America's Original Sin: White Supremacy, John Wilkes Booth, and the Lincoln Assassination

John Rhodehamel

What really drove John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln? Not madness. Not impulse. White supremacy.

In America’s Original Sin, historian John Rhodehamel delivers a gripping narrative that reframes one of the most infamous crimes in American history. Drawing on Booth’s life, letters, and the political climate of the Civil War, Rhodehamel argues the assassination was an act of extremist ideology—rooted in rage over emancipation and racial equality.

By naming racism as the central motive, the book challenges long-standing myths and connects Lincoln’s murder to the political violence and divisions still shaping America today. Timely, provocative, and deeply researched, it offers essential historical context for our current moment.

Perfect for interviews, panels, and civic conversations around Presidents Day and beyond.

Release date of the book was 161 years of the day of the shooting.

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9781421441610
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Nonfiction
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