John Wilkes Booth, a name that conjures up America's most infamous assassin and killer of perhaps one of America's greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln. Born in 1838 on a farm near Bel Air, Maryland, John W. Booth grew up favoring the south and its way of life. Being a Southerner, Booth was in favor of slavery and was a stubborn racist. For this reason, his hatred for Lincoln was intense since Lincoln stood for everything Booth was against. He blamed Lincoln for all the problems America was suffering especially any that were felt by the Confederacy. By comparing the beliefs of John Wilkes Booth to those of Abraham Lincolns, one can come to a clear understanding of how the tragic night at the Ford's Theatre came to be.
             Slavery was a huge part of America at the time and one of Lincoln's main goals was to rid America of the slave system. Booth was a stubborn racist and completely supported the slave system. In one instance he was one of the armed men responsible to guard against any attempts of saving John Brown (an abolitionist who attempted a slave uprising) before hanging. Booth's racism is perhaps one of the reasons that lead to the assassination of Lincoln. He felt that Lincoln's beliefs were outrageous and that he was out of proportions.
             "This country was formed for the white not for the black man. And looking upon African slavery from the same stand-point, held by those noble framers of our Constitution, I for one, have ever considered it, one of the greatest blessings (both for themselves and us) that God ever bestowed upon a favored nation." John Wilkes Booth, November, 1864, in a letter to his brother-in-law.1
             Through Booth's letter, it is evident that his racism and hatred for the blacks was extreme. He states that America was for the whites not the blacks and thus, he is in absolute favor of the slave system. For this reason, Booth yearned to get rid of Lincoln by any means ...