Okay, we know JFK’s assassination lead to a huge outpouring of grief; many suggest that the disillusionment and disruptions of the following years stemmed in large part from that event.
Lincoln’s assassination also had a huge effect on the nation, and was supposedly one of the things that tied together North and South after the war.
But I’ve never heard as much about the aftermath of Garfield’s and McKinley’s assassinations. What, if any, was the fallout from those? Did a generation of Americans ask each other “Where were you when you heard that McKinley was shot?” Was there social upheaval? Mass disillusionment, loss of innocence?
I’ve read that at the time there was great shock and surprise about the assassinations, but given these weren’t our two greatest presidents perhaps it’s not surprising that we don’t talk much about them these days.
I don’t think the impact of their deaths compares to that of Lincoln or Kennedy, who presidencies both accomplished more and had a much bigger impact on society as a whole.
Lincoln’s presidency, of course, must be considered one of the most significant of all U.S. history, but why do you feel Kennedy’s had such a bigger impact on society than McKinley’s?
Right. Lincoln is in a whole different ballpark, but I thought that - his and his family’s youth and photogenic qualities aside - Kennedy was generally thought to be a fairly average of even ineffectual president. McKinley served longer, led us to victory in the Spanish-American War, expanded US territory, etc.
Lincoln’s death was so tied up with the Civil War as to be almost operatic.
My guess would be that Garfield’s assassination came so soon after his inaugural that he just wasn’t that well known nationally, at least on a personal level. Also, it came so comparatively soon after Lincoln’s (and after the Civil War itself) that the country was probably in a bit of trauma fatigue.
McKinley’s death did provoke fears about immigrants and anarchists, as I recall. Largely, though, I wonder if McKinley’s death was overshadowed by the impact of TR, the hyper-charismatic cowboy, succeeding him.
McKinley’s assassination was seen as part of a wider pattern. The violent fringe of the anarchist movement had decided to use terrorism and assassination as weapons against the political system they opposed. President McKinley, Prince Dmitri Kropotkin of Russia, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, President Marie-Francois Sadi Carnot of France, Prime Minister Antonio Canovas del Castillo of Spain, Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary, King Carlos I and Crown Prince Luis Filipe of Portugal, Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin of Russia, Grand Duke Sergei of Russia, Prime Minister Jose Canalejas of Spain, and King George I of Greece were just the successful assassination - there were also a larger number of attempted assassinations and numerous other terrorist acts like public bombings. So the general reaction - justifiably - was fear of this international movement.
That said, the reaction (not surprisingly) also went too far. Groups and individuals were targeted just because they were on the same area of the political spectrum even if they had nothing to do with terrorism.
I wish people would stop elevating Kennedy’s popularity to virtual unanimity. His presidency was extremely controversial, and he had plenty of enemies. Of course his (and his family’s) image earned him a place in people’s hearts, but I can’t say the same for his politics. But the assassination was nevertheless traumatic, practically on the same level as 9/11.
It was television. There was nothing like the coverage of Kennedy’s assassination before, and there would be nothing like it again until 9/11.
But if you want a parallel, damn near everyone who was over the age of 6 at the time could tell you exactly where they were when they learned Franklin Roosevelt died.
I think that comparing the reaction to any large scale event pre and post TV is nearly impossible. Its apples and orangutans. Its getting to the point where its hard to compare the world pre and post 24 hour news cycle. The world and the immediacy of events is just so different from Garfield’s day.
Kennedy, partly just because he was assassinated, but also because he was handsome and charismatic, tends to get the credit for things (civil right reform, the moon landings) that, although they may have been initiated during his presidency, were actually accomplished under, and largely thanks to, Johnson or even Nixon.
Kennedy’s death also had an impact on all of the world, not just the US. Vietnam policy, alone, took a toll on the US and the Soviet Union, and the satellites of each.
I think it was more than the coverage of the assassination, it was the television (and other mass media) coverage of Kennedy from the election onwards. Jackie did a televised “tour of the White House,” there was a record album spoofing the Presidential family. He was the first President who was also a TV star – young and handsome looking with a beautiful family. That was a fairly new phenomenon. Yes, Eisenhower had used TV, Roosevelt and Truman had used radio, but they used those media for political purposes. Television used Kennedy for mass entertainment purposes, and that caused a popularity unlike anything that had gone before. And Kennedy used TV as well, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the first global near-disaster that was televised.
Hence, the assassination was more publicized and created a larger impact.
I also note that the US population was in explosion-mode because of the baby boomers. There were a huge number of teens and pre-teens, engulfed by mass media. (I was one, I was in high school at the time.) We didn’t really understand the politics, so what others have said about Kennedy’s controversial etc etc was over our heads. We did know that he led us through the Cuban crisis, and we knew the mass media image. It was a terrible, terrible blow.
Kennedy’s assassination was also the first after the US became dominant on the world stage. He was not just the US president, he was also “leader of the Free World” in the Cold War. This was an assassination that took place while the US was seen as engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the Communist menace, so assassination of our leader was as especially traumatic.
While we’re all reminiscing about Kennedy, I’ve got a question that I’ve wondered about since, like, for a long time.
How did the Kennedy Kids turn out to be liberals? Daddy Joe was a right-winger with lots of loot to throw around, and he was a supporter of Joe McCarthy and the like. What happened with the Kids?