John Wilkes Booth

On a farm close to Baltimore, Maryland, on May 10,1838, John Wilkes Booth was born. (Holzer, “The president is shot” 59) He was born to the unmarried pair Junius Brutus Booth, who had abandoned his wife Adelaide Booth and son Richard Junius Booth in England to sail to America, and Mary Ann Holmes. (Roscoe 30-31) As a child John Wilkes Booth watched his father succeed as a famous tragic actor, although his father died when he was only fourteen, (Holzer, “The president is shot” 59) Booth knew he wanted fame like his father from a young age. When he was young Booth often told his sister, Asia, “I must have fame! Fame!”, and boasted to his school mates that one day he would be known through the world. (Holzer, “The president is shot” 59) Growing …show more content…
Booth was extremely jealous of the fame Brown received after his actions (Holzer, “The president is shot” 61-62), he craved this fame that Brown had, fame that placed him in history. Nevertheless, Booth hated the abolition cause, he believed strongly that “This country was formed for the white, not for the black man.” (Hanchett 46) He even thought that slavery was a God bestowed blessing (Hanchett 46), that it was a “Happiness for slaves and a social and political blessing for us.” (Holzer, “The president is shot” 62) Being born in Maryland, Booth had been exposed to slavery from a young age, consequently when the civil war began he found the southern Confederacy more appealing. Booth's loyalty to the Confederacy was great and when arguing with his sister, who was for the Union, Booth spoke strongly of his devotion to the cause saying “So help me holy God! My soul, life, and possessions are for the south!” (Marrin 201) Booth, however, did not join the Confederate army, and when asked why this was from his sister he reluctantly told her of his job for the Confederacy as a