Throughout history there have been four presidential assassinations and several assassination attempts. What would motivate someone to kill anyone, much less the highest office holder in the country? According to James W. Clarke of the British Journal of Political Science, presidential assassins can be divided into three categories: psychotics, political zealots, and those with personal motives. [1] Regardless of the outcome of the assassination attempts, often times, the true objective of the murder or murder attempt is not reached. Whether the assassin is a psychotic, a zealot, or has personal resentment or reasons, their true intention for killing is not fulfilled. [2] 3
Psychotic assassins are murderers who are "unable to grasp the significance of their actions" and have motives that are irrational, inexplicable, and downrightcrazy. [4] Charles Guiteau, the assassin of President James A. Garfield, was a psychotic assassin. His motives stemmed from Garfield's campaign; Guiteau thought that he was singlehandedly the reason for Garfield's presidential victory. Because of his crucial contribution, or so Guiteau thought, Garfield owed Guiteau a spot in his cabinet. After Guiteau's proposal was turned down several times, he decided that the next necessary thing to do was to shoot Garfield. [5] Guiteau claimed he was "divinely ordained to kill President Garfield". Guiteau's trial, to this day, is considered a landmark trial for the insanity plea, as it was an early attempt to set a legal standard for what is considered insane. Dr. Edward Charles testified that Guiteau was a "morbid egotist" who "misinterpreted and overly personalized the real events of life." [6] As Guiteau became infamous in the media, he openly bashed and criticized all involved in the court trials, only making his situation worse. Guiteau himself was even the object of two unsuccessful assassination attempts. Though the court ruled in 1881 that he was not insane, neurologists and the general public both agree today from his testimonies and brain scans that he in fact was completely insane. Typical of a psychotic assassin, Guiteau's motives were based upon nonsense, and thus, did not have the effect he ultimately sought. [7]
John Schrank, the unsuccessful assassin of President Theodore Roosevelt, is also considered a psychotic assassin. Schrank claimed that the ghost of William McKinley, the previous president, came to him and told him he had to kill Roosevelt. To add to Schrank's ludicrous claims, Schrank was angry that Roosevelt was running for a third term. Schrank was "obsessed with the belief that he was commissioned to remove peril to nation." [8] Roosevelt was shot whil he was giving a speech, and he even proceeded in giving the speech while the bullet was in his lung. It was eventually ruled that Schrank was suffering from "insane delusions" and he was sent to an insane asylum. The ultimate effect of Schrank's attempted murder was negligable-Roosevelt lived and continued serving his third term. [9]
John Hinckley Jr. is an example of a modern-day psychotic presidential assassin. Hinckley attempted to kill Ronald Reagan in 1981. Hinckley's bold attempt at assassinating President Reagan was rooted from his sick, severe obsession with Jodi Foster. Hinckley repeatedly watched the movie "Taxi Driver", a movie about the plotting of killing a presidential candidate-where his idea originated. His obsession with Foster sprung from her role in the film as a child prostitute. His first intended target was Jimmy Carter, but he was arrested before he had the opportunity to kill him. The next chance he got was with the next president, Ronald Reagan. Hinckley had the disturbed idea that by being a presidential assassin and a famous historical figure, Foster would recognize him as an equal. Hinckley wrote to Foster before his attempt, "The reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you." [10] Due to Hinckley's insanity trial, Congress rewrote insanity defense laws. Hinckley was ruled not guilty by reason of insanity. [11] The ultimate effect of Hinckley's attempt was not at all what was intended by Hinckley-he was put in an insane asylum without any recognition from Jodi Foster. Representative of almost all psychotic assassins, Hinckley's motivation was not achieved. [12]
Political zealots have motivations based on dissatisfaction concerning political matters and for the most part, their ultimate goal is also not reached. [13] John Wilkes Booth, the assassin of Abraham Lincoln, is arguably the most well known politically motivated assassin. Booth was a born and raised Confederate who earned a living by acting. He was so outraged at the likelihood of Lincoln being re-elected, that he devised a plan to kidnap him to ensure a fully confederate-run government. In his plan, Lincoln was to be held hostage and released in exchange for Confederate prisoners of war. When Lincoln said he planned to grant suffrage to former-slaves, however, Booth decided kidnapping was no longer an option and he would have to murder him. He was so outrage at what he considered unjust, and he even wrote in his journal, "I love justice more than I do a country that disowns it, more than fame or wealth." [14] On the evening of Good Friday Booth went to the Ford Theatre where Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln would be seeing a play. He made plans for others to kill the Secretary of State and Vice President in order to stop the Union in its track, killing the President and his two successors. Booth's goal was to create chaos and tumult in the Union war strategy, allowing the Confederates to regroup and refocus, allowing them to eventually bring down the North. [15] Booth, contrary to his plan, was the only assassin to succeed in his task. Booth ultimately partially succeeded in disrupting political life. Although Johnson carried out Lincoln's Reconstruction plans, Lincoln surely would have been a better leader to direct the path to full reconstruction. Had Lincoln served his full term, the world could have been a better place with less racial tensions and a more peaceful environment. [16] Thomas Goodrich was correct when he said, "All the elements in Booth's nature came together at once - his hatred of tyranny, his love of liberty, his passion for the stage, his sense of drama, and his lifelong quest to become immortal." [17] In the end, Booth did not fulfill his wish of disrupting and ruining the Union, although in a way he did succeed by interfering with Lincoln's Reconstruction plans and not allowing Lincoln to live out his dream of a more a peaceful America. [18]
Sirhan Sirhan, the assassin of Robert Kennedy, was also a political zealot type assassin. Sirhan killed Kennedy because of the Middle East conflict. He said himself, "I can explain it. I did it for my country." As a Jordanian Arab, Sirhan had extreme resentment for Kennedy for supporting Israel. Sirhan believed that RFK betrayed him by giving support to Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967. He made it his mission to avenge Kennedy, even writing in his journal, "My determination to eliminate R.F.K. is becoming the more and more of an unshakable obsession...Kennedy must die before June 5th". [19] Exactly one year later, Sirhan committed the crime. His personal motive was to return to the Middle East and be a national hero, but to this day he is still in jail. More importantly, his political goal was to show his rage at Zionists and end U.S. support for Israel. [20] His goal was not achieved by any means. Especially in cases of politically based assassinations, the ultimate goal of the assassin is not usually met. The country time and again has proven to rally together in times of tragedy. For both the assassination of Kenney and Lincoln, the country mourned together in unity, rather than separating and crumbling.
Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of President William McKinley, is another example of a politically motivated presidential assassin. Czolgosz lived a hard life, as he was an immigrant trying to succeed in America at a time where was a capitalist country. He worked a tough job in the steel and glass industries, one with low pay and long hours. After nineteen workers were murdered, Leon "was thought to have a 'nervous breakdown'." He now focused his time on a "preoccupation with the need for radial social change in America." To make this change happen, Czolgosz shot President McKinley "while smiling directly onto the [his] face." [21] In court, Czolgosz admitted to fully knowing what he did and understanding the consequences. On his way to be executed, Czolgosz said, "I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people-the good working people. I am not sorry for the crime…that's all there is about it." [22] In the end, Czolgosz' primary motivation was to stand up for what he thought was unfair government and unjust treatment of the poor workers. Although his real goal, to gain rights for the workers and make the world fairer, was not achieved, Czolgosz definitely made the world more aware of the feelings of the lower-class workers.
Even when assassinations are motivated purely by personal reasons, the ultimate goal is generally not met. An example of this unsuccessfulness is Lee Harvey Oswald, the murderer of John F. Kennedy. From his birth, Oswald was a loner and an outsider. Throughout his childhood, he was a bitter, social misfit. He grew up with no father figure, little parental guidance, and domestic violence present-all contributing to his lack of morals. [23] Oswald's true dark, sick side was exposed when he began to plot Kennedy's assassination. To him, murdering JFK, a national hero and revered president, was "a protest" to "authority and a society that had relegated him to a menial position in life." This ultimate goal was obviously not reached: he was not accepted or suddenly important because of his crime; in fact, his murder had the opposite effect. He was shunned and hated. Two days after he assassinated Kennedy, Oswald himself was assassinated by a nightclub operator. [24] 25
Giuseppe Zangara, who tried to murder Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was also a personally motivated assassin. From his work as bricklayer, Zangara contracted severe pains in his stomach and could no longer work as such. He blamed President Roosevelt for his unfortunate life and his failing healthy. Perhaps a final straw was when he was diagnosed with appendicitis and chronic flatulence, leading him to be lonely and without friends. He envied anyone more fortunate than him and wanted to kill all capitalist presidents and kings. He originally set out to kill Herbert Hoover, but was unable to, so he settled for FDR. He later said, "Hoover and Roosevelt -- everybody the same." This quote alone shows that Zangara's motivation was not political-he didn't care who he had to murder, just so long as he got to punish a capitalist for his unpleasant life. His ultimate goal was to seek revenge on anybody with more than him, but of course, murdering the president was not the way to get more or punish others for having more. In cases of personally motivated assassinations, often the ultimate motive is not reached as the crime usually results in the death penalty or jail for the assassin. [26]
All presidential assassinations are chilling murders of arguably America's most respected me. No matter the method or type of assassin, the country has been left with similar impacts: leaving people feeling panicked, desolate, and uncertain about the future. The British Journal of Political Science truly evaluated the mind of an assassin properly; their motivations can be split into three categories: psychotics, political zealots, and those personally motivated. [27] Every assassin had a reason to commit their crimes; psychotics because they are insane and senseless, political zealots based on political dissatisfaction or frustration, or personally motivated assassins because of their own thoughts and lives. Regardless of which of the three categories the assassin's motivation can apply to, almost always, their true, underlying motive for committing the crime is not achieved. [28]
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