outcome of history. By killing Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth became the first person to assassinate a United States President. John Wilkes Booth was born on May 10, 1838, in Hartford County Maryland to Junius Brutus Booth and Mary Ann Holmes. He was raised on a slave farm that his father owned. As a boy he was very popular among his peers, he was extremely athletic and competed in fencing and in horsemanship at his school, Bel Air Academy. Unfortunately both dropped out of school at the age of 14 when his father died. His Family consisted of several well known actors at the time and incidentally by the age of 17 Booth appeared in his first play, Richard III. Booth wasn’t the most talented of actors, but his good looks made him popular among the ladies. Booth continued to act through the 1850s and became a well-known celebrity. In the 1960s as tensions grew between the North and the South, Booth openly supported the South and advocated for secession. He opposed abolitionists and showed his support of slavery by attended the hanging of John Brown, an abolitionist extremist who led a revolt that raided Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Around the time when the Civil War started, Booth was forced to take a break from acting due to medical problems. Around that time he became a courier and a spy for the Confederate Secret Service. It was then that Booth found himself apart of a conspiracy to kidnap president Lincoln. Lincoln was supposed to attend the play, Still Waters Run Deep, at a hospital. On his way to the showing Booth along with and six of his counterparts planned to wait for the Lincoln to pass so they could abduct the president and hold him ransom for the release of Confederate prisoners of war. However, this plot failed when the president changed his mind at the last minute, deciding instead to attend a reception at a hotel in Washington DC. Shortly after the failed kidnapping attempt, Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, consequently, ending the Civil War. The news of this enraged Booth as he pointed to President Lincoln as the source of the nations problems.  At this point Booth had made up in his mind that he would indeed assassinate President Lincoln, (since the war was over and a kidnapping of Lincoln was no longer a viable war tactic) however, he did not have a plan in place set for him to execute the task. Remarkably, the would be elaborate plan that Booth put in place was relatively impromptu. On the morning of April 14, 1865, Booth learned that the president would be attending Ford’s Theater for the play, Our American Cousin. Upon hearing the news, Booth meet with some of his fellow conspirators, George Atzerodt,  David Herold and Lewis Powell. George Atzerodt was assigned to assassinate vice president Andrew Johnson. Lewis Powell was given the task of to assassinating Secretary of State, William Seward and David Herold would help them escape. Booth would kill President Lincoln himself. Later that night Booth entered Ford’s Theater, his celebrity status as an actor granted him all access in theater so he didn't draw any suspicion when he made his way towards the presidential box. When the play reached its climax Booth opened the door to the presidential box, pulled out his .41 caliber Deringer and shot President Lincoln in the back of the head (he was instantly brain-dead and would officially die the next morning). Major Henry Rathbone who was accompanying the president in his box attempted to apprehended Booth, however in a scuffle with him, Rathbone was stabbed by Booth from his shoulder to his elbow (he would later recover from his wounds). After stabbing Rathbone, Booth swung himself from the presidential box onto the stage, however in the process of doing that, one of his spurs got caught on the George Washington picture frame that hung in front of the presidential box causing him land awkwardly on the stage, breaking his left ankle. People disagree agree on what happened next, some eyewitnesses claim he said, "Sic semper tyrannis" ("Thus always to tyrants”); however others claim he said, "The South is avenged.” Historians do agree that after whatever Booth said he then proceeded to bolt out of the back door of the theater, climb aboard his get-away horse he had arranged earlier and escape into the night all before people could comprehend the magnitude of the situation. Booth, being an actor left many people wondering if it was part of the show at first  and by the time everyone realized what happened, Booth was long gone. Booth was the only one of his conspirators to successfully complete his mission. George Atzerodt, who was assigned to assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson, got cold feet and instead went to a pub and got drunk that night. Lewis Powell, who was assigned to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward, did manage to infiltrate Secretary Seward’s house and stab Seward who was bedridden after being involved in a carriage accident. Secretary Stewart's accident turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Fortunately for him the carriage accident forced Secretary’s jaw to have to be wired together so when Harold stabbed Secretary Stewart intending to slash his jugular vein, the wires clamping his jaw together saved his life. By this point, one of Seward sons and a nurse rushed into the room at the sound of the altercation causing Harold drop his knife and retreat. Meanwhile, Booth rendezvoused with David Harold and after gathering supplies they stoped at the house of Dr. Samuel Mudd to receive medical treatment for his leg and Doctor Mudd allowed Booth and Harold to rest the night at his house. In the morning, Dr. Mudd read the paper and discovered he was housing fugatives and kicked them out. An $100,000 bounty had been placed for Booth and $25,000 bounty for Harold. Booth and Harold hid in the woods for 5 nights hoping to wait out pursuing union troops. When they felt the trouble had pasted they attempted to cross the Potomac river into Virginia and to the deep South. Mistakenly they rowed upriver staying in Maryland. However, fortunately for them Booth and Harold met some confederate troops who escorted them across the river by a ferry boat into Virginia and to Richard H. Garrett’s farm. They were introduced as soldiers and allowed to sleep in a tobacco barn. However, someone on the ferry boat spotted them and tipped off the Union soldiers. The soldiers were able to track down Booth and Harold and surrounded the barn they were sleeping in. Harold surrendered but Booth stayed in the barn where he tried to persuade the troops to have a standoff with him. They refused and set the barn on fire hoping he would surrender, but instead he picked up his gun and ran for the door. Before he could escape the barn, Sergeant Boston Corbett shot him in the neck. Booth fell to the ground and the Union soldiers rushed in and dragged out Booth’s body before the barn fully engulfed in flames. His wounds proved to be fatal but before he died he muttered his last words, "Tell my mother I died for my country...Useless, Useless” The way Booth saw it, Lincoln was a tyrant that threatened southerners liberty and the South had to be Avenged. He hoped that by killing Lincoln and his administration he could save the Confederacy, instead the assassination of Abraham Lincoln caused great chaos in the nation. Up to two-hundred people were murdered in the streets of Washington DC after the assassination as fear and confusion turned to anger. Any person that didn't show grievance from the assassination of Abraham Lincoln were persecuted. Many people living in the North believed the Confederates were behind the assassination since they had just lost the war and newly freed slaves feared they would be enslaved again. Before the assassination the war had just ended and it appeared that peace had finally come and the union could begin reconstruction. However, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln delayed reconstruction efforts and increased the social divide between the North and the South. 

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"Biography and Images of John Wilkes Booth, Assassin of Abraham Lincoln.” Biography and Images of John Wilkes Booth, Assassin of Abraham Lincoln. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/booth.html.

@HistoryNet. "John Wilkes Booth | HistoryNet." HistoryNet. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.historynet.com/john-wilkes-booth.

"John Wilkes Booth Biography." John Wilkes Booth Biography - Life, Family, Death, History, School, Mother, Son, Old, Information, Born, Time. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Be-Br/Booth-John-Wilkes.html.

"John Wilkes Booth." John Wilkes Booth - New World Encyclopedia. Accessed November 28, 2016. http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/John_Wilkes_Booth.

"The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln." YouTube. 2010. Accessed November 28, 2016. https://youtu.be/YXyshykSu_0.

"The Text of John Wilkes Booth's Diary." The Text of John Wilkes Booth's Diary. Accessed November 28, 2016. http://rogerjnorton.com/Lincoln52.html.

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This wanted poster was viewed by many American's across the States. 

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This wanted poster was viewed by many American's across the States. 

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http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/john-wilkes-booth-wanted-poster-war-is-hell-store.jpg

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Primary Source:           Diary Entry of John Wilkes Booth                        From HistoryNet.com                             "This country was formed for the white not for the black man. And looking upon African slavery from the same stand-point, as held by those noble framers of our Constitution, I for one, have ever considered it, one of the greatest blessings that God ever bestowed upon a favored nation."

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Primary Source:           Diary Entry of John Wilkes Booth                        From HistoryNet.com                             "This country was formed for the white not for the black man. And looking upon African slavery from the same stand-point, as held by those noble framers of our Constitution, I for one, have ever considered it, one of the greatest blessings that God ever bestowed upon a favored nation."

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http://www.historynet.com/john-wilkes-booth/

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Painting depicting the capture and killing of Booth. From: Famous American Trials, Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 

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Painting depicting the capture and killing of Booth. From: Famous American Trials, Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 

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http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/booth.html

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Painting of Booth fleeing Ford's theater. From: Famous American Trials, Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 

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Painting of Booth fleeing Ford's theater. From: Famous American Trials, Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 

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http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/booth.html

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Painting Abraham Lincoln being shot. From: Famous American Trials, Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 

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Painting Abraham Lincoln being shot. From: Famous American Trials, Trial of the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators 

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http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/booth.html

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Primary Source:                                      Last Diary Entry of John Wilkes Booth                                 From University of Missouri-Kansas City                                                                    After John Wilkes Booth was shot at Garrett's farm on April 26, 1865, Colonel Everton Conger removed a small red appointment book from Booth's body.  The book, which served as Booth's diary, contained a final diary entry, written after the April 14 assassination:                                                             "Until today nothing was ever thought of sacrificing to our country's wrongs. For six months we had  worked to capture, but our cause being almost lost, something decisive and great must be done. But its failure was owing to others, who did not strike for their country with a heart. I struck boldly, and not as the papers say. I walked with a firm step through a thousand of his friends, was stopped, but pushed on.  A colonel was at his side. I shouted Sic semper before I fired. In jumping broke my leg. I passed all his pickets, rode sixty miles that night with the bone of my leg tearing the flesh at every jump. I can never repent it, though we hated to kill. Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment. The country is not what it was. This forced Union is not what I have loved. I care not what becomes of me. I have no desire to outlive my country. The night before the deed I wrote a long article and left it for one of the editors of the National Intelligencer, in which I fully set forth our reasons for our proceedings. He or the gov'r-After being hunted like a dog through swamps, woods, and last night being chased by gunboats till I was forced to return wet, cold, and starving, with every man's hand against me, I am here in despair. And  why? For doing what Brutus was honored for. What made Tell a hero? And yet I, for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew, am looked upon as a common cutthroat. My action was purer than either of theirs. One hoped to be great himself. The other had not only his country's but his own, wrongs to avenge. I hoped for no gain. I knew no private wrong. I struck for my country and that alone. A country that groaned beneath this tyranny, and prayed for this end, and yet now behold the cold hands they extend to me. God cannot pardon me if I have done wrong. Yet I cannot see my wrong, except in serving a degenerate people. The little, the very little, I left behind to clear my name, the Government will not allow to be printed. So ends all. For my country I have given up all that makes life sweet and holy, brought misery upon my family, and am sure there is no pardon in the Heaven for me, since man condemns me so. I have only heard of what has been done (except what I did myself), and it fills me with horror. God, try and forgive me, and bless my mother. Tonight I will once more try the river with the intent to cross. Though I have a greater desire and almost a mind to return to Washington, and in a measure clear my name - which I feel I can do. I do not repent the blow I struck. I may before my God,  but not to man. I think I have done well. Though I am abandoned, with the curse of Cain upon me,  when, if the world knew my heart, that one blow would have made me great, though I did desire no greatness. Tonight I try to escape these bloodhounds once more. Who, who can read his fate? God's will  be done. I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh, may He, may He spare me that, and let me die bravely. I bless the entire world. Have never hated or wronged anyone. This last was not a wrong, unless God deems it so, and it's with Him to damn or bless me. As for this brave boy with me, who often prays (yes, before and since) with a true and sincere heart - was it crime in him? If so, why can he pray the same?I do not wish to shed a drop of blood, but 'I must fight the course.' 'Tis all that's left to me."

# data[].attributes.subject
Primary Source:                                      Last Diary Entry of John Wilkes Booth                                 From University of Missouri-Kansas City                                                                    After John Wilkes Booth was shot at Garrett's farm on April 26, 1865, Colonel Everton Conger removed a small red appointment book from Booth's body.  The book, which served as Booth's diary, contained a final diary entry, written after the April 14 assassination:                                                             "Until today nothing was ever thought of sacrificing to our country's wrongs. For six months we had  worked to capture, but our cause being almost lost, something decisive and great must be done. But its failure was owing to others, who did not strike for their country with a heart. I struck boldly, and not as the papers say. I walked with a firm step through a thousand of his friends, was stopped, but pushed on.  A colonel was at his side. I shouted Sic semper before I fired. In jumping broke my leg. I passed all his pickets, rode sixty miles that night with the bone of my leg tearing the flesh at every jump. I can never repent it, though we hated to kill. Our country owed all her troubles to him, and God simply made me the instrument of his punishment. The country is not what it was. This forced Union is not what I have loved. I care not what becomes of me. I have no desire to outlive my country. The night before the deed I wrote a long article and left it for one of the editors of the National Intelligencer, in which I fully set forth our reasons for our proceedings. He or the gov'r-After being hunted like a dog through swamps, woods, and last night being chased by gunboats till I was forced to return wet, cold, and starving, with every man's hand against me, I am here in despair. And  why? For doing what Brutus was honored for. What made Tell a hero? And yet I, for striking down a greater tyrant than they ever knew, am looked upon as a common cutthroat. My action was purer than either of theirs. One hoped to be great himself. The other had not only his country's but his own, wrongs to avenge. I hoped for no gain. I knew no private wrong. I struck for my country and that alone. A country that groaned beneath this tyranny, and prayed for this end, and yet now behold the cold hands they extend to me. God cannot pardon me if I have done wrong. Yet I cannot see my wrong, except in serving a degenerate people. The little, the very little, I left behind to clear my name, the Government will not allow to be printed. So ends all. For my country I have given up all that makes life sweet and holy, brought misery upon my family, and am sure there is no pardon in the Heaven for me, since man condemns me so. I have only heard of what has been done (except what I did myself), and it fills me with horror. God, try and forgive me, and bless my mother. Tonight I will once more try the river with the intent to cross. Though I have a greater desire and almost a mind to return to Washington, and in a measure clear my name - which I feel I can do. I do not repent the blow I struck. I may before my God,  but not to man. I think I have done well. Though I am abandoned, with the curse of Cain upon me,  when, if the world knew my heart, that one blow would have made me great, though I did desire no greatness. Tonight I try to escape these bloodhounds once more. Who, who can read his fate? God's will  be done. I have too great a soul to die like a criminal. Oh, may He, may He spare me that, and let me die bravely. I bless the entire world. Have never hated or wronged anyone. This last was not a wrong, unless God deems it so, and it's with Him to damn or bless me. As for this brave boy with me, who often prays (yes, before and since) with a true and sincere heart - was it crime in him? If so, why can he pray the same?I do not wish to shed a drop of blood, but 'I must fight the course.' 'Tis all that's left to me."

# data[].attributes.body
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/lincolnconspiracy/