Andrew Jackson was the first president that was assaulted and had someone try to assassinate him. The first assault happened on May 6, 1833. Robert B. Randolf hit the president and fled the scene. Randolf had been fired from the Navy by Jackson for embezzlement. He was chase by people who were with Jackson. One of the people chasing Randolf was Washington Irving a well know writer. Jackson did not press charges.
On January 30, 1835, President Andrew Jackson went to the Capitol to attend the funeral of a congressman. Richard Lawrence was waiting for him with two loaded pistols. Richard was a 34 year old house painter. He had come to the U.S. as a boy. His original home was in England. He claimed the U.S. government owed him money for some property. He was unemployed and thought that killing Jackson would free up more money. After the attempt, he told doctors that he was an English King and that Jackson was his clerk.
When Jackson was leaving the capitol through the East Portico Lawrence aimed a pistol at Jackson. He was less than eight feet away from Jackson. When he fired, the gun misfired. The second pistol misfired also. Legend has it that Jackson beat his attacker with his can. Davy Crockett and others restrained and disarmed Lawrence.
Richard Lawrence’s trial began on April 11, 1835. He was prosecuted by Frances Scott Key who wrote the Star Spangled Banner. Key and all most everyone else thought Lawrence was insane. After a trial on a day and a half, Lawrence was found not guilty do to insanity. He was held in a mental hospital until his death twenty six years later.
People think the guns misfired due to the dampness in the air. The guns were later tested and fired perfectly every time.
Sources:
The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/
Davis, Gibbs and Ilus. David A. Johnson. Wackiest White House Pets. New York: Scholastic Press, October 2004
James, Barber and Amy Pastan. Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies. New York: DK Publishing, 2002
Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964.
McCullough, Noah, The Essential Book of Presidential Trivia
Pine, Joslyn, Presidential Wit and Wisdom: Memorable Quotes from George Washington to Barack Obama
Huffington Post web site.
Lang, Stephen, The Complete Book of Presidential Trivia,
O’Reilly, Bill, and Dugard, Martin, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever
St. George, Judith In the Line of Fire: Presidents’ Lives at Stake
In addition to these books, I have also read and have used information from those listed on my Books About President page.
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