Ben Burns Mrs. Cox Advanced Composition 26 March 2024 John Wilkes Booth What Was John Wilkes Booth's Motive for Killing President Abraham Lincoln? “In the pages of history, a single act can reverberate through the ages, shaping the destiny of nations,” Dwight D. Eisenhower once stated. One such act that left a lasting impact on American history was the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth. The events surrounding Lincoln's assassination shocked and grieved a nation, causing intense debate and speculation. Booth's actions not only altered the course of the Civil War's aftermath but also directly impacted the future of the United States. In the wake of Lincoln's assassination, a grieving nation was faced with the challenge
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Loyalty to the Confederation played a significant role in John Wilkes Booth’s motive for the assassination, as he saw himself as a “defender of the Southern cause” and perceived the President as a threat to the Confederacy’s existence. Booth viewed Lincoln as a tyrant who was taking away white Southerners’ rights to start their own country where race-based slavery was legal. In Booth's letter to his brother-in-law, he passionately supported the Southern cause. He stated that Lincoln's war policy was one of "total annihilation", and said: “I have always held the South was right. The very nomination of Abraham Lincoln, four years ago, spoke plainly of war upon Southern rights and institutions. ...I have also studied hard to discover upon what grounds the right of a State to secede has been denied, when our very name, United States, and the Declaration of Independence, both provide for secession.” (Decker) Although he was devoted to the Confederate cause, Booth was never officially a Confederate soldier nor did he ever enlist, however, his celebrity status as an actor allowed him to be part of secret missions for the
Loyalty to the Confederation played a significant role in John Wilkes Booth’s motive for the assassination, as he saw himself as a “defender of the Southern cause” and perceived the President as a threat to the Confederacy’s existence. Booth viewed Lincoln as a tyrant who was taking away white Southerners’ rights to start their own country where race-based slavery was legal. In Booth's letter to his brother-in-law, he passionately supported the Southern cause. He stated that Lincoln's war policy was one of "total annihilation", and said: “I have always held the South was right. The very nomination of Abraham Lincoln, four years ago, spoke plainly of war upon Southern rights and institutions. ...I have also studied hard to discover upon what grounds the right of a State to secede has been denied, when our very name, United States, and the Declaration of Independence, both provide for secession.” (Decker) Although he was devoted to the Confederate cause, Booth was never officially a Confederate soldier nor did he ever enlist, however, his celebrity status as an actor allowed him to be part of secret missions for the