Talk:John Wilkes Booth

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Article milestones Date Process Result June 8, 2007 Good article nominee Not listed October 16, 2007 Good article nominee Listed Current Status: Good article

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An event in this article is an April 26 selected anniversary

Contents 1 FBI records? 2 The Lead 3 Catholic? 4 Succession law error

[edit] FBI records?

Whats up with this line "FBI records that were made public give no information to support the escape theory.[23][24]" What FBI records? Why would the FBI have any records of an incident that happened almost 40 years before it was started? Even if we presume that documentation was handed down to relevant successor agencies through the years, that sort of information would most likely have ended up in the Secret Services hands, whom not only protect the President and other high-ranking officials now, but actually came into existence a mere month or two after the assassination attempt. SiberioS (talk) 06:13, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

The FBI's FOIA documents section has a 184-page dossier on Booth, as indicated on the section's index here. I've restored the link in the article and also reworded the reference. JGHowes ^talk - 07:14, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] The Lead

I've had to revert the removal of a word in the Lead about Booth's death. As the Lead is an overview (summary, intro) of the article, and there is a section within the article that specifically discusses the possibility that he didn't die as is described in the official history. My notation of its presence within the article is not Undue Weight, as the reverter argued, as but one or two words were used to illustrate the existence of the section within the article.
Of course, i am wiling to discuss the matter here. - Arcayne (^{cast a spell}) 16:33, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

My objection is not to the mention of the theory that he didn't die on Garrett's front porch, but to the word choice: "...supposedly killed". This, in my view, wrongly implies that what is (at best) a fringe theory is taken seriously by creditable historians, when it is not. That is what I mean by "undue weight". The use of a word to avoid such as "supposedly" is objectionable in the Lead to a GA. I say reword or Delete. JGHowes ^talk - 19:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Okay, JG, what alternative would you suggest, since you do not prefer the word, 'supposedly' - perhaps you have an alternative method by which to denote the theories? I am open to suggestions. - Arcayne (^{cast a spell}) 19:59, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Have added, "Some individuals and writers have advanced theories that Booth escaped his pursuers and died years later under a pseudonym" as the first sentence introducing the "Booth escape" section, which otherwise didn't seem to flow well from the previous section, and replaced "supposedly" with similar verbiage in the Lead. JGHowes ^talk - 14:21, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Those both are well-written, JG; however, I was referring to the notation in the Lead where it says unequivocally that he died on such-and-such date. Left as is, it tends to ignore the theory, which doesn't seem very neutral or objective. Again, note that I am not suggesting an introspective paragraph on the theory; I think - as it is detailed in a whole section of the article, that it deserves mention in the overview that is the Lead. - Arcayne (^{cast a spell}) 17:39, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

I don't see that the Lead, as revised, "ignores" the theory. It's now mentioned in the same paragraph of the Lead, after all. JGHowes ^talk - 20:14, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Oops, i missed that, JG. I've tweaked it a bit, for readability. - Arcayne (^{cast a spell}) 00:57, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

The tweak looks fine to me, Arcayne. I'm glad we were able to resolve this for the betterment of the article. JGHowes ^talk - 01:40, 5 February 2008 (UTC).

As am I, JG. It's always fun to work with reasonable people. - Arcayne (^{cast a spell}) 01:46, 5 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Catholic?

There's a poor source, "John Wilkes Booth: a Catholic? A spie of the Vatican?" by Spirit of Lincoln Assoc. hosted by Geocities, that says Booth wasn't Catholic. On the other hand I don't see any good sources that say he was Catholic. This good source, Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia, discusses the Catholic conpiracy theory but doesn't mention Booth being Catholic. One of the conspirators, John Surratt, was definitely Catholic. Unless anyone disagrees I'm removing the "Catholic" category. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 08:53, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

I've removed it pending resolution. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 11:11, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

I agree that we really need to have a reliable source for the article to state definitively Booth's religious affiliation (if any). I do not find Booth's church affiliation or baptism mentioned in the reference cited by Smith2006, Geringer's John Wilkes Booth: A Brutus of His Age. Unless and until a reliable source can be found, this should not be included in the article. JGHowes ^talk - 12:01, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Likewise, I just removed an assertion that the subject was Episcopalian as it was sourced to a self-published site. The site is a law firm that submitted a brief in a lawsuit concerning Booth's remains. "EXPOSING THE MYTH THAT JOHN WILKES BOOTH ESCAPED" The source says, "Booth was an Episcopalian, and the ceremony was conducted by the Reverend Fleming James of Christ Episcopal Church, where Weaver was a sexton. (T. 5/25/95 at 117; Ex. 22H)." I can't determine what "T. 5/25/95 at 117" refers to, but it appears to be the citation. As before, we should be able to find a good source for this information. Until we do, it's better not to say anything. ·:· Will Beback ·:· 22:44, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Succession law error

The article says: "By targeting Lincoln and his two immediate successors to the office, Booth seems to have intended to decapitate the Union government and throw it into a state of panic and confusion." Johnson was Lincoln's successor, but the next in line would have been the President pro tem of the Senate (the position was vacant at the time), followed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives (Schuyler Colfax). See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Succession_Act_of_1792#Presidential_Succession_Act_of_1792 for details. 69.229.20.210 (talk) 17:46, 13 June 2008 (UTC)