All Episodes

May 11, 2025 40 mins

John Wilkes Booth will simply go down in history as the man who assassinated Lincoln. But there is much more to Booth than what is just on the surface. He was a talented actor, considered one of the best actors of the 19th century. He was so popular that women had to be held back from literally ripping the clothes off his body as he walked out of the stage and towards his hotel. He was dark, handsome and charming, but he was also a man obsessed. He thought that Lincoln was going to make himself into the King of America, that, Booth as a white man was entitled to own slaves. Most of all, he knew in his heart, if he killed Abraham Lincoln then he would be lauded as a hero. His name would be shouted from every rooftop as glory would shine upon him. But that never happened. Instead he died, slowly, painfully from a gunshot wound that came from a Union soldier’s rifle. Well... allegedly anyway. There is also a theory that Booth didn’t actually die that night, that he got a secret password from Vice President Andrew Johnson that allowed him to escape far away from Washington D.C.


Thanks to Mike Meyers for the theme music, you can follow him on X @themikeshow42.


(Ambient) Breath, Kirk Osamayo, Free Music Archive, CC BY, https://tinyurl.com/ambientbreathkirk


SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

www.notyourhistoryclass.com

https://www.instagram.com/notyourhistoryclass/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566814031230https://x.com/nyhcpodcasthttps://www.tiktok.com/@notyourhistoryclass


SOURCES


https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-civil-war/john-wilkes-booth

https://www.historynet.com/edwin-booth-saved-robert-todd-lincolns-life-2/

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-brown

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Know-Nothing-party

https://www.npr.org/2015/04/15/399579416/historian-john-wilkes-booth-not-a-deranged-lone-madman

https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/the-lincoln-conspirators.htm

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-samuel-mudd-went-lincoln-conspirator-medical-savior-180954980/

https://www.britannica.com/event/assassination-of-Abraham-Lincoln

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/lincolns-missing-bodyguard-12932069/

https://www.nps.gov/foth/learn/historyculture/the-lincoln-conspirators.htm

https://www.history.com/news/john-wilkes-booth-final-days

https://www.history.com/news/the-john-wilkes-booth-mummy-that-toured-america

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/john-wilkes-booth

https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-civil-war/john-wilkes-booth

https://www.historynet.co


Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

24/7 News: The Latest
Therapy Gecko

Therapy Gecko

An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.

The Joe Rogan Experience

The Joe Rogan Experience

The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.