Assassins' America: Four Killers, Four Murdered Presidents, and the Country They Left Behind

Gunderson, Jessica & Joe Tougas. Assassins' America: Four Killers, Four Murdered Presidents, and the Country They Left Behind. 2018. 202p. ISBN 978-1-62370-981-5. Available at 973.7 GUN on the library shelves.

Since the United States' founding, 45 men have served as President, the highest elected office in the land. Of these, four were assassinated during their administration: Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. Each killing was done by a lone individual in the name of perceived grievances, and each death altered the course of government.

Lincoln was the first President to fall to an assassin's bullet. High on the heels of his re-election, the end of the Civil War and looking forward to reconstructing the South, Lincoln was killed by John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor who wanted to revive the fortunes of the Confederacy. Instead of being considered a hero, however, he was hunted throughout Virginia and was caught and killed in a shoot out a few days later. Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was much less inclined to protect the just-emancipated slaves. Had Lincoln lived to serve his second term, it is likely that civil rights would have been implemented sooner.

President Garfield was elected in 1880 and sworn in office in March 1881. Campaigning against corruption and the spoil system that had developed at all levels of governments, Garfield had high hopes that he could implement a merit-based bureaucracy and a dedicated public service. Charles Guiteau was a supporter of Garfield and believed he deserved to receive some sort of appointment following Garfield's election. Angry at not being recognized for his supposed efforts in getting him elected, he shot Garfield, who died two months later of horrible care. His death crystalized the efforts to stem the flow of corruption and help create a meritocracy.

President McKinley had already served a term when he was elected again in 1900. This was a time where anarchists aimed to overthrow all governments. Leon Czolgosz was a drifter who had trouble remaining employed and whose home life was unsatisfactory. Hoping to strike it big for the cause of anarchy and impress Emma Goldman, a famous anarchist, he decided to assassinate McKinley, and an opportunity presented itself at the 1901 World's Fair, and he successfully shot the President. Theodore Roosevelt succeeded McKinley, and launched a series of antitrust actions to dismantle the large monopolies that controlled the economy of the United States.

President Kennedy was serving his first term when he was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald. An avowed communist, Oswald was a loner who had attempted to gain Soviet citizenship. Kennedy had brought a youth and enthusiasm to the Presidency, but he had continued increasing the United States' involvement into Vietnam. However, by 1963 Kennedy was asking for every option in Vietnam, including complete disengagement. President Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, chose to pursue the U.S.'s involvement into Vietnam.

The world would be a much different place if these four Presidents had been able to complete their terms. Fans of history will enjoy this short exploration of what happened, as well as predictions on what would have happened had each president lived. Fans of history will appreciate reading about these presidential deaths and what could have been.