Politics Series: US Presidential Assassinations

History of US Presidential Assassinations

Political Violence in America

Abraham Lincoln Assassination. Image: Wikipedia

Dion‘s 1968 hit song “Abraham, Martin, and John” tells of the well-known assassinations of three American leaders.

Then it ends with a last verse:

“Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
I thought I saw him walkin’ up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin, and John.”

… referring to the assassination of Robert Kennedy, a Democratic candidate for president in the 1968 election.

Joseph P. Kennedy II and his mother, Ethel Kennedy, at the grave of Robert F. Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 9, 1968, the day after Robert Kennedy’s funeral, with two Secret Service men standing behind them. Image: Getty Images on Axios

I write this just days after the attempted assassination of the former president and now the official Republican candidate for president in the 2024 election, Donald Trump, while he spoke at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania.

How is this like other American assassination attempts, and how does it differ?

CONTENTS

• Why Is This So Startling?
• First Attempted Assassination of an American President
• Presidents Injured by…