Written by Maximus Hansen
Edited by Andrew Hermann and Annika Lilja
In light of the recent assassination attempt on former President, and current Republican nominee, Donald Trump, this article aims to look back on the history of presidential assassinations and assassination attempts in the United States.
On July 13, 2024, live rounds were fired at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. One of the bullets struck former President Donald Trump in the ear (FBI: Trump Assassination Attempt). Seconds after being tackled to the ground, a defiant Trump rose to his feet and raised his fist to the thousands of onlookers. In the ensuing chaos, 50-year-old firefighter, Corey Comperatore, died from gunshot wounds as he heroically shielded his family. The following hours were spent identifying the shooter, transporting the former President to a hospital, and aiding the casualties of the shooting. The shooter, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was taken down by the Secret Service sniper team and subsequently identified. Although much is unknown to the public, including Crooks’ motive, this assassination attempt came at a time of high tension in the 2024 presidential race (FBI: Trump Assassination Attempt).
The Secret Service has come under scrutiny for this failure, and it has recently been revealed that in some instances concerning Trump’s safety, “specific Secret Service specialized units or resources were not provided,” according to Secret Service Speaker Anthony Guglielmi (NPR: Secret Service). Following the shooting, Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle stepped down and power was handed to Acting Director Ronald Rower Jr. On July 30th, Acting Director Rowe appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. He addressed the committees, saying “While I will be candid about what I know occurred that day, please understand that there is information that we still do not know, to be learned from hundreds of interviews and the review of thousands of pages of emails, messages, and documents that the investigations have undertaken” (U.S. Secret Service Media Relations). Only time will tell when it comes to understating why such a tragedy occurred. Sadly, this is not the first time a president, former president, or candidate has been involved in an assassination attempt: to date, 4 US presidents have died as a result of injuries sustained during attacks on their lives.
The first presidential assassination attempt in the US was in 1835 when a mentally ill Richard Lawrence tried to assassinate President Andrew Jackson as he entered the Capitol Building in Washington DC. Miraculously, both of Lawrence’s pistols misfired, and Jackson was able to attack his assailant using his cane (The Attempt to Kill “King Andrew”). Lawrence, a native of England, showed signs of mental instability and falsely believed he was the heir to an American monarchy (The Attempt to Kill “King Andrew”). He saw Jackson as a king-like figure and thus felt the need to assassinate him in order to take this non-existent throne.
Thirty years later, on a fateful night in Washington DC, John Wilkes Booth fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre. Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, was disgruntled with Lincoln’s efforts to provide African Americans with the right to vote, and Lincoln’s ultimate goal of abolishing slavery (Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln). Throughout the Civil War, there had been many plots organized by the Confederate Secret Service and other groups to assassinate the President. Upon learning that Lincoln would be attending a play, Booth and his co-conspirators devised an intricate plan. Booth, an actor by trade, used his connections to gain access to the upper level where Lincoln and his party were sitting. Upon entering the presidential box, both fired a shot into Lincoln’s head, jumped onto the stage, and shouted the phrase, “Sic Semper Tyrannis (thus always to tyrants)” (Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln). Hours later, President Abraham Lincoln was dead. The following two weeks were marked by a large-scale manhunt for Booth throughout the United States. Finally, after 12 days, he was tracked down at a barn in Virginia, where he was killed in a final standoff with Union soldiers (Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln).
The next president who would be assassinated was James Garfield. In the summer of 1881, Charles Guiteau shot the President twice at the B and P Railroad Station in Washington DC. Guiteau carried out the assassination due to Garfield’s refusal to appoint him as a consul in Europe (A Stalwart of Stalwarts). He spent the prior weeks stalking the President and honing his shooting skills. Interestingly, Garfield did not die immediately from being shot, but rather 11 weeks later due to his doctors’ use of non-sterilized medical equipment (The Murder of President James A. Garfield). Following Garfield’s death, Guiteau was found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, and hung at the District of Columbia Jail.
In September of 1901, President William McKinley became the third president to be assassinated. While visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, McKinley was fatally shot by radical anarchist Leon Czolgosz (William McKinley Assassination: Topics in Chronicling America). As the President was shaking hands with the public, Czolgosz rejected McKinley’s handshake and shot him twice with a revolver. Immediately after, onlookers knocked Czolgosz to the ground and beat him until he was taken into custody. He believed that McKinley was an oppressor and as an anarchist, he felt it was his duty to kill him. Initially, it appeared that McKinley was recovering after his operation. However, he succumbed to gangrene 8 days later. Czolgosz was put on trial, convicted of murder, and executed by an electric chair a month later (William McKinley Assassination: Topics in Chronicling America).
In 1912, while on the campaign trail in Milwaukee for his third term as US President on behalf of the Progressive Party, Theodore Roosevelt was shot (Bullet Speech). The shooter, John Schrank, believed that assassinated former President William McKinley had instructed him to kill Roosevelt in a dream. In the weeks leading up to the rally in Milwaukee, Schrank had stalked Roosevelt all the way from New Orleans and planned his attack (Bullet Speech). Upon spotting Roosevelt exiting a hotel, Schrank approached and fired a shot into Roosevelt’s chest. Miraculously, the bullet was slowed from reaching vital organs by Roosevelt’s steel eyeglass case as well as his copy of the speech he was about to give to the crowd. Upon shooting the former President, Schrank was pounced on by security and spectators alike. In a true testament to his character, Roosevelt asked police to protect Schrank from the forming mob and had authorities bring the shooter forward to him (Bullet Speech). Roosevelt then placed his hand on Schrank’s head and is reported as asking him why he shot him. Heroically, Roosevelt gave his whole speech all the while bleeding profusely. Once he finished, he was taken to the hospital and administered care until he fully recovered. Schrank was sentenced to life in a mental hospital where he died 29 years later (Bullet Speech).
The last president to be assassinated was John F. Kennedy. In November of 1963, Kennedy was meeting with the Governor of Texas, John Connally. While riding in a motorcade through Downtown Dallas, shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, and the President along with the Governor were struck in their open-top car (Warren Commission). The car then drove off to Parkland Memorial Hospital where the President was pronounced dead. Kennedy had sustained two bullet wounds, one through the top of his head and once through his neck (Warren Commission). Governor Connley, who had been struck in the chest, ultimately survived. The shooter, Lee Harvey Oswald, evaded capture for a few hours until he was apprehended for killing Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippet, the same day (Warren Commission). Two days later, while being transferred to a county jail, Oswald was shot and killed by nightclub owner Jack Ruby (Warren Commission). Following Kennedy’s death, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president on Air Force One. Johnson established the Warren Commission, which was dedicated to reporting the details of the assassination. Due to the many strange circumstances and conflicting reports, the assassination has been a popular topic for conspiracy theories. The entirety of the assassination was captured on camera by Abraham Zapruder and has been named the Zapruder film (Zapruder Film). It was ultimately concluded by the Warren Commission that Oswald acted alone, but to this day, theories of a second shooter on the Grassy Knoll, signal people, and even Federal Involvement exist.
Aside from the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, the most recent major attack involved President Ronal Reagan. In March of 1981, while exiting the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC, President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. Along with Reagan, his Press Secretary, James Brady, and two officers were wounded in the attack (Assassination Attempt: Reagan). James Brady was left partially paralyzed from the attack and would spend the rest of his life advocating in favor of gun control laws. Reagan made a full recovery 12 days later and went on with his presidential duties. The shooter carried out the attack in order to garner the attention of Jodie Foster, an actress whom he greatly admired (John Hinckley is Now Free). Hinckley was subsequently institutionalized in different facilities until 2016 when he was released back into the public (John Hinckley is Now Free).
With the recent tragedy in Butler, Americans face the grim reality that presidential assassinations can still happen. Despite increasing security actions and the use of modern technology, politicians in high-profile situations face danger in what should be a civil forum of debate that reflects the strength of democracy and freedom of speech.
Sources:
“Assassination Attempt.” Ronald Reagan, www.reaganlibrary.gov/permanent-exhibits/assassination-attempt.
Bellamy, Jay. “A Stalwart of Stalwarts.” National Archives, 7 Nov. 2016, www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2016/fall/guiteau.
Clark, James. “The Murder of President James A. Garfield .” Archives.gov, US Archives, 1992, www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/1992/summer/garfield.pdf. Accessed 30 July 2024.
Hernandez, Joe. “Secret Service Says Full Federal Resources Weren’t given to Trump “in Some Instances.”” NPR, 24 July 2024, www.npr.org/2024/07/21/nx-s1-5047837/secret-service-donald-trump-assassination-attempt#:~:text=Hourly%20News-,Secret%20Service%20says%20full%20federal%20resources%20weren%27t%20given%20to,Guglielmi%20said%20in%20a%20statement. Accessed 30 July 2024.
Hurdle, Fernando. “Research Guides: William McKinley Assassination: Topics in Chronicling America: Search Strategies & Selected Articles.” Guides.loc.gov, guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-william-mckinley-assassination/selected-articles.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. “Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln | Articles and Essays | Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, 2015, www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-essays/assassination-of-president-abraham-lincoln/.
“Opinion | John Hinckley Is Now Free, but I Can’t Forget the Day He Shot My Father.” Washington Post, 27 Sept. 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/09/27/patti-davis-john-hinckley-free-terror-reagan/.
“Update on the FBI Investigation of the Attempted Assassination of Former President Donald Trump.” Fbi.gov, FBI National Press Office, 14 July 2024, www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/update-on-the-fbi-investigation-of-the-attempted-assassination-of-former-president-donald-trump. Accessed 30 July 2024.
“U.S. Senate: The Attempt to Kill 'King Andrew.'” Www.senate.gov, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Attempt_to_kill_King_Andrew.htm.
“Testimony of Acting Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr., before the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee | United States Secret Service.” Www.secretservice.gov, www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/releases/2024/07/testimony-acting-director-ronald-l-rowe-jr-senate-judiciary-committee-and. Accessed 31 July 2024.
Warren, Earl. “Warren Commission Report: Table of Contents.” National Archives, 29 Oct. 2018, www.archives.gov/research/jfk/warren-commission-report.
Zapruder FAQ | the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. www.jfk.org/zapruder-faq/.
94TH CONGRESS SENATE REPORT 2d Se8sion. 23 Apr. 1976.
“Bullet Speech — Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.” TRPresLibrary, www.trlibrary.com/bullet-speech.
Comments