On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House , Virginia, officially marking the end of the Civil War. The end of the war did not please many Southern sympathizers. There was a guest who was present at both Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address and his final speech on Reconstruction. This guest was watching Lincoln's actions very closely and had actually followed him for a long time. Booth assassinated Lincoln at Ford's Theater on November 17. John Wilkes Booth was the ninth of his father Junius Booth's ten children. The Booth family had a history of acting and many were famous celebrities. John Wilkes Booth made his debut at the age of seventeen. His first act was to star in a production of Richard III. The Booth family owned a farm in Bel Air, Maryland, and owned several slaves. The fact that the Booth family owned slaves shows that John Booth grew up with the same mentality as a Southern slave owner, which led him to become a Southern sympathizer. Considering that Booth was a Southern sympathizer, it makes sense that he hated Lincoln. His political views were essentially the opposite of Lincoln's, as Booth supported the institution of slavery and Lincoln strongly opposed it. Unlike John Wilkes Booth, Abraham Lincoln did not come from a wealthy family. In fact, Lincoln was born on a poor farm in Kentucky where he was forced to do manual labor for his father. However, Lincoln did not want to spend his life doing manual labor for very little income. He wanted better for himself and essentially taught himself to read. Once Lincoln learned to read, it allowed him to become a high achiever...... middle of paper...... How exactly would they do that? Staff and students strive to advance life in the region through their teaching, research and service. Lincoln may be gone, but his legacy will live on forever. Works Cited Flayderman, Norm. Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms...and Their Values.Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2001. Print.Gienapp, William E. Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America: A Biography. New York: Oxford UP, 2002. Print. “Mary Todd Lincoln.” EHistory. Ohio State University. Internet. April 22, 2014..Schehl, Sally A. and Carlo J. Rosati. “The Booth Deringer: real artifact or replica? » Forensic Science Communications 3.1 (January 2001). Smith, Richard N. "Deringer." Ford Theater. Internet. April 22. 2014..