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Table of Contents
In 1865, John Wilkes Booth was responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. After shooting the President, John Wilkes Booth infamously went on the run and was finally caught (almost 2 weeks later) hiding in a barn in Virginia. See the fact file below or download the comprehensive worksheet pack which can be utilised within the classroom or home environment.
- John Wilkes Booth was born on May 10, 1838 in Maryland. He was born into the famous Booth family who, at the time, were the leading stage actors of their day.
- Booth had 9 brothers and sisters.
- Booth’s father, Junius Booth, was a famous Shakespearean actor in Great Britain before moving to the USA.
- John Wilkes Booth was a successful theater actor. He made his stage debut in Baltimore when he was 17 years’ old.
- Like his father, John Wilkes Booth performed in many Shakespearean plays and the critics loved his performances. Booth became very wealthy as a result of his success.
- John Wilkes Booth had strong political views and was opposed to the abolition of slavery. He also hated the views of President Lincoln, whom he blamed for the Civil War and the problems in the south.
- Booth and a group of 6 other men originally planned only to kidnap President Lincoln but they later plotted to kill him, as well as the Vice President and the Secretary of State, instead.
- In 1865, President Lincoln made a speech declaring that he wanted to grant suffrage to the former slaves. Booth was very unhappy.
- Booth assassinated President Lincoln whilst he was in the Presidential Box at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C. He was there to see the play ‘Our American Cousin’.
- Booth assassinated President Lincoln with a single bullet shot to the back of the head.
- John Wilkes Booth used a .41 caliber Deringer gun to assassinate the President.
- Nobody suspected Booth was going to assassinate the President because he was a popular and well-liked actor. He had access to all areas of the theater.
- After Booth had assassinated President Lincoln he dived over the edge of the Presidential Box and onto the theater’s stage where he shouted ‘Sic Semper Tyrannis’ (‘thus always with tyrants in Latin) to the audience before disappearing into the night.
- John Wilkes Booth broke his left leg when he fell onto the stage.
- Outside the theater a pre-prepared horse was waiting and Booth travelled south towards Maryland. One of the other men in the plot – David Herold – soon joined him and they headed to a roadside Inn where they had previously stashed some supplies.
- Booth and Herold are later helped by some locals who took them to a barn on a farm to hide. On April 26 ,(12 days after the assassination) they were found by the New York Cavalry.
- When Booth is found hiding in the barn, the New York Cavalry threatened to burn it down if Booth did not turn himself in. Booth stayed put so the barn went up in flames. As he tried to escape, Booth was shot and killed by Sergeant Corbett.
- John Wilkes Booth died on April 26, 1865. He died from the gunshot wound. He was only 26 years’ old.
- President Lincoln’s body was taken in a 9-car funeral train from Washington to Illinois, passing through 7 states, where 1.5 million people stopped to view his coffin and 7 million people watched the train as it passed.
John Wilkes Booth Worksheets
This bundle includes 11 ready-to-use John Wilkes Booth worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about the man who was responsible for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.
This download includes the following worksheets:
- John Wilkes Booth Facts
- Wanted
- The Theatrical Career
- The Co-Conspirators
- Modified TRUE or FALSE
- The Emancipation Proclamation Fast Facts
- Quotable “Quotes”
- The Slavery Issue
- The Assassination Puzzle Pieces
- Who is Abraham Lincoln?
- The Scriptwriter
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Link will appear as John Wilkes Booth Facts, Biography & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, January 1, 2017
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.