The Northern and Southern halves of the country had been arguing about a number of issues for many years. The most important of these issues was slavery. Many Northerners believed that slavery was wrong. They wanted the Federal government to take steps to outlaw slavery or at least keep it from spreading beyond the Southern states where it was already allowed. But slavery played an important role in the Southern economy and culture. Many Southerners resented Northern attempts to contain slavery. They felt that each state should decide for itself whether to allow the practice. They did not want the Federal government to pass laws that would interfere with their traditional way of life.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Booth's home state of Maryland remained part of the United States. It was one of four "border states" that allowed slavery, yet decided not to secede from (leave) the Union with the slaveholding states of the South. As a result, the people of Maryland had divided loyalties during the war. Booth's family tended to support the Union cause. But Booth himself believed in slavery because he thought that black people were inferior to white people.
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