Who Is To Blame For Lincoln's Assassination

When John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, it was a life changing event for the whole country. It took many days for the country to know that Abraham Lincoln had been assassinated. Then, everyone wanted to know why. Why did John Wilkes Booth assassinate Lincoln? Did he do it to be evil or did it for a specific reason? The fact that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln was unexpected. He was a famous actor that had no criminal background. Nobody had any clue why he chose to do what he did, or did they? There were many motivating factors of why John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln, and many people knew about it.

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).

The Presidential party arrived at Ford's at about 8:30 P.M. Armed with a single shot derringer and a hunting knife, Booth arrived at Ford's at about 9:30 P.M. Joseph Burroughs, a boy who worked at the theatre, held his horse in the rear alley. Booth went next door to a saloon for a drink. He entered the front of Ford's Theatre around 10:07 P.M. Slowly he made his way toward the State Box where the Lincolns were sitting with Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone. Lincoln's bodyguard, John Parker of the Metropolitan Police Force, had left his post. At about 10:15 P.M. Booth opened the door to the State Box, shot Lincoln in the back of the head at near point-blank range, and struggled with Rathbone. Booth stabbed Rathbone in the arm and jumped approximately 11 feet to the stage below. When he hit the floor he

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

"The Family Plot to Kill Lincoln." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, 28 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 May 2017.

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

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,

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

At 10:15 Booth slipped into the box and fired his .44 caliber single-shot derringer into the back of Lincoln's head (“Abraham”/history.com). Booth

Booth and his co-conspirators also planned to simultaneously assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William H. Seward, hoping to throw the Union into disarray and save the Confederacy (History.com Staff). Booth had heard of Lincoln's plan to attend the play Our American Cousin on April 14, 1865 at the Ford's Theater, and planned to assassinate the President there (History.com Staff). At the play, Booth, whose appearance there wasn't uncommon being a famous actor, snuck into the President's private box and shot him in the head with a .44-caliber derringer (History.com Staff). Booth then jumped from the box to the stage, shouting the Virginia state motto, Sic semper tyrannis!--thus always to tyrants (History.com Staff). For a minute, the crowd only thought Booth's outburst was part of the play, until the distraught First Lady Mary Lincoln alerted the crowd to the horror unfolding in the President's box (History.com Staff). Doctors rushed to the box and carried him to a boardinghouse across the street, where the surgeon general announced that the President wouldn't survive the night (History.com Staff). Although the assassination attempts on the Vice President and Secretary of State failed, the President was not so lucky. President Abraham Lincoln died at 7:22 AM on the morning of April 15 (History.com

"Booth said he had sold his buggy, but gave witness $10 to hire one. Drove Mrs. Surratt out to Surrattsville. On Friday, the day of the assassination, also drove her there." She went out to Surrattsville on April 14, the night of Lincoln's assassination. She brought with her two small packages, "It was about six inches in diameter." She then went to Lloyd's house, where she dropped them off. Whether these had to do with the plot or not, she still went out to Surrattsville with John Surratt, a proven accomplice, on the day of the killing, then delivered a package to John Lloyd, who was also an accomplice. They returned at 9:00 PM, and Lincoln was shot shortly after 10:00 PM that day.

He was also a Confederate sympathizer, vehement in his denunciation of Lincoln, and was strongly opposed to the abolition of slavery in the United States. Booth and a group of co-conspirators originally plotted to kidnap Lincoln but later planned to kill him, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward in a bid to help the Confederacy 's cause. Although Robert E. Lee 's Army of Northern Virginia had surrendered four days earlier, Booth believed the American Civil War was not yet finished because Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston 's army was still fighting the Union Army. Of the conspirators, only Booth was completely successful in carrying out his part of the plot. Booth shot Lincoln once in the back of the head, and the President died the next morning. Seward was severely wounded but recovered. Vice-President Johnson was never attacked at all. Following the assassination, Booth fled on horseback to southern Maryland, eventually making his way to a farm in rural northern Virginia 12 days later, where he was located. Booth 's companion gave himself up, but Booth refused and was shot by Boston Corbett, a Union soldier, after the barn in which he was hiding was set ablaze. Eight other conspirators or suspects were tried and convicted, and four were

After the confederate loss he felt it was necessary to reclaim vengeance and victory for the South. Following two failed kidnapping attempts, Booth decided the only option was to kill the president, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and the Secretary of State all in the same night. However, Booth would be the only one to successfully kill his target. After assassinating President Abraham Lincoln in the Ford Theater, he screamed “thus be it ever to tyrants!” and fled on horseback. Some accounts even say he screamed “the South is avenged!” (USHistory.org. 3). His actions were justified to those who followed his cause because the south was “cheated” from its way of life. On the other hand, to those who followed Lincoln it was a complete travesty and took away any chance America had of rebuilding itself because Lincoln provided innovative ideas and abolitionist ideals.

On April 14 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. The Assassination took place at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. Booth had a few people trying to help him get away after he killed President Lincoln. One person was Dr. Samuel A. Mudd.