Assassinations ‘13
Type IV
Type 4
Recap:
1) Unable to understand their actions (mentally
insane)
2) Unable to apply political motivations to
actions
3) Unable to understand how others would view
their actions
I) How to
A) Analyze
1) Who Assassin is
2) Who (tried to) Assassinate
3) Apply the text’s motivation (i.e. type)
4) Apply the text’s explanation
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation
b) Historical Outcome
Assassin #1 Type 4
I) How to
A) Analyze
1) Who Assassin is
Richard Lawrence
2) Who (tried to)
Assassinate
Andrew Jackson
--1st attempt on a US Pres—
3) Apply the text’s motivation
(i.e. type): Type 4
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation
a) Unable to understand &
mentally insane
-delusions started well in advance
of attempt- (pg 196)
-King Richard III illusions
-Clothing attire
-Pleasant personality shifted to a
rude, hostile (violent) &
suspicious personality
1483-1485
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
a) Unable to understand & mentally insane
(cont)
-from moral persona to an
immoral one
-family history of insanity
5) Apply the zeitgeist (cont)
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
-Lawrence attempted to kill Jackson as he left the
funeral of a US Congressmen
-2 guns misfired
-powder wet or fell out—
unknown which is correct
-Jackson’s aides, including
US Congressmen Davy Crocket,
subdued
him and prevented Jackson from severing hurting
him w/ his cane.
Apply the zeitgeist (cont)
Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
b) Unable to apply political motivations to actions:
--Lawrence view: Jackson’s Opposition to Nat’l Bank
was
‘thwarting’ Lawrence’s money (pg 196)
--Lawrence did not attribute his
act (assassinate) to politics of Jackson
(i.e.—if Jackson dead=change in
policy-NOT how Lawrence sees it)
5) Apply the zeitgeist a) Historical Facts & Motivation(cont)
b) Not political (cont)
Jackson opposed Nat’l Bank because:
1) Favored the elites—monied men
2) Favored the NE at the expense of S & W
3) To much power in 1 institution
4) Dislike to Bank PresNicholas Biddle
5)Blamed bank for 1819 Recession
& inability to pay his debts
The bank is trying to kill me, but I will kill it.
Pres Jackson to VP Van Buren
5) Apply the zeitgeist (cont)
a) Historical Facts & Motivation(cont)
Jackson’s response:
• Veto its (early) re-charter in 1832
• Withdrew all nat’l money 1833 (biggest depositor of
bank)
-fire two of his Secr of Treasury to do soBank(Biddle)’s Response:
• Call back all loans
• Force recession & renewal of Charter in 1834
Jackson weathers the storm &
Bank expires in 1836
5) Apply the zeitgeist
b) Historical Outcome
-Lawrence found not guilty by reason of insanity
-Lawrence spends rest of life in mental hospitals
including the Gov’t Hospital of the Insane( later
named St Elizabeth) which would later house
another Pres assassin-John Hinckley, Jr ( Ronald Reagan)
5) Apply the zeitgeist
b) Historical Outcome (cont)
c) Unable to understand how others viewed
his actions
Lawrence thought himself as agent of God not
an agent of political change
5) Apply the zeitgeist
b) Historical Outcome (cont)
Result of death of Nat’l Bank:
1) Increase in local/state banks
2) Nat’l funds used for internal improvements
3) Rapid Inflation
4) Jackson turned to Specie Circular
-requirement of buyers to have gold/silver to back up
paper money5) State & Local banks collapse
6) Panic 1837 and resulting depression
5) Apply the zeitgeist (cont)
a) Historical Outcome(cont)
Result of death of Nat’l Bank (cont):
7) US Senate censured Jackson in 1834
(only Pres to be censured in US History)
Censure:
A public reprimand by the US Congress
8) Congressional record expunged by later democratic
controlled US Senate
9) Jackson seen as champion of masses over elite and
wins re-election in 1832
5) Apply the zeitgeist
b)Historical Outcome(cont)
& Alternative Theory
--Jackson was convinced
assassination was a conspiracy
by his political enemies(pg195)
-US Senator John Calhoun, Jackson’s previous VP, felt
compelled to declare on the US Senate floor, that he
had nothing to do w/ attempt
-two men had falling out over the Nullification
Crisis of 1832
b)Historical Outcome & Alternative Theory (cont)
-Nullification Crisis
-Tariff of 1832 kept most of the protectionist measures
in place
-Protectionism vs Free Trade
-Protectionism—the practice of developing domestic
industries by protecting them from foreign
competition through duties or quotas imposed on
importations
--Free Trade —trade between countries, free from
governmental restrictions or duties
b)Historical Outcome & Alternative Theory
Nullification Crisis (cont)
-Jackson proclaimed that SC was on “the brink of
insurrection & treason” and denied the right of a
state to succeed from Union
-Jackson gets the Force Act passed to use military
force against SC if not back down
-SC does (and Congress passes a more reduced tariff
bill)
-Crisis over but so is Calhoun & Jacksons political
allegiance
b)Historical Outcome & Alternative Theory (cont)
-Jackson personally thought it was
US Senator George
Poindexter (D/NR-MS)
He had hired Lawrence for
house painting few months prior
to attempt.
After the attack, Jackson singled out
Poindexter who was one of his strongest critic
Result: Congressional Investigation
The two witness against “Old Poins” fell apart
under cross examination.
In end, lack of evidence=lack of Congressional action but,
he couldn’t convince Missippians that he had nothing to do w/ it
& was not re-elected later that year
b)Historical Outcome & Alternative Theory (cont)
-Some of the Anti-Jackson people (including “old
Poins”) & press began to suspect that Jackson &
his allies hired Lawrence
-They argued the attempt was done by Jackson to
keep his popularity high & help his side win in the
‘Bank Wars’
-They pointed out the odds of 2 pistols not firing were
slim especially when they tested fine after the attack
b)Historical Outcome & Alternative Theory (cont)
-Conspiracies eventually evolved to political innuendo
but it did help create the
Whig Party
-Whig Party was formulated as the basis to oppose
“King Andrew the First”
-The name, Whig, derives from 1) Great Britain’s
parliamentary opposition to the British monarchy
and 2) the American rebels against the Crown
during the Am Revolution
5) Apply the zeitgeist
b) Historical Outcome --Hypothetical:
-Dead Jackson could have lead to the 2nd Nat’l Bank
being renewed under VP Van Buren
-SC & ‘nullifers’ revenged
-remember Lawrence
tried to kill him w/o
thinking of these possible
outcomes
Hence why he is Type 4
Assassin #2 Type 4
I) How to
A) Analyze
1) Who Assassin is
Charles Guiteau
2) Who (tried to) Assassinate
Pres James Garfield
Pres Garfield
being
supported
by Secr of
State Blaine
after the
shooting.
Guiteau in
background
3)Apply the text’s motivation (i.e. type)-Type 4
4) Apply the text’s explanation
a) Unable to understand their
actions--Mentally Insane
b) Unable to apply political
motivations to actions
c) Unable to understand how others
would view their actions
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation
a) Unable to understand their
actions--Mentally Insane
-Guiteau was mentally insane
-delusions started well in advance
of attempt-long family history of insanity
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
-Guiteau himself rejected insanity plea as presented in
court. He argued:
-1) God’s will
-God planned it & used Guiteau as instrument
and thus, he was insane only in so far as he was an
instrument used by God
-Guiteau himself rejected insanity plea as presented in
court. He argued:
2) Physician Malpractice (not Guiteau) which killed
the Prez
-1st bullet grazed arm
-2nd bullet lodged near lung (?)
-doctors probed for it using
unsterilized equipment & fingers
-Bell & his "induction balance"
machine (metal detector) tried
to locate it
-failed
-foiled by coils in mattress
-Guiteau himself rejected insanity plea as presented in
court. He argued:
-3) Wrong Jurisdiction
Railroad station
tile on which
-shot in DC railroad station
Garfield fell
but moved to NJ to help
in his recuperation
-he died 2 months later in NJ
-Guiteau believed if
tried in NJ he would be
acquitted
5) Apply the zeitgeist a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
c) Unable to understand how others
view their actions
-Guiteau thought he
-would be revered by nation for
-unifying it after the death of
unscrupulous leader (Garfield)
-unifying the Republican party
from in-fighting
Why?
would
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
Why?
-Garfield not back the Stalwart faction, sufficiently
for them, and thus, turned his back on those who
helped get him elected Pres in 1st place
-Garfield did appointed a Stalwart, Thomas James,
as Postmaster General
-Stalwarts wanted a more important job-Secr of
Treasury
Result: 2 US Senators from NY state
Roscoe Conkling & Tom Platt-leaders of the Stalwart wing of
the Republican party
-applied Senatorial Courtesy to a Garfield appt Wm Robertson
to be Customs Collector of Port of NY
Senatorial Courtesy —the practice of confirming only those
presidential appointees approved by both senators from the
state of the appointee
-Not work
-Resigned their US Senate seats in protest but were not reappointed by NY state legislature
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
Thus, when Guiteau shoots Garfield he yells “ I am a
Stalwart of the Stalwarts!..Arthur is President now!”
-The Stalwart faction of the Republican party opposed Civil
Service reform and wanted Political Patronage to continue
Patronage-the distribution of jobs on a political basis to those
who have supported one's party or political campaign.
-The opposition to the Stalwart faction was called ‘Half
Breeds’ and they wanted Civil Service Reform
5) Apply the zeitgeist a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
b) Unable to apply political motivations to
actions
-Remember Guiteau killed Garfield
w/o looking for an alternative political
result
-He saw himself in the same suffering
association as the Stalwarts only (i.e.
they didn’t get their guys into jobs &
Guiteau didn’t get his appointment either)
Pres Hayes
kicking out
Arthur
5) Apply the zeitgeist
b) Historical Outcome
-Stalwarts were represented
by VP Chet Arthur (former Collector of Customs from NY & he
was fired for graft & bribery)
-Arthur replaced Half Breeds w/ Stalwarts in his cabinet
(including the coveted Secr of Treasury)
-But he continued Garfield Civil Service Reform and got the
1879-85
Pendleton Civil Service Reform
(D-OH)
Act passed
5) Apply the zeitgeist b) Historical Outcome (cont)
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act-Established Merit system for govt jobs via passing exams
-Helped w/ creation of the US Civil Service Commission
-A later commissioner included
Teddy Roosevelt (1889-96)
-Prevents solicitation of donations on Federal Property
-Causes the party to rely on donations by businesses rather
than patronage hopefuls
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Outcomes & Alternative Theories
-Most obviously the initial conspiracy
rallied around
-the Stalwarts lead by
Conkling
to elevate Arthur to the Presidency
-Remember Guiteau killed Garfield w/o looking for an alternative political
result
-He saw himself in the same suffering association as the Stalwarts only
(i.e. they didn’t get their guys into jobs & Guiteau didn’t get his
appointment either)
-His Godly-ordained beliefs, & unable to fully understand his actions &
how others viewed his acts, further helps keep him in Type 4.
Assassin #3 Type 4
I) How to
A) Analyze
1) Who Assassin is
John Schrank
2) Who (tried to) Assassinate
former republican Pres & current
Pres candidate, for
Bull Moose Party,
Teddy Roosevelt
3)Apply the text’s motivation(i.e. type)-Type 4
4) Apply the text’s explanation
a) Unable to understand their actions
1) Mentally Insane
a) Unable to understand right
from wrong
b) Unable to apply political motivations to actions
c) Unable to understand how others viewed
his actions
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation
-TR took over when Pres Wm McKinley was
assassinated in 1901
a) Unable to understand their actions
1) Mentally Insane
-Schrank had vision that McKinley claimed it was
Roosevelt (pg 218) who murdered him
-Following death of foster parents (aunt & uncle)
triggered more delusions & increasing periods of
isolationism
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
Mentally Insane
1) Supposed love affairs
2) Two visits by McKinley’s Ghost
3) Claimed he was an agent of God
like Joan of Arc
4) Family history of insanity
presented at trial
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
-Schrank trailed TR until he got a shot off at him as he
exited his hotel on his way to a speech in
Milwaukee
-Luckily for TR, his 50 page speech & spectacle case
prevented serious physical harm
Bullet in TR’s
ribcage
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
b) Not politically motivated:
-Schrank upset over TR because he violated
Some of Schrank’s—
‘4 Pillars of Our Republic’ . TR violated:
1) No 3rd terms=dictatorship
2) Avoiding war of conquests
TR was ok w/:
3) Upholding Monroe Doctrine
4) No Catholic presidents
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
Note: He was also upset when TR, as NYC Police
Commissioner enforced the ‘Blue Laws’
Blue Laws:
prohibit certain businesses from opening on Sunday
or from selling certain items on that day. Blue laws
often apply to bars and to alcohol sales.
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Facts & Motivation (cont)
c) Unable to understand how others viewed
his actions
-Schrank even wanted pistol & bullet on display at NY
Historical Museum as he claimed he would be a
hero
-Became upset when doctors where not going to
remove it from TR claiming that the ‘bullet was
his(Schrank)’
5) Apply the zeitgeist
a) Historical Outcome
-Schrank was found insane and spent rest of life at a govt
facility where he, ironically, died on the anniversary of his
McKinley visions
-1912 Election-Republicans
split their votes btw
(I) Taft (R)
TR (BM) {and former Republican}
And thus, elected only
the 2nd Democrat
since the US Civil War
Woodrow Wilson