Potus Geeks Summer Reruns: Andrew Jackson Dodges a Bullet (or Two)
On January 30, 1835, the first recorded attempt to kill a sitting President of the United States took place just outside the United States Capitol. When Andrew Jackson was leaving through the East Portico after the funeral of South Carolina Representative Warren R. Davis, Richard Lawrence aimed a pistol at Jackson, which misfired. Lawrence then pulled out a second pistol, which also misfired. Speculation is that the humid weather caused the double misfiring.
The would be assassin was an English born American house painter. Lawrence was born in England, sometime around 1800. His family immigrated to the United States when he was 12 years old and settled in Virginia, near the capitol in Washington, D.C. At his trial, he was described by acquaintances and family members as a "relatively fine young boy" who was "reserved in his manner, but industrious and of good moral habits."Some historians have speculated that exposure to the toxic chemicals in the paints that Lawrence used may have contributed to his mental illness. By November 1832, Lawrence's behavior and mental stability had changed. He suddenly announced to his family that he was returning to England. He left Washington but returned a month later telling his family he decided not to travel because it was too cold. Shortly after returning, he again announced that he was returning to England to study landscape painting. Lawrence left once again and stayed in Philadelphia before returning home. He told his family that "unnamed persons" had prevented him from traveling abroad and that the U.S. government was preventing him from returning to England. Lawrence also claimed that while he was in Philadelphia, he read several stories about himself in the newspaper that were critical of him and his travel plans. Lawrence told his family that he had no choice but to return to Washington until he could afford to buy a ship and hire a captain who would sail the ship to England for him.
In late 1834, Lawrence abruptly quit his house painting job. When questioned by his sister and brother-in-law with whom he was living, Lawrence told them that he did not need to work because the U.S. government owed him a large sum of money. Lawrence said that he was owed money because he was Richard III of England and owned two English estates. Lawrence claimed that he was not receiving the money because of President Andrew Jackson's opposition to the Second Bank of the United States. He told his family that if Jackson were no longer in office, Vice President Martin Van Buren would establish a national bank and allow Congress to pay him the money for his English estate claims.
At his trial, Lawrence was described as having other bizarre behavior. He had began buying expensive and flamboyant clothing, which he would change three or four times a day. He took to standing in the doorway of his home for hours and gazing out into the street. Neighborhood children would mockingly address him as "King Richard", which he mistook as genuine admiration. His family described other paranoid and hostile behavior by Lawrence towards others. On one occasion, he threatened to kill a maid who he thought was laughing at him. He also began verbally and physically abusing his family, especially his sisters, over imagined slights. Several witnesses at his trial testified that Lawrence would engage in nonsensical conversations with himself, and others stated that he would have laughing and cursing fits.
In the weeks prior to the assassination attempt, Lawrence began observing Jackson's movements. He sat in his paint shop muttering to himself about Jackson. On January 30, 1835, the day of the assassination attempt, Lawrence was said to have been seen sitting in his paint shop with a book in his hand while laughing. Lawrence suddenly got up, left the shop and stated, "I'll be damned if I don't do it."
That day Jackson was attending the funeral of South Carolina Representative Warren R. Davis at the U.S. Capitol. Lawrence originally planned to shoot Jackson as he entered the service but was unable to get close enough to him. As Jackson was leaving the funeral, Lawrence had found a space near a pillar on the East Portico l, where Jackson would pass. As Jackson walked, Lawrence stepped out and fired his first pistol at Jackson's back. The gun misfired. Lawrence quickly tried again with his second pistol, but that also misfired. Those knowledgeable in contemporary firearms believed that the guns that Lawrence chosen were vulnerable to moisture. The weather on that day was humid and damp. An angry Andrew Jackson began to beat Lawrence with his cane. Members of the crowd, including Representative Davy Crockett, intervened and wrestled Lawrence into submission.
Lawrence was brought to trial on April 11, 1835, at the District of Columbia City Hall. The prosecuting attorney was Francis Scott Key. At his trial, Lawrence was said to rant wildly. He refused to recognize the legitimacy of the proceedings. He told those assembled in the courtroom, "It is for me, gentlemen, to pass judgment on you, and not you upon me." After five minutes of deliberation, the jury found Lawrence "not guilty by reason of insanity". Lawrence remained in custody in a number of institutions and hospitals. In 1855, he was committed to the newly-opened Government Hospital for the Insane (later renamed St. Elizabeth's Hospital), in Washington, D.C., where he remained until his death on June 13, 1861.
Jackson believed that Lawrence was part of a conspiracy and that he had been put up to the assassination attempt by the President's political enemies. Senator John C. Calhoun made a statement on the Senate floor that he was not connected to the attack. Nevertheless, Jackson believed that Calhoun, an old enemy, was behind the attempt. There were others he suspected including Nicholas Biddle, President of the Bank of the United States, a bank that Jackson was afraid to recharter. Jackson also suspected his former friend and supporter, Senator George Poindexter of Mississippi, who had used Lawrence to do some house painting a few months earlier. Poindexter was unable to convince his supporters in Mississippi that he was not involved in a plot against Jackson, and he was defeated for re-election. No evidence was ever discovered that connected Lawrence to Calhoun, Biddle or Poindexter in any plot to kill Jackson.