The Knights Of The Golden Circle Analysis

The final motivating factor that influenced Booth to assassinate Lincoln is that he did it for the good of the country. Booth believed that his country wanted the same as he did, although that was not the case. In Booth’s diary it states, “The country is not what it was. This forced Union is not what I have loved. I do not care what becomes of me. I have no desire to outlive my country.” In the statement he is explaining that since Lincoln has been the president he has turn the country “upside

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.

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).

When Booth found out that the president was coming to Ford’s Theater on April 14th, 1865, he was very determined to kill him. In chapter one, it reads, “Booth heard the big news: In just eight hours, the man who was subject of all his hating and plotting would stand on the very steps where he sat now.” This is talking about how excited Booth was when he found out the president was coming to the theater. Instantly, his mind started forming a cunning plan to annihilate the confederate leaders.

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.

Why did John Wilkes Booth want to kill Lincoln?  Booth wanted to kill Lincoln because he didn’t liked how Lincoln wanted to let black people vote. But then he attended  Lincoln’s speech and Lincoln was trying to back out of letting the blacks vote.  After this John W. Booth was so mad that he was trying to get a group together to kidnap Lincoln. This then led to Lincoln’s  assassination.(9)

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

I chose this article because I have always been curious of the story of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. In a way I felt like it was a murder mystery because I didn’t know all of the details to the story and those are my favorite. As I began to read more into the assassination, I began to love it even more and wanted to learn more about it and I actually had an interest in history which I have never had before.

On April 14th, 1865 the President and the First Lady decided to go to a showing of Our American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre. A policeman was positioned outside of the balcony door that evening. It is said that he left the theatre during intermission and went to the saloon next door for a drink, leaving Lincoln exposed. Just then, at 10:15 p.m., Booth slipped into the box and shot President Lincoln in the back of the head,

While Booth and Lincoln did not know one another, Lincoln did think about Booth and appreciated watching him perform at Ford's Theater.

Sadly, Lincoln was killed due to the belief of Booth that “Lincoln was going to over throw the constitution and destroy the south he loved.” (Booths reason for assassination) This was most likely caused by the fact that Booth was an open confederate sympathizer during the war. It was also thought that the guards were not doing their jobs at the theatre and that they allowed Booth to sneak by and shoot Lincoln in the head with a 44 caliber derringer pistol. Recently after Lincoln’s death it was found that co-conspirators were involved in Lincoln’s assassination at Ford’s

First, Booth thought Lincoln was a tyrant and should be killed. After Booth shot President Lincoln he jumped off stage and yelled “Sic semper tyrannis! (Thus ever to tyrants) The south is avenged!” This shows that Booth thinks Lincoln is a tyrant. Also

Lee surrendered to the North. The surrender pushed Booth over the edge, and he realized, that in order to make a difference, he would have to perform a larger act then a kidnapping. He would have to assassinate Abraham Lincoln (“John Wilkes Booth.” Civil War Trust). On April 14, 1865, Booth entered Abraham Lincoln’s box at Ford’s Theatre. He drew a .44-calibre derringer, a small handgun, and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. He then proceeded to throw himself over the railing of the balcony onto the stage shouting, “Sic semper tyrannis! The SOuth is avenged (“John Wilkes Booth.” Encyclopædia Britannica)!” Booth ran away limping, after breaking his leg. He escaped on a horse that was waiting outside. He rode until he reached the house of Dr. Samuel Mudd. Dr. Mudd fixed Booth’s broken leg ,and when he was questioned, he denied even knowing Booth. Booth, along with a fellow conspirator David E. Herold, escaped to VIrginia, where they found a tobacco barn near Port Royal. Soldier then found them, and Booth was shot down. It is unknown whether someone whot him or if He shot himself. Booth died thinking he help the South, but in actuality he caused more defeat. “Lincoln believed that the country could never be whole again unless the South was welcomed back with open arms (Hillstrom 33).” After Lincoln died, President Andrew Johnson took hi splace. Contrary to

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