Biography: John Wilkes Booth

This documentary recounts the story of one of the most ignominious characters in American history. John Wilkes Booth gained his terrible immortality by his assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The program uses archival photographs, re-enactments, and the commentary of historians and psychologists to assess the character and motivations of this famous actor, who was a Confederate zealot. Whether his notorious act was motivated by politics or insanity, no one can deny Booth's impact on American history and the American psyche.