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The South WantsJustice The Southwants justice, has waited for it long. She will wait no longer. John WilkesBooth Nine years since he first began his rise to stardom on the American stage, John Wilkes Booth's acting career had reached its peak during the 1862-63 season, and now, in 1864,it appeared to be in jeopardy. The throat problems that developed during the winter of 1864did not prevent him from continuing his acting; other matters were pushing it backstage. Practically speaking, Booth's acting career ended with the 1863-64 season. His attention now turned toward his passion for the Confederacy. At the core of that passion was a hatred for Lincoln and his policies. The year 1864 was also a fateful one for Abraham Lincoln. In the dark summer Lincoln penned a memorandum asking his cabinet members to sign the verso without reading its content: "This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. Then it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect, as to save the Union between the election and the inauguration; as he will have secured his election on such ground that he can not possibly save it afterwards."' Lincoln's reference to the victor's having secured his election on grounds that would giveup the Union referred toMajor General George B.McClellan, the Democratic "Peace Candidate," whose own party platform called for a cessation of hostilities and restoration of peace. At the time, the war seemed to be stalemated. Sherman had disappeared into the dark abyss of Georgia, and his fate was uncertain as he approached the gates to Atlanta. The people of the North had no reason to believe he would be any Inore successful than McClellan had been on his way to capture Richmond two years before. But Sherman wasn't McClellan. He took Atlanta on September 2, and two weeks later Phillip Sheridan gained a stunning victory in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia when he defeated Jubal Early's army at the battle of Winchester . These two victories, coming just before the presidential elections, assured Lincoln's reelection. To the more astute, Lincoln's reelection assured The South Wants Justice 61 the Confederacy's defeat-unless the results of the election could in some way be reversed or overturned. While Lincoln's fortunestook on a renewed spirit of hope,John Wlkes Booth's grew darker and more sinister. In early 1864Booth began to invest a part of his large stage earnings in the newly thriving oil business in Pennsylvania . "Petroleumania" was luring hundreds of entrepreneurswho had money to invest. Booth was among them. InJanuary of that year he became partners with three friends,John Ellsler, Thomas Mears, andJoseph Simonds, in purchasing oil land in Venango County near the town of Franklin in northwestern Pennsylvania. The venture was short-lived, however, and proved unprofitable for Booth. Eight months later, at the end of September, events found Booth abruptly disposing of his oil interests and arranging his affairs as if his life were about to take a major change in direction. According to his partner Simonds, Booth lost $6,000 in the enterprise. While the trial of the conspirators was taking place in Washington in May of 1865, Godfrey Hyams was telling the commissioners about his exploits shipping Luke Blackburn's trunks past customs in Boston and on to Philadelphia. A man with the unusual name of Cordial Crane was an official at the Boston Customs House. Upon reading Hyams's testimony, Crane's interest was aroused. He decided to check the register of the Parker House to see if Hyams or his alias,J.nT.Harris, had registered at the hotel. Crane could not find either Hyams or Harris in the register but was startled to find thatJohn MTilkes Booth had registered at the Parker House onJuly 26. Crane noted that three men from Canada and one from Baltimore also registered on that day. Crane copied the names of the five men and sent a letter to Stanton calling his attention to what he felt was a strange coincidence.Whatever Stanton thought of Crane's observation, he failed to follou~ up on it and simply filed the letter away.? Booth's presence at the Parker House, however, did not escape the attention of the authors of ComeRetributiorz.They concluded that Booth's presence at the same time three men from Canada and one from Baltimore were also...

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