Assassination Attempts: A Persistent Threat to American Democracy

Contrary to the myth of a peaceful democratic system, the United States has a long and troubling history of political violence that challenges the narrative of American exceptionalism.

Jul 15, 2024

The Facts:

The United States has a long and troubling history of political violence, with numerous instances of assassinations and assassination attempts targeting high-level officials, including presidents, presidential candidates, and other prominent political figures. This pattern of violence has been a persistent and disturbing component of the American political landscape, contradicting the mythic belief in a peaceful democratic system that settles differences through the ballot rather than the bullet.

The ideology of American exceptionalism pushes Americans to think of their country as fundamentally different from other nations, but the truth is that the United States has a long history of political violence. Over the course of the country's history, four sitting presidents have been murdered: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Additionally, there have been countless other serious attempts on the lives of presidents, including Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and most recently, the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet reportedly grazed his ear. The attempt to kill Trump is a chilling reminder of how easy it is for some Americans to trigger a lethal tradition of political violence that is often right beneath the surface of American culture.

However, it is important to note that assassination attempts on US presidents have not always generated sympathy or political benefits for the victims. For example, the attempts on the lives of Truman, Roosevelt, Ford, and Reagan did not necessarily boost the political fortunes of their parties. In fact, the United States is the leader among major democracies in terms of the number of assassination attempts on heads of government.

The violence has not been confined to presidents; it has also targeted political candidates, members of Congress, civil rights leaders, and other prominent figures. In the pre-Civil War era, the US Capitol itself was a site of frequent physical altercations between lawmakers, with more than 70 acts of violence documented between 1830 and 1860.

The Jim Crow South was a particularly violent environment, where the disenfranchisement of Black Americans was maintained through institutionalized violence and the targeting of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Medgar Evers. As T.R. Howard, a surgeon and civil rights leader, stated, "For 100 years, we have turned one cheek and then another. And they have continued to hit us on both cheeks, and I'm just getting tired now of hurting in silence."

However, the reaction to these acts of political violence has not always been one of despair. As President Ronald Reagan commented after the attempt on his life in 1981, "Sick societies don't produce young men like Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy, who placed his body between mine and the man with the gun simply because he felt that's what his duty called for him to do. Sick societies don't make people like us so proud to be Americans and so very proud of our fellow citizens." This uplifting response from the public showed that even in the face of such violence, there remains a deep well of civic pride and a commitment to the democratic process.

Nevertheless, the narrative of American exceptionalism and a fundamentally peaceful political system ignores the reality of the country's long and sordid history of political violence.

The View:

It is clear that the United States has a deeply troubling history of political violence that contradicts the myth of a peaceful, democratic system. The fact that four sitting presidents have been murdered, and countless others have been the targets of assassination attempts, is a sobering reality that cannot be dismissed as mere anomalies or the actions of "sick" individuals. Rather, this pattern of violence is embedded within the American political culture, a consequence of the "violent mythology" that has long been a part of the nation's history. It is deeply concerning that politicians and pundits continue to insist that this violence is "un-American," when in fact, it is a profoundly American phenomenon.

The political impact of assassination attempts is unpredictable, as seen in the cases of Truman, Roosevelt, Ford, and Reagan. These incidents have often had far-reaching consequences, disrupting the political landscape and challenging the nation's democratic foundations. This denial and downplaying of the problem only serves to perpetuate the cycle of violence, as it fails to address the underlying societal and cultural factors that have enabled and even normalized such acts.

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, like so many other incidents of political violence in the country's history, should serve as a wake-up call to Americans. The attack on Trump may remind some Americans of his role as an agent of chaos and violence, which could further fracture the country. Additionally, the attack is likely to accelerate the ongoing divisions in the country, as evidenced by Trump mouthing the word "fight" to his followers as he was escorted away.

The tendency to attribute these acts of violence to mental illness or the actions of a single "sick" individual is a simplistic explanation that ignores the broader systemic issues at play, mainly the normalization of violent rhetoric in political discourse and the deep-seated divisions and inequalities that have fueled social unrest and resentment. Rather than retreating into a false sense of exceptionalism or blaming isolated "sick" individuals, the nation must confront the harsh reality of its past and present, and work to address the underlying causes of this pervasive problem.

TLDR:

The U.S. has a troubling history of political violence, with four sitting presidents assassinated and countless other assassination attempts.
This pattern of violence contradicts the myth of a peaceful democratic system and is embedded within American political culture.
Assassination attempts have had unpredictable political impacts, sometimes failing to boost the fortunes of the victims.
The violence has targeted not only presidents but also political candidates, members of Congress, and civil rights leaders.
The Jim Crow South was a particularly violent environment, where the disenfranchisement of Black Americans was maintained through institutionalized violence.
The reaction to these acts of political violence has not always been one of despair, with some uplifting responses highlighting civic pride and commitment to democracy.
The denial and downplaying of this problem only serves to perpetuate the cycle of violence, and the nation must confront the harsh reality of its past and present.
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump is a chilling reminder of the ongoing threat of political violence in the country.