Note left for Andrew Johnson

[L Verge]

Both were still fighting for what they believed in, IMO. In the case of Booth, it was more than just the Southern cause - it was a vendetta against a politician that he despised for what he perceived as the destruction of the republican form of government (notice the lower case "r").

Please read Bill Richter's Sic Semper Tyrannis. There is another book that was written within the past few years (that I can't remember the name of) that touches on the exact same topic. Even Mike Kauffman wrote a special honors paper at the University of Virginia on Booth and republicanism. It was a political doctrine for him that was being destroyed by Abraham Lincoln. I am not condoning his deed, but there was a method to Booth's madness. And, he wasn't the only one to feel that way - even after the full surrender of troops.

That frustration in how old values and constitutional principles are being challenged continues to exist today. Hopefully we can solve things without resorting to civil wars and assassinations.