Political assassinations and attempts in U.S. history
Subtitle: the lasting effects of gun violence against American political leaders
By: J. Michael Martinez
Publisher: Carrel Books
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 434
ISBN-13: 9781631440700
Subjects: Assassins; Assassination attempts; Presidents; Assassination; Attempted assassination; Politicians; Political violence; History
Description: "The long, dark history of political violence in the United States. Violence has been employed to achieve political objectives throughout history. Taking the life of a perceived enemy is as old as mankind. Antiquity is filled with examples of political murders, such as when Julius Caesar was felled by assassins in 44 BCE. While assassinations and assassination attempts are not unique to the American way of life, denizens of other nations sometimes look upon the US as populated by reckless cowboys owing to a "Wild West" attitude about violence, especially episodes involving guns. In this book, J. Michael Martinez focuses on assassinations and attempts in the American republic. Nine American presidents-Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan-have been the targets of assassins. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was also a target shortly before he was sworn into office in 1933. Moreover, three presidential candidates-Theodore Roosevelt, Robert F. Kennedy, and George Wallace-were shot by assailants. In addition to presidents and candidates for the presidency, eight governors, seven U.S. senators, nine U.S. House members, eleven mayors, seventeen state legislators, and eleven judges have been victims of political violence. Not all political assassinations involve elected officials. Some of those targeted, such as Joseph Smith, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr., were public figures who influenced political issues. But their cases are instructive because of their connection to, and influence on, the political process. No other nation with a population of over 50 million people has witnessed as many political assassinations or attempts. These violent episodes trigger a series of important questions. First, why has the United States-a country constructed on a bedrock of the rule of law and firmly committed to due process-been so susceptible to political violence? Martinez addresses these questions as he examines twenty-five instances of violence against elected officials and public figures in American history"--

"In this book, J. Michael Martinez focuses on assassinations and attempts in the American republic. Nine American presidents--Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan--have been the targets of assassins. President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt was also a target shortly before he was sworn into office in 1933. Moreover, three presidential candidates--Theodore Roosevelt, Robert F. Kennedy, and George Wallace--were shot by assailants. In addition to presidents and candidates for the presidency, eight governors, seven U.S. senators, nine U.S. House members, eleven mayors, seventeen state legislators, and eleven judges have been victims of political violence" [Classifies each assassin's motives: political and psychological] --
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 399-414) and index.
Table of contents: title: "Sic semper tyrannis" : Abraham Lincoln (1865); title: "I killed the president for the good of the laboring people, the good people. I am not sorry for my crime" : William McKinley (1901); title: "I saw murder; title: no, not murder, a thousand times worse than murder; title: I saw anarchy wave its first bloody triumph in Idaho" : Frank Steunenberg (1905); title: "It all happened so rapidly. I didn't really know what the hell was going on" : Harry S. Truman (1950); title: "RFK must die" : Robert F. Kennedy (1968); title: "It's just that we will never be young again" : John F. Kennedy (1963); title: "Whoever dies in Project Pandora's Box will be directly attributable to the Watergate scandal" : Richard M. Nixon (1974); title: "The security was so stupid. It was like an invitation" : Gerald R. Ford (1975); title: "At least give me the chance, with this historical deed, to gain your respect and love" : Ronald Reagan (1981); title: "I have the gun in my hand. I kill kings and presidents first and next all capitalists" : Anton Cermak (1933); title: "Looking back on my life, I would have liked it if society had protected me from myself" : George C. Wallace (1972); title: "I've never killed a person who was undeserving of it" : John H. Wood, Jr. (1979); title: "Let me go, gentlemen; title: I am not afraid; title: they can't kill me; title: I can protect myself" : Andrew Jackson (1835); title: "I shot the president as I would a rebel, if I saw him pulling down the American flag. I leave my justification to Go and the American people" : James A. Garfield (1881); title: "Lock me up; I am the man who shot the mayor" : Carter Harrison, Sr. (1893); title: "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a bull moose" : Theodore Roosevelt (1912); title: "He's been controlling my mind for years. Now I've put an end to it" : Allard K. Lowenstein (1980); title: "I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us" : Gabrielle Giffords (2011); title: "Oh Lord, my God, is there no help for a widow's son?" : Joseph Smith, Jr. (1844); title: "I ask no quarter and I fear no foe" : William Goebel (1900); title: "Every man a king, but no one wears a crown" : Huey P. Long (1935); title: "I live like a man who's already dead" : Malcolm X (1965); title: "I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we as a people, will get to the promised land" : Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968); title: "If you see me as your savior, I'll be your savior. If you see me as your god, I'll be your god" : Leo Ryan (1978); title: "We've said all along there were three victims in this. Today Dan White became the third victim" : George Moscone and Harvey Milk (1978).