John Wilkes Booth :: essays research papers fc

Without any question, most people have a very clear and distinct picture of John Wilkes Booth a in their minds. It is April 1865, the night president Lincoln decides to take a much-needed night off, to attend a stage play. Before anyone knows it a lunatic third-rate actor creeps into Lincoln's box at Ford's theater and kills the president. Leaping to the stage, he runs past a confused audience and flees into the night, only to suffer a coward’s death Selma asset some two weeks later. From the very moment that Booth pulled the trigger, the victors of the Civil War had a new enemy on their hands, and a good concept of whom they were dealing with. A close examination of the facts, however, paint a different view of Booth, a picture that is far less black and white, but a picture with many shades of gray. Perhaps, one of the most interesting things to note about Lincoln's killer was the president would have recognized him instantly, if he had just turned around. John Wilkes Booth was born in a log cabin just outside of Bel Air, Maryland May 10, 1838. His family consisted of his father Tunis Booth, mother Mary Ann Holmes; they would bear 10 children. The Booth name was known for acting from John's family. He is considered to be America's first great actor. John's most known brother Edwin was quick to follow in his father's footsteps. He often practiced in the yard and was ridiculed by John and this was the beginning of a bitter rivalry. Also the house was full of alcoholism and bouts of depression. The family was often without the father as his drinking and acting kept him away. He was often under the influence when he was on stage and displayed many attributes of his son but, John never seen his father on stage. His mother also had a dream of her son's future. It showed John meet ing a gypsy and he was told, " you'll die young... You've got in your hand a thundering crowd of enemies-not one friend-you'll make a bad end... You'll have a fast life-short, but a grand one." John knew this and it sometimes troubled him. Then in 1852, his dad died and John went to attend St. Timothy's Hall military school in Catonsville, Maryland. It was here that John showed his sympathy for the South when he led a revolt against the mostly northern faculty.