John Wilkes Booth Quotes


Our cause being almost lost, something decisive and great must be done.


Citations

John Wilkes Booth, 1838-1865, Actor and assassin, Entry in Diary before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

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Related Quotes

The problem of African Poverty as revealed by the media has had a strong emotional effect on many, especially the images of sick and undernourished children. This quotation and {583200} are good examples of sophisticated observers calling for anything to be done even though there was doubt that it would actually help reduce the problem. Specific efforts to reduce poverty in third world nations have been unfortunately not very successful. Many have called for continual and even greatly increased efforts despite the fact that success was doubtful. A few critics objected to the waste of resources and called for radical new approaches to foreign aid.


The original plan was to kidnap Lincoln from Ford’s Theater and hold him as ransom for Confederate Prisoners of War. However, other conspirators thought it would be difficult to spirit the President out of the theater. Actually, after Booth attended a Lincoln speech, he changed his mind and changed the objective to assassination. See {623953}.


Although Great Britain had abolished slavery, British economic interests during the Civil War suffered because of the Northern blockade of the South. Much political opinion in England was hostile to the blockade policies of the Union. Bright, a great admirer and supporter of the United Sates and the Union cause was concerned that the United States might drift into War with Great Britain. His letter to Senator Sumner was written with the understanding that it would be in shared with President Lincoln, and it was actually read at a cabinet meeting.


John Wilkes Booth
John Wilkes Booth
  • Born: May 10, 1838
  • Died: April 26, 1865
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Actor

John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth theatrical family from Maryland, he was a noted actor who was also a Confederate sympathizer; denouncing President Lincoln, he lamented the recent abolition of slavery in the United States.