Abraham Lincoln once said “I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him.” After many years of being fascinated about the topic of Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth, I have chosen to dig deeper into it. Instead of looking only at the actual situation, I wanted to look at the mindset and motives that Booth had for the assassination. To understand it all, I will go over the motives of Booth and his accomplices, the plot that was carried out that day, and Booth’s mindset following the assassination. In order to understand exactly why Booth did what he did, it
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by none other than John Wilkes Booth. This assassination was not the only plot made up by Booth however. On March 17, 1865, “A plot hatched by John Wilkes Booth to kidnap President Lincoln is aborted when the President fails to make a scheduled trip to a soldiers ' hospital.” After this failed attempt, Booth relentlessly continues thinking about the assassination and ends up coming up with his new plot, which gets carried out. Twenty-eight days later, accompanied by his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry R. Rathbone, and Clara Harris, who was Rathbone’s fiancee.4 The four of them were watching a performance of “Our American Cousin”. During the play, Booth emerged from the curtain behind the presidential box, and Booth shot at Lincoln. The bullet that left the derringer pistol wielded by Booth “entered through Lincoln’s left ear and lodged behind his right eye.”4 This caused paralyzation of Lincoln and left him barely breathing. Despite being rushed from the scene and to a doctor, Lincoln could no longer grasp onto his life any longer. Abraham Lincoln died the next morning on April 15th, 1865. The assassination plot of Lincoln wasn’t the only one being followed through at this time. Booth’s accomplice, Lewis Payne, was busy in his attempt at assassinating the Secretary of State,William Henry Seward. His attempt consisted of slashing the Secretary’s throat a couple times and then fleeing from the …show more content…
He saw the picture as black and white, only seeing the fact that Lincoln was responsible for the abolition of slavery instead of seeing the wonderful qualities that the President had. After looking at the motives, plot, and mindset, it is hard to call Booth an insane man, just someone who acted out on their beliefs in an immoral
by none other than John Wilkes Booth. This assassination was not the only plot made up by Booth however. On March 17, 1865, “A plot hatched by John Wilkes Booth to kidnap President Lincoln is aborted when the President fails to make a scheduled trip to a soldiers ' hospital.” After this failed attempt, Booth relentlessly continues thinking about the assassination and ends up coming up with his new plot, which gets carried out. Twenty-eight days later, accompanied by his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, Major Henry R. Rathbone, and Clara Harris, who was Rathbone’s fiancee.4 The four of them were watching a performance of “Our American Cousin”. During the play, Booth emerged from the curtain behind the presidential box, and Booth shot at Lincoln. The bullet that left the derringer pistol wielded by Booth “entered through Lincoln’s left ear and lodged behind his right eye.”4 This caused paralyzation of Lincoln and left him barely breathing. Despite being rushed from the scene and to a doctor, Lincoln could no longer grasp onto his life any longer. Abraham Lincoln died the next morning on April 15th, 1865. The assassination plot of Lincoln wasn’t the only one being followed through at this time. Booth’s accomplice, Lewis Payne, was busy in his attempt at assassinating the Secretary of State,William Henry Seward. His attempt consisted of slashing the Secretary’s throat a couple times and then fleeing from the …show more content…
He saw the picture as black and white, only seeing the fact that Lincoln was responsible for the abolition of slavery instead of seeing the wonderful qualities that the President had. After looking at the motives, plot, and mindset, it is hard to call Booth an insane man, just someone who acted out on their beliefs in an immoral