Doctor Mudd Research Paper

John Wilkes Booth may think that he did the right thing for the southerner, however people from the north had different point of views and by that misfortune called him out for what he has done. The Chasing Lincoln's Killer, by James L. Swanson stated the quest of what John Wilkes Booth received and the task that he needs to be done is not a easy nor an impossible job, but the outcome of the event will be macabre. Although John Wilkes Booth is doing the greater good for the south, the assassination that John Wilkes Booth did will not be forgotten. Consequently, the assassination is what some people would hoped for.

Everyone knows that John Wilkes Booth was the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, but not everyone knows John Wilkes Booth’s take on it. Like Why did he do it? Who were his accomplices? What happened after he did it? Well that is was this paper is about.

On April 14, Lincoln held a Cabinet congregation to talk over post-war reconstructing exhaustively. President Lincoln wanted to have southern state governments in operation prior to Congress met in December in order to keep away from the oppression of the vengeful Radical Republicans. That same night, during the time that Lincoln was watching a play at Ford’s Theatre, a fanatical Southern actor, John Wilkes Booth, crept up at the back Lincoln and shot him in the head. Lincoln died the following day, leaving the South with little wish for a non-revengeful Reconstruction.

Booth, along with his coconspirators began to plan the assassination of Lincoln (Ito 30) these conspirators included; George Azterodt, Mary Surratt, David Herold, Lewis Powell, Edward Spangler, Louis Paine, Samuel Arnold, Michael O’Laughlen (Ito 30). Though many of these conspirators did not actually commit murder they were still however charged with the crime of assisting Booth in plotting the murder of both Lincoln and Secretary of State William Seward (Ito 30).

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

John Wilkes Booth had a very mischievous plan to kill the president. It was sneaky and skillfully arranged.

The death of Abraham Lincoln is described very vividly: “...the sphere of Britannia metal poked a neat round hole in Lincoln’s skull and then pushed fragments of that bone deep into Lincoln’s brain as it traveled precisely seven and a half inches before plowing to a stop in the dense gray matter.” (page 208). After the arrests of the other co-conspirators like Azterodt and Powell, detective Lafayette Baker attempts to hunt down John Wilkes Booth and David Herold who are hiding out in a swamp in Maryland. Eventually, the two conspirators are found in a barn in Virginia and John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed as the barn burned to the ground. Finally, the assassin of the killer of Abraham Lincoln is killed in the same manner as the president.

John Wilkes Booth’s initial plan was to actually not kill Lincoln, but to kidnap him and hold him

John Wilkes Booth was the murderer of the sixteenth president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. With the nation divided and the Confederacy falling apart, Booth murdered Washington in hope that the confederavy would have a second chance. John Wilkes Booth did not accomplish his goal because was caught and was not help the confederacy change the course of the war. Firstly, John Wilkes Booth was later caught and killed.

On the evening on April 14, 1856, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who had already attempted to kidnap Lincoln twice already, while attending the play of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater. Sitting with him were Mayor Henry Rathbone and his fiancée, Clare Harris. While watching the play, Booth sneaked into the box the president, a knife in his left hand and a pistol in his right. Booth shot the president in the back of the head, slashed Rathbone across the arm, and jumped off the balcony. Booth caught his leg on a flag on the way down and broke his leg. Lincoln was carried to a boarding house next door and died the next day. President Lincoln was the first president to be assassinated in United States history. John booth escaped, sought medical attention for his wounded leg, and fled into the Virginia country side. Union troops found the barn he was hiding in, surrounded it, set it on fire, and shot Booth as he attempted to escape (“The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln,” 34f). The president’s body was taken by train to Springfield, Illinois, where he was then buried. Accomplices of Booth’s were tried for their part in trying to assassinate other leaders, such as the Vice President and the Secretary of War. Others were tried in court for attempting to aid

The United States would not be the same today if Abraham Lincoln was never assassinated on the unfortunate night of April 14, 1865. His killer, John Wilkes Booth, had a strong resent for the Union that subsequently caused a dramatic shift in history. This hatred was caused by many factors, such as his background and where he grew up, his lust for power and fame, and his mental illness. John Wilkes Booth, a master assassinator and conspirator, hoped to strengthen the confederacy by killing Abraham Lincoln. However, this murder created an even stronger opposition to the South than ever before.

John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of Lincoln, had many reasons for his actions. This is very important to people because there still might be some unknown factors for why John Wilkes Booth slaughtered Lincoln. Booth thought that assassinating Lincoln was a good idea, but it really only turned him into a hated and despised

The conflict of the Civil War tore the United States apart. John Wilkes Booth was a member of the Confederacy. He believed that slavery was necessary to the economy. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth crept into the balcony of Ford’s Theatre and assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth, actor, murderer, and confederate spokesperson, is linked to the downfall of the South.

However, there is insufficient evidence that shows Booth may have been a rebel agent for the Confederates. Fellow conspirator George Atzerodt made a statement before his trial in 1865 that told of Booth's knowledge of a Confederate plot to blow up the White House. “The theory of Confederate complicity in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln is accepted by several of the current Lincoln assassination historians, scholars, researchers, and writers (Norton).” That may be so, but there is no evidence proving that the Confederates hired Booth, but several resources that show Booth plotted the assassination with co-conspirators, which illustrates the larger

Booth broke his leg in the fall from the President's box, but was still able to escape from the theater and leave the nation's capital, meeting up with his co-conspirator David Herold (History.com Staff). They travelled to accomplice Dr. Samuel Mudd who treated Booth's wounds, and then Confederate sympathizer Thomas Jones sheltered the pair before they crossed the border to Virginia (History.com Staff). Booth and Herold ended up hiding in a Virginia farmhouse when they were found by the Union soldiers chasing Lincoln's killer. In the morning of April 26, Herold surrendered and was taken into Union custody, but Booth's escape attempt led to his being shot in the neck. Lincoln's assassin was dead (History.com