John Wilkes Booth's Assassination

Like it or not, race still plays a factor in today’s society. Statistically, poverty rates are higher for African Americans than they are for white Americans, and the average income in white American households is significantly larger the average household income in African American households. Some of the struggles of African Americans in the United States can be traced back to the 1860s, when then President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth. His replacement, Andrew Johnson, was never able to heal the nation, and during his presidency and those of his successors Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes, African Americans became separated from society, and that is still evident today. If this plot …show more content…
However, Lincoln did arrive at Ford's Theatre, where he would spend some of his final hours. John Wilkes Booth was a rather well known actor, so no one questioned why he was at the theatre that night. Booth spent days planning the perfect assassination, intricately planning his escape route and precisely mapping out at what exact point he would shoot Lincoln. Booth chose to kill Lincoln after a humorous line in the play so that the audience's laughter would drown out the sound of the gunshot. Curiously, on the night of April 14th, Lincoln’s bodyguard wandered off to get a drink just as Booth was about to enter the state box, leaving some to believe that he was part of a larger conspiracy. At roughly 10:00 pm, Booth entered the unguarded state box and laid on the floor six feet behind Lincoln for minutes before the assassination. At exactly 10:15 pm, Booth stood up, and fired one .44 caliber metal ball into the back of Lincoln’s head ("Abraham Lincoln’s …show more content…
He had an incredible ability to bring people together, a quality that could not have been less apparent in Andrew Johnson. Abraham Lincoln was known for his ability to solve any problem with all parties involved feeling satisfied. He would try to resolve conflicts in productive ways, so that everyone was satisfied with the solution. He made people feel like he genuinely cared for them, again a quality that was absent in Johnson. When Lincoln was assassinated, The Civil War had just ended, and the President faced the tough task of reuniting the nation. An overwhelming majority of historians believe that Andrew Johnson was not the man for the job ("Andrew Johnson: Impact and Legacy-"). This is in stark contrast to the legacy of Lincoln, who many view as one of the best Presidents in United States history ("Abraham Lincoln: Impact and Legacy-"). If Lincoln had lived, he would have devoted his time to healing the nation, and work tirelessly to accomplish his goal. This was not the case with Johnson, who simply did not make the effort that was needed. Johnson wasn't able to put his personal image aside, and focus on the needs of the people. Just the opposite was true with Lincoln, whose only goal was to improve the lives of the people of the United States, whom he

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