Made far from it. Fell dead Holding Without affect on the audience. But given the time to make deeds of his words it might have been one of more far reaching. Tragically he was not to be granted that time. As has been noted there was one in the audience that night who would use lincolns words as the catalyst for one of most heinous and destructive acts in our nations history. From childhood we are taught to know John Wilkes Booth is to hate him. Hes demonized as the embodiment of evil and yet few of us really know very much about him other than the fact that he was a handsome and popular member of the nations leading thespian family until he jumped the track. His own brother described him as a good hearted harmless though wild brained boy. What has been wanting in the pantheon of lincoln scholarship is a highly readable biography of booth until now. After spending a quarter century in the most pain staking research dr. Terry alfred has written fortunes fool. A book that will long define his subject for laymen and scholar alike. Hes also the author of the book prince among slaves a true story of an africanamerican princed into slavery in america. The story was shot as a documentary by pbs attracting more than three million viewers. Dr. Alfred has appeared on 20 20, abc news, History Channel and discovery network. Campus of Northern VirginiaCommunity College and in 2010 he was one of only a handful of teachers to receive the outstanding faculty award, the highest honor bestowed among educators in the commonwealth of virginia. Here are just a few of the online comments by nearly 300 of his former students. If you dont like this guy you have to be a moron. [ laughter ] quote, hes the best professor ive ever had. I mean, the guy wrote his own book. [ laughter ] quote, i hate history, all caps five exclamation points but he made it so interesting, who would have guessed history can be fun . Quote, god of history, im impressed. Quote, this class is really helpful, an i liked it so much, no homework, no papers, no stress. The final paper is so easy. I got a low grade in this class. [ laughter ] but i believe you will do a really good job. [ laughter ] quote, the funniest old guy i have ever met. [ laughter ] i had such a good time finding these. [ laughter ] quote, i as yoht can see, theres over, like what 200 comments on this. Hes so adorable, he makes you want to pinch his cheeks. [ laughter ] quote, the best teacher very cute. Quote, do not read any reviews besides this one. This is all you will need. This man right here is thee closest comparison to god as is humanly possible. [ laughter ] quote, alfred was awesome. I had him fall semester and i failed his class. Yes, i failed it not because he was bad, but because i didnt come to class. Dont expect to fail. That was just me being stupid. Hes cool. [ laughter ] quote, alfred manages to be wet your pants funny at 8 00 a. M. In the morning. Quote, it is as if you were watching a movie but its just him weaving the tapestry of American History. And finally, my favorite stop reading these reviews and sign up for his class before all the seats are taken. Please welcome my friend and fellow board member dr. Terry alfred. [ applause ] thank you, thank you, ron, for the great invitation, and for this great occasion. Its nice so such a large audience here, reminded of the story of the poet published a first book very excited and got invited to read his poems at 7 00 friday night at community center, so he was, of course, delighted, and he showed up at 6 30 nobody was there yet. 6 35 no one was there. 7 00, no one was there. Not even the person who invited him. [ laughter ] so, you know yeah finally at 7 05, one person walked in. They salt all the way back, and, of course, our good poet was mortified, and he thought of leaving, but said i cant leave one person here right . So the poet got up and said ill get started, come down front here and the man in the back said, no no ill sit here, i have to slip out a little early. [ laughter ] so im glad well see such a great crowd here. [ laughter ] my biography of booth started years ago as i taught a class on great crimes. Each week, we took a separate crime, the lindberg kidnapping, kennedy and lincoln assassinations, and hands down, the lincoln assassination was the favorite. I dont know if we were close to fords or what it was, but next thing i knew, it was expanded into an entire semester on the lincoln assassination, and i assigned students, youre booth find out everything you can about booth, your lincoln, youre mrs. Lincoln, and then, you know they would report during the semester on what they were reading and finding out, and then our final exam would be a trial. We put every one of these people, even lincoln, oddly enough, lincoln went on the stand to explain what he was up to. At the end of the Spring Semester semester, i was ready for commencement, and i put the gown on like judge dread like . Sat up front for the whole thing, and the process a wonderful friend of mine, james hal, dedicate fortunes to mr. Hall for all the encouragement he gave me over the years, loved coming to class, took us on the escape root following booths past, and it was amusing. Mr. Hall couldnt go in the home of dr. Mud. Thats because he was very hard on dr. Mud in the writings and so the muds did not want mr. Hall coming in. He was banned from the house. [ laughter ] i said wait, booth can go in there . You cant go . He said thats right, i have to stay out here, so you know we would go in, and he would hang out in the cars until we finished the tour, and one of the granddaughters was always gracious. She welcomed us, gave a tour but looked out the window at the parking lot, you know and finally, she drew me aside saying, is that James Otis Hall out there . [ laughter ] which she used the middle name. That was not a good sign. I didnt want us to get kicked out. So, yes, your eyes are better than mine. I dont see anyone out there, but at any rate. [ laughter ] god bless the memory of the people, and i will say for the mud grandchildren, if im in trouble, i want grand kids like that, right . [ laughter ] i want grandchildren that defend me as hard as they did their grandfather. The booth family in america begins in 1821 when a young couple arrives from london, and they settled in an area north of baltimore, and Everybody Knows 95 going there baltimore, wilmington, philadelphia and not in belleair itself, but the country, the booth family built a cabin, a log house actually and then in 1851 built a more substantial home known as tudor hall, and this is where they would live and John Wilkes Booth would grow up there part there and another in a townhouse in baltimore. The townhouse in baltimore is gone now. Its not there. It was just east of the citys commercial core. It was substantial home in a middle class neighborhood. The father, im sure some of us know the father, junius booth in the Andrew Jackson era, the great actor of the 20s and and 30s. When he was on an exceptional actor, and when he was off, he was very very challenging. He could insult audiences walk out on them or simply sometimes refuse to show up. I think alcohol was the main thing in his life but there seemed to be ogranic problems there too. He was challenging as a parent. Maybe i knew that, maybe i didnt, but as i got into it, i realized this, yes, this is a really difficult dad. He could be violent with the kids. Hes not a violent person 24 7 because he had great periods too, but he could be like, be physically bad, and then he would punish his kids with silence. Everyone in here dealt with someone, right who would shut up, clam up, freeze you out, and, you know that was intimidating for his kids because he had actor eyes that could bore a hole in you, and that shunning was another method that he used. Thank goodness, i guess you know, the mother maryann holmes, johns mother, was a good counter weight, loving, open tried to be cheerful and very good as a parent, very indulgent as a parentment i think what happened with her was her hands were so full with her husband and big brute of kids that, you know as long as they were content, she was content. Every parent in here knows that feeling, right . If its good enough leave it alone, right . And so she got through. Never, of course, able to change her husband. I mean, how can you change a person like that right . You tidy up after them. John and his siblings were taught to regard their father with sympathy. You know when he had mad fits. John wilkes booth had three brothers. Im reminded of the story of the minister who preached a funeral sermon, and than after the eulogy he said would anyone want to say anything about the dear departed, and someone in the congregation said, his brother was even worse. [ laughter ] i dont think John Wilkes Booth brothers will hear that. Two actors one was not, one the famous edmond booth, and two older sisters and he was particularly close to the oldest sister. Her name was rosalee booth. We know less about her than any other siblings but she was very sympathetic person, a saint, and he follow her around like a puppy, and he was always very close and was fond of her. Seems to me when you write a book, you can do you can and really have to do two things. You either have to find new things, new materials, or come up with fresh interpretations of old things and i believe that i was able to do a little both in this book. One of the people who lived at tudor hall longer than the booths was ellen. She came there as a bride at 20 in the 1870s, and she, you know died there in the 1940 s. She spent 60 years around the booth house. One of the things that happened to her was in the 1930s showed up and he would write a book, and i dont know whether kimmel was not up front about her what he wanted to do or if she was too elderly to appreciate and read the signs. The signs that he wanted to write a booth book, because she had one in mind herself, and she was greatly upset when he published the title. Mad booths of maryland, she resented the title. She met a young woman interested in the booths, and they visited her, and so she and hellen began to work together, and they did quite a bit of work on a script, titled the house that booth built, and then world war ii came along hellen got married. They moved. Got ill, passed away and hellen just disappeared, and for years, it was not known where all the research that hellen did, the writing, drafts, things they did together was. When i came on the research scene years ago was there was a multipage outline of the book but no selfincriminate, and, certainly, none of the collateral papers we hoped to see. I just made it a Little Mission of mine to see if i couldnt find what happened, and i didnt know if she was alive and if she was, she would be elderly. She disappeared from the nabtd in the ear 40s. When i saw that name, i was reluctant to call up or drop a line, and one day, there she was. Living in rural virginia. She had great memories, fond of her, and brought out boxes of work that they had done together, the mother load, just boxes. Just handed it over to me. And there was the lost script, the lost house script, which was wonderful, and i was able to use it i hope to some good effect in the book. The childhood i drew from there. The disturbing things about childhood was a cruelty to cats. I had read this in a source and i thought, well it was just one sentence. I dont know if i believe this or not. I found an indepth second account for someone who was an absolute associate and comrade of his. And he was abusive to cats and cruel to them. This must have been at 12 or 13 years old. Oddly enough, and, of course, everybody in here knows that can be a bad sign right . And i mentioned john locke, the philosopher in a comment he made in the 17th century about this, and what it might tell you about a personality. Oddly enough, though, and there was a complication with booth, he was notably kind to other animals. He was fond of dogs. He went out of his way to avoid injurying Lightning Bugs and butterflies, and his sister had an insect collection, and he rescued a bug and took it back and fut input it in the tree. Booth liked horses better than he did most people. I remember an incident in his 20s. He saw a teen beating a horse who couldnt pull a wagon and booth grabbed the whip punched him, punched the guy, and said, see how you like to be hit. Something to that effect. Thats an interesting complicated element in his personality. He did practice childhood thee theater. They were doing william tell, and he was to shoot an arrow after his characters sons head, an apple, and the apple was on the head of a kid named martin, who was just like that, right and John Wilkes Booth, 12yearold, aiming an arrow at you, and martin was just standing there trembling, but that went successfully and those childhood theaters were fun for everyone involved. Johns education carried him through, as i interpreted, on a modern frame early high school. He went to a good school in bellair, maryland, wecht to a school in sparks maryland run by a quaker elder and then he went to a military school a military middle and high school in maryland run by a priest. These were good schools but he was not it was difficult for him. His his sister said his older brothers were more intuitive, but for john he had to really, really force himself to learn things. It was not easy. But i see all sorts of clues he was a good auditory learner. He would listen to people he republiced, and, you know we know this, right, you can pay attention, and learn a lot with your ears. People made a fortune with their ears and he was good about listening to other people. He became an actor in his late teens, at richmond for two years, very popular there and i was able to discover the role he played more than any other role was lord in our american custom. It was known he was in the play but not known what role he had until very, very recently. I was good to see that in the source. He knew that play backwards and forwards, obviously. While he was at richmond, october took place, and the Militia Companies were sent up there, and booth joined them. If you want to see how good an author is on the subject, see what they say about booth joining the grays. Booth was actually an intruder with them by any means, b an enrolled soldier a sergeant with the 1st virginia regimen, and we found the payvoucher in rich jrich richmond. I dont think it had been unfolded in hundredplus years. He a some official role. Also in the book i hope you see the illustrations, the flag of the richmond grays. That was the Militia Company he mash muched with and, you know this shows virginias seal and in big dramatic letters, and again, booth marched under that flag in 1859 in the john brown raid. When the civil war came around and booth was acting in albany when the attack took place, and when albany paper said the fort demanded everyone show their colors, you know what side are you on here . Booth had early during the crisis been opposed to succession. He was down in montgomery when lincoln was elected, and he got in trouble there because he did not want to see the union broke up. He didnt think it was necessary. In that way, he shared the feelings of many northern midatlantic people virginia maryland, the upper south people that his position fits in with theirs, but then of course, once the shooting started, thats a mute point. Booth came to baltimore and to his hometown up in maryland and filled in with a company that was organizing to go down south. According to the officer in the company, herman stump, they were going to with booths assistants, destroy the bridge over the river that leads to philadelphia. Part of the scheme to blow the bridges leading out of maryland to prevent northern troops can from coming down here but booth did not enter the Confederate Army, as everyone knows. He stayed out. I speculate on a number of reasons why. I have not mentioned he suffered from home phobia. He had an adverse reaction to seeing blood and could not stand to see a dead faes. Ce. Theres references to blood in the writings, referring to the stripes on the flag to bloody gashes and things like that. I have a speculation in the book about why that is. I think that would give anybody pause who had such a physical reaction to bloodshed, but also the promise he made his mother, who was a widow, and he was very very fond of her. She had shielded him from his dad from time to time and promised her as a child he would always see that she was happy. Ii and that was a promise he made, a promise he kept, but it against against his instincts and believes i think and had bad consequences for the country. I did put in the book but there was a flag 11 star confederate flag, and thats in the museum at richmond. He essentially during the war that was breaking out, he gave that to a friend in harvard county and turned his back on the war and became an actor. He his career as an actor seems to kick off big time going to st. Louis. There was a theater there run by a fellow named ben bar and bens theater had a reputation for being unhealthy, cold, drafty a rat hole, one of booths friends said but ben was willing to give him a shot on stage and did. Ben was a supportive manager, but could vex you. I remember the complaint was made one time, your company is loaded with scrubs. They are not good. And they said, hey, they got to work somewhere, right . Put them here. They would not pay them, and one time the actors had it with him, mobbed down to the restaurant found a bar dining on quail, and they demanded their salary and they mocked surprised said, what, demand salary when black blackberryies are . Season . Eat those right . But booth was very interested in his profession very determined. Very ambitious. There was a definition of ambition and determination. Some of you remember the name of joe, a great lineman for the washington red skins in their hay day, and he said, you know, to win the super bowl, i would run over my own mother. His teammate said, i would too, i would run over joes mother also. Booth had that type of determination. Now, whether booth dont let anyone tell you he was not a fine actor. He was exceptional, not perfect, not finished, but edward forest everyone agrees is a huge actor from this time said an actor was great if he could play three leads better than anyone in the country. Booth had no troubles doing that. His richard iii was without parallel. He played the heart here in fords theater. I particularly like mentioning richard iii and marble heart together because richard iii is a complete feeling. Theres sincerity thats necessary to achieve the role the fact that booth could be the best in the country at two such opposed personalities show a little