The East Portico: Andrew Jackson's Attempted Assassination

           Andrew Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, was the icon of the era in which he lived. He exhibited a distinct “common man” persona, acted upon zealous convictions, and fused Jeffersonian Republican principles to an increasingly democratic country. As a young soldier, new husband, reluctant military governor, aspiring businessman and, finally, Chief Executive in the White House, Andrew Jackson was a “forceful, yet tragic hero… larger than life.”[1] After winning a second presidential term, Jackson worked tirelessly, fighting legislative battles in the hope of achieving a prosperous, united America. Specifically, it was his opposition to the Second Bank of the United States that not only aroused a plethora of enemies, but in the end, nearly cost him his life.

           The story of the attempted assassination of Jackson begins with its perpetrator. Richard Lawrence, a native Englishman, arrived in America at a young age and experienced a fruitful young adult life. Eventually, Lawrence began to concoct imaginary government conspiracies that were, supposedly, aimed at inhibiting his international travel and ruining his personal finances.[2] Becoming increasingly unstable, Lawrence convinced himself that he was King Richard III and that the United States owed “his royal majesty (himself)” a great sum of money.[3] At this point the stories of Lawrence and Jackson begin to intertwine. The resolute anti-banking sentiment proceeding from the White House at the time convinced Lawrence that his “settlements would be jeopardized.”[4] In reality, Lawrence had been out of work for years, unable to pay his bills. As his personal debts to his landlord continued to mount, so did his fiery temper, delusional convictions, and mental instability.[5] He would frequently visit the Capitol, sit in on Congressional sessions, and even approach the White House doors demanding money.[6] In his eyes, President Jackson was the one man destroying his life through the destruction of the National Bank. No matter his motive, in an act of defiance against this high-profile enemy, Lawrence began to plot his revenge, “chuckling” all the while.[7]

          On January 30, 1835, Jackson attended a funeral inside the Capitol for the late Representative Warren Davis. As he exited through the Rotunda towards the East Portico, a man stepped in front of him and “pointed a weapon directly at Jackson’s heart.”[8] A fellow mourner, Richard Henry Wilde, stated that “what exactly took place at this moment- except confusion- remains a mystery.”[9] The sound of a gunshot seemed to ring through the air. Many, like witness Thomas Hart Benton, believed a round had been fired, but “the explosion” that resounded though corridors was just the pistol’s cap imploding, not a discharged bullet.[10] Lawrence immediately pulled and fired a second pistol at point blank range but, miraculously, it too misfired, sparing the president’s life. Nearby colleagues, including Congressman Davy Crockett assisted Jackson himself in physically restraining Lawrence. Reflecting his characteristic passion, local newspapers reported that “the President pressed after him (Lawrence) until he saw he was secured.”[11] Vice President Van Buren noted that Jackson was “calm, cool, and collected,” indeed “the least disturbed person in the room,” a perfect reflection of his unflappable character.[12]

           In the U.S. Capitol today, each state in the Union displays two statues of prominent citizens. These statues must meet strict criteria and are all placed on similar marble bases. They are primarily exhibited in the Old House Chamber (now known as Statuary Hall), the Rotunda, and the House Connecting Corridor. Tennessee, in 1928, chose to submit a statue of their favorite son – Andrew Jackson. Reflective of his indomitable spirit, it is purposely displayed in almost the very spot where he cheated death and subdued his attacker – near the East Portico in the Capitol Rotunda.

          This first attempt on an American president’s life gives great insight into the culture of Jackson’s America. The New York Evening Post called it “a sign of the times.”[13] The fate of the Second Bank directly affected the lives of individual citizens and revealed the growing influence and rising intrusion of the federal government. Additionally, the written records and newspaper accounts that followed the event provide a clear window into the “malicious political climate of the 1830s.”[14] Rather than focusing on the well-being of the president and the moral implications of such an act, Richard Henry Wilde worried in a letter to his brother that this event could result in continued political power for the Democratic Party. He wrote that of “one thing there is no doubt, it will make him President again if he desires it,” implying an unwarranted and unprecedented third term for “King Andrew.”[15] For many staunch anti-Jacksonians, this murderous act was bound to produce undue sympathy and popular support for the President and his party, undermining the midterm political campaign efforts of the Whigs.

          Lawrence’s actions were widely recorded and distributed throughout the nation. The local press as well as notable news agencies such as the Richmond Times-Dispatch, New York Times, and the Washington Globe picked up the story.[16] While some blamed the Whig Party, John C. Calhoun, or Senator George Poindexter for initiating the attack, a few publications even suggested that Jackson’s own allies had crafted the “stunt” in an attempt to bolster the president’s popular appeal. [17] Others correctly and responsibly reported on Lawrence’s history of mental instability and held him answerable. In an age of increasing communication and transportation, news of Lawrence’s actions and subsequent trial were covered comprehensively and spread like wild fire. Both the assassination attempt and resulting tumultuous response amongst opposing party leaders demonstrated that in 1835, the “poisoned political atmosphere…deepened rather than bridged the gulf…separating the two parties.”[18]

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[1] Robert Remini, The Life of Andrew Jackson (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1998), Back Cover.

[2]Willard M. Oliver, Killing the President: Assassinations, Attempts, and Rumored Attempts on U.S. Commanders-in-Chief (Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010), 5.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid., 6.

[6]Edward L Tucker, “The Attempted Assassination of President Jackson: A Letter by Richard Henry Wilde” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 58 (1974): 194.

[7] Oliver, Killing the President, 6.

[8] Ibid., 7.

[9] Tucker, “The Attempted Assassination of President Jackson,” 195.

[10] Oliver, Killing the President, 7.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Martin Van Buren, Autobiography Edited by John Fitzpatrick (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1919), 353.

[13] New York Evening Post, February 4, 1835.

[14] Rohrs, Richard C. “Partisan Politics and the Attempted Assassination of Andrew Jackson.” Journal of the Early Republic 1, no. 2 (Summer 1981): 150.

[15] Tucker, “The Attempted Assassination of President Jackson,” 197. 

[16] Oliver, Killing the President, 10.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought?: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848 (Oxford: University Press, 2007), 437.