Richard Lawrence
|
The etching of the assassination attempt. |
Richard Lawrence (1800? –
June 13,
1861) was the first known person to attempt to
assassinate an
American President.
Lawrence was born in
England in 1800 (or perhaps
1801). By the time he was an adult he was clearly
mentally ill. Lawrence worked as a painter and there is speculation that exposure to the chemicals in his paints may have contributed to his derangements. By the
1830s he was unemployed and had succumbed to the delusion that he was King
Richard III of England. Lawrence was also convinced that the American government owed him a large sum of money but that President
Andrew Jackson was keeping him from receiving it, which prevented Lawrence from taking his rightful place as
King of England. According to his later testimony, Lawrence also blamed Jackson for killing his father in
1832, despite the fact that Lawrence's father had actually died in
1823 and had never been in the United States.
Lawrence decided he should kill Jackson. He purchased two
pistols and began observing Jackson's movements. On
January 30,
1835, Jackson was attending the funeral of
South Carolina congressman
Warren R. Davis. Lawrence originally planned on shooting Jackson as he entered the service but was unable to get close enough to the President. But when Jackson left the service, Lawrence had found a space near a pillar where Jackson would pass. As Jackson walked by him, Lawrence stepped out and fired his first pistol at Jackson's back. However the pistol misfired. Lawrence quickly made another attempt with his second pistol but that also misfired. It was later determined that the weapons he had chosen were noted for being vulnerable to moisture and the weather on that date was extremely humid.
Lawrence's unsuccessful attempts had drawn the attention of the crowd and he was quickly wrestled into submission by those present (including Congressman
Davy Crockett). It is reported that Jackson assisted in subduing his attempted assassin, and struck him several blows with his cane.
Lawrence was brought to trial on
April 11,
1835. The prosecuting attorney was
Francis Scott Key. After only five minutes of deliberation, the jury found Lawrence not guilty by reason of
insanity. After being interred in several institutions and hospitals during the years after his conviction, in
1855 Lawrence was finally committed to the newly-opened Government Hospital for the Insane in Washington, DC, where he remained until his death in
1861. (This institution was later renamed
St. Elizabeths Hospital, and is where another would-be presidential assassin was committed after his trial for unsuccessfully attempting to kill President
Ronald Reagan in
1981.)
As with later assassinations, there would be speculation that Lawrence was part of a
conspiracy. While nobody denied Lawrence's involvement, many people, including Jackson, believed that he may have been supported by Jackson's political enemies. However, all subsequent evidence indicates that Lawrence acted alone.
