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"Everybody's got the right to their dreams."

Throughout world history, there have been assassination attempts (with successes and failures). In the short history of the United States, there have been fifteen attempts to assassinate the president. (At the time Assassins was written, there had only been twelve). Assassins chronicles nine of the people who felt the president must die. (It leaves out the assassination attempts toward Harry Truman, Teddy Roosevelt, and Andrew Jackson) The disturbing picture Assassins paints is that of a society in which people feel they are entitled to happiness at all costs. Some did it to make history, some to attract attention, some out conscious political objections. All felt a deep seated unhappiness that they felt was unjust.

As John Wilkes Booth says in Assassins: “Murder is a tawdry little crime, born of greed or lust or liquor. Adulterers and shopkeepers get murdered. But when a president gets killed…when Julius Cesar got killed, he was assassinated.” This is the distinction made through Sondheim’s haunting score and John Weidman’s innovative book.

Below is an overview of the nine assassins chronicled in the show.

PLEASE NOTE: The quotes listed below are quotes from the libretto of Assassins and are not direct quotes from factual records.

JOHN WILKES BOOTH (1838-1865) The Pioneer

Assassinated President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, during a performance of the play Our American Cousin.

                      An artist rendering of the Lincoln Assassination

Booth was the man who started it all. Though he was not the first man to attempt an assassination, he was the first to succeed, book-ending the most brutal war in American history and depriving the country of its most loved and hated president to date. Booth was an actor who spent his career in the shadow of his older brother, Edwin. Though Booth himself was quite successful and loved by his fans, his brother sometimes outshined him, which was often reflected in critical reviews of Booth’s performances.

“Your brother made you jealous John, you couldn’t fill his shoes. Was that the reason, tell us John, along with bad reviews?” –The Balladeer in Assassins 

Booth’s hatred of Lincoln was rooted in his deep love for the South. Booth believed the war was unjust and intentionally provoked; a careless sacrifice of thousands of lives. He made his disdain known publicly on many occasions, one of which got him arrested for anti-governmental remarks.

In November of 1964, Booth began routinely meeting with four men whose political convictions mirrored his own: David Herold (who makes an appearance in Assassins), George Adtzerodt, Lewis Powell (aka Paine), and John Surratt. The five soon developed a plot to kidnap the president. When that failed, the five developed a plan to assassinate the president and waited carefully for the right opportunity.

Booth, who frequently worked at Ford’s Theatre and even received mail there, overheard that Lincoln would be attending a performance of Our American Cousin on Good Friday of 1865. Lincoln would sit in the presidential box. Booth, knowing the theatre’s layout very well, saw this as the perfect opportunity. He snuck into the performance from the stage door, made his way through an undisclosed entrance, and shot Lincoln in the back of the head, subsequently jumping from the presidential box onto the stage and shouting the Latin phrase “Sic Semper Tyranis!” which means “Thus always to tyrants” and is the state motto of Virginia.

The jump from the box broke Booth’s leg, but that did not stop him from successfully escaping authorities for nearly two weeks. On April 26, 1865, he was discovered with David Herold in a tobacco barn. Herold surrendered to authorities, but Booth refused, even when soldiers set the barn on fire. While trying to flee, he was shot in the back of the neck, a wound that, minutes later, ended his life.

"What I did, I did well, and I did it for my country. Let them cry 'dirty traitor'. They will understand it later. The country is not what it was." -John Wilkes Booth in Assassins

DID YOU KNOW?

o Booth’s brother Edwin once saved the life of Abraham Lincoln’s son Robert, pulling him from the path of an oncoming train.

o Mary Surratt, whose boarding house the conspirators hatched their plan in, was convicted of conspiracy in the assassination and became the first woman ever executed by the United States. There is evidence to suggest that she was not aware of the plans, however many believe she was.

CHARLES GUITEAU (1841-1882) The Preacher

Assassinated President James Garfield on September 19, 1881 at the Baltimore Potomac Train Station.

Guiteau was the disillusioned son of a wealthy family in Freeport, IL. After suffering abuse at the hand of his father, Guiteau left home for the University of Michigan. Unable to compete academically, Guiteau dropped out of college and joined the controversial “Free love” group the Oneidas. Once again unable to fit in, he moved to Hoboken, New Jersey and began publishing a newspaper called “The Daily Theocrat”. He also filed lawsuits against the leader of the Oneidas, who said, “I consider him insane.”

Guiteau then moved to Chicago, took the bar exam, and started a dismal failure of a law firm. He argued only one case in court and made fraudulent claims as to his experience. After abandoning his firm he turned to theology, publishing an almost entirely plagiarized book called “The Truth”.

An interest in politics followed. Guiteau wrote a speech in support of Republican candidate James Garfield. Though he delivered it only twice, he believed himself to be a vital part of Garfield’s victory. Once Garfield was in office, he insisted he be made ambassador to France, writing numerous letters and appearing in person at the White House until he was finally barred from the area by the Secretary of State. Enraged by this, Guiteau purchased a revolver and spent weeks stalking the president. On July 2, 1881, he confronted the president at the Baltimore Potomac Train Station and shot him twice from behind. Garfield died on July 19 due to infection while treating the wound. He had been in office less than four months.

Throughout his trial Guiteau became a minor celebrity due to his strange antics in court, which included chastising his lawyers, soliciting advice from the court audience, and expressing himself in epic poems. During the course of his trial, Guiteau himself escaped two attempts on his life from members of the outraged public. He continued with plans to tour the country and run for president once he was acquitted

Found guilty, he was housed at a mental hospital until he was executed on June 30, 1882. On the scaffold he recited a prayer, which is set to music in Assassins:

“I am going to the Lordy. I am so glad. I am going to the Lordy, Glory Hallelujah.” –Charlie Guiteau in Assassins 

DID YOU KNOW?

o Guiteau’s speech to support Garfield had actually been written in support of Ulysses S. Grant. Guiteau simply replaced the name but not the content, making much of the speech irrelevant.

o Guiteau’s poems are quoted in his song in Assassins. “I Am Going to the Lordy” and “Look on the Bright Side” were actually written by Guiteau and recited prior to his execution.

o Guiteau’s trial sparked a controversy about the expansion of the definition of insanity as used in the insanity defense.

  LEON CZOLGOSZ (1873-1901) The Anarchist

Assassinated President William McKinley on  September 6, 1901, at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY.

Czolgosz (pronounced CHOL-GOSH) was born to Polish immigrant parents in Detroit, MI. At the age of ten he went with his brothers to work in a Steel factory, but was fired when workers at the factory went on strike. The main issue at hand was that of unions, which were considered impractical at the turn of the century. Czolgosz witnessed many strikes, many of which ended in violence.

He heard a speech by anarchist writer Emma Goldman and was very taken with her ideas. He sought her out to discuss political matters. He grew to believe that the poor were being exploited to empower the rich, and he believed that a democratic society was the reason for this.

In 1900, when King Umberto I of Italy was assassinated by an anarchist, Gaetano Breschi. Czolgosz was so inspired by Breschi's act that he went to great lengths to duplicate the act of a man standing up for his belief in the oppression of the common worker.

" A gun kills many men before it's done...hundreds. Long before you shoot the gun. Men in the mines and in the steel mills. Men at machines who died, for WHAT? Something to buy? A watch? A shoe? A gun! A thing to make the bosses richer!" -Leon Czolgosz in Assassins

On August 31, 1901, Czolgosz rented a room near the site where President McKinley would appear one week later at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. On September 6, he attended the event with a pistol concealed in a handkercheif. McKinley was greeting the public outside the Temple of Music. Czolgosz got in line and when reaching the front shot McKinley twice. McKinley developed gangrene around his wounds and died eight days later.

Czolgosz was immediately arrested and beaten very badly by McKinley's secret service agents. He was so severly injured that many believed he wouldn't live to go to trial.  However, he recovered and stood trial on September 23, 1901, where he confessed to the crime. He was sentenced to death, and the sentence was carried out one month later.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Emma Goldman wrote a paper sympathizing with Czolgosz's cause, though not with his act, after he was executed.
  
• Czolgosz was the 50th person to die in the electric chair in the state of New York.
  

GUISSEPE ZANGARA(1900-1933) The Immigrant

Attempted to assassinate President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on February 15, 1933 at Bay Front Park in Miami, Florida. Missed Roosevelt and killed Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak.

Not much is known about this peculiar Italian man. His father removed him from schooling at the age of 12 in order for him to work to help the family. Zangara claimed the stress of the workload at such a young age caused him to develop a condition of the stomach, from which he suffered enormous pain, which would frustrate him to the point of desperation.

At the age of 23 he came to American with his uncle. He lived in a small apartment in New Jersey and kept to himself. He never socialized or enjoyed the company of a woman, presumably due to his angry demeanor and fading sanity due to the pain in his stomach.

In February of 1933, Zangara attended a speech being made by president Franklin Delano Roosevelt at a park in Miami, FL. After purchasing a .32 caliber pistol at a pawn shop, Zangara joined the crowd of supporters, stood on a chair, and fired six shots...one before he was noticed and five when a woman standing near him grabbed his arm and startled him. Zangara missed Roosevelt but hit his fellow passenger, Mayor Anton Cermak of Chicago.

Cermak died on March 6, 1933, and two weeks later Zangara was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Penitentiary. He maintained that he was not sorry for his crime and that he detested the capitalist nation of the USA.

"And why there no photographers? For Zangara no photographers. Only capitalists get photographers. No right!" -Guissepe Zangara in Assassins

His final words were "Pusha da button".

DID YOU KNOW?

Though no evidence has been found to support the claim, many believed Zangara to be part of a conspiracy by the Chicago Mafia, who wanted to rid the city of Cermak.

Click here to watch a short History Channel Video on Zangara!

LEE HARVEY OSWALD (1939-1963) The Legend

Assassinated President John F. Kennedy from the window of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas. Was killed two days later by Jack Ruby.

Oswald was born in Slidell, Louisiana. His father died before he was born, leaving Oswald’s mother Marguerite with three children to look after on her own. The stress took its toll on her, causing her to have temperamental fits. Oswald enlisted in the Marines before graduating high school. On a trip to Russia in 1959, he met Marina Prusakova and married her after knowing her less than a month.

On November 22, 1963, Oswald allegedly shot President John F. Kennedy from the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was visiting Dallas in an effort to drum up support for his upcoming campaign for re-election. He was traveling in a motorcade to the Dallas Business and Trade Mart, where he would have lunch with several Dallas governmental and religious leaders. Accompanying the president in his car were his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Conally and his wife Nellie, and two federal agents, one of whom was driving the car.

The Texas Book Depository, where Oswald worked, overlooked Dealey Plaza, where the president’s car was scheduled to be at 12:25pm. The exact timing of the shots, and the number of shots fired, are the subject of a great deal of controversy. What is known for certain is that the president suffered a massive head wound from a gunshot. Governor Conally was also shot, suffering wounds in his back, chest, wrist, and thigh. Both men were taken to Parkland County Hospital. Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1:00pm.

Immediately following the shooting, Oswald was found to be extremely calm. The Texas Book Depository was not sealed off by authorities until approximately 12:40pm, giving Oswald time to escape the building and return home briefly before boarding a city bus. At 1:15, he was witnessed fatally shooting officer J.D. Tippit less than a mile from Oswald’s rooming house. At 1:50pm, authorities arrested Oswald inside the Texas Theatre.

Though Oswald vehemently denied the charges, four United States government investigations found Oswald to be the assassin. Oswald was taken into police custody and was charged with the murders of J.D. Tippit and President John F. Kennedy. Oswald told the press, “They’re taking me in because of the fact that I lived in the Soviet Union. I’m just a patsy!”

On November 24, officers led Oswald from Dallas Police Headquarters to a car that would transfer him to the Dallas jail. In front of television cameras, local nightclub owner Jack Ruby emerged and shot Oswald. It was the first homicide to be captured on national television, and millions of people watched it. Oswald was taken to the same hospital where Kennedy and Conally had been taken and was pronounced dead. He is buried in Fort Worth, Texas.

Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald on national TV.

Numerous theories exist as the Oswald’s motives and conspirators. Several investigations have been conducted with various findings, but most conclude that Oswald was the assassin.

“I’ll remember it forever…something just broke.” –Assassins

DID YOU KNOW?

o After further investigation into Oswald’s past, it was discovered that he had attempted to assassinate General Edwin Walker, and outspoken anti-communist. At the time of the shooting no suspects were arrested.

o In 1981, when John Hinckley attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, a search of his room revealed that he idolized Oswald, owning every book ever written on the shooting.

Click here to view the Abraham Zapruder film of John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Click here to view a video of Jack Ruby shooting Oswald.

SAMUEL BYCK (1930-1974) The Average Joe
Attempted to assassinate President Richard M. Nixon on February 22, 1974 by hijacking a plane which he intended to fly into the White House.

Byck was a high school dropout from Philadelphia. After being discharged from the US Army in 1956, he married and had children. However, after several business failures, he checked into a psychiatric hospital, citing depession as the reason for his visit. Byck was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Byck believed that Nixon was aiming to oppress the poor. When the Small Business Administration denied him a loan, Byck began fostering a resentment towards the president, and threatened him for the first time in 1972. Byck sent angry tape recordings of himself and his sentiments to Nixon, as well as Leonard Bernstein, Jonas Salk, and Abraham Ribicoff. The Secret Service investigated Byck once his tapes began reaching the White House, but no action was taken as Byck was deemed harmless.

"Shut up, Dick! I'm talking now, alright? I'm talking and you're listening!" -Samuel Byck in Assassins

Byck was unable to purchase a gun for his hijacking plan, since the Secret Service was keeping a close eye on him. He stole a gun from a friend and made homemade bombs out of gasoline. Armed with an audio recording explaining his motives, Byck drove to the Baltimore Washington International Airport. After shooting a police officer, Byck boarded a Delta flight to Atlanta, since it was the one set to take off soonest.  He shot the two pilots and ordered a female passenger to fly the plane.

A county officer fired four shots at the plane from the jetway, hitting Byck twice. After being shot by an outsider, Byck committed suicide by turning his stolen gun on himself.

Because the event did not even affect Nixon's schedule, it became nearly forgotten.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Byck was arressted twice for protesting in front of the White House without a permit. For one protest, he dressed in a Santa Claus suit, which his character typically wears in Assassins.
  
• Byck's attempt to hijack the plane is mentioned in the 9/11 commission report.
  

LYNETTE “SQUEAKY” FROMME (1948- ) The Hippie

Attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford on September 5, 1975 at Capitol Park in Sacramento, California.

Born in Santa Monica, California, Lynette Fromme, nicknamed “Squeaky” spent an influential time of her life surrounded by extraordinary circumstances. In 1967, 18 year old Lynette was walking on Venice Beach when she met Charles Manson, a cult leader who believed himself to be the son of God. He also believed that a great racial war needed to take place between blacks and whites, in which everyone but he and his followers would be destroyed, then allowing him to repopulate civilization. Manson had a tremendous following of individuals willing to do whatever he wished, eventually murdering numerous people. The most famous murder was that of Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski’s wife and a popular movie star of the time. Lynette was not directly involved in any of these murders as far as we know, but she was certainly aware of them and believed them to be God’s will.

“I am nothing. You are wind and Devil and God, Charlie. Take my blood and my body for your love. Let me feel fire, let me drink poison, tell me to tear my heart in two if that’s what you want me to do.” –Squeaky Fromme 

Like most of the people (male and female) in the Manson “Family”, Lynette was involved in a sexual relationship with Manson and believed herself to be truly in love with him. In 1971, when Manson and three other family members were convicted of murdering Sharon Tate and her friends, Lynette stood outside the courthouse and protested after shaving her head and carving an “X” into her forehead.

In 1975, Lynette had become obsessed with saving Redwood Trees across the country, which were being cut down. She believed that speaking to the president would help her cause, but that he wouldn't speak to her unless she did something drastic. Fromme also believed that if she assassinated the president, attention would once again be drawn to the Manson family. She felt that her act would cause the world to recognize Charles Manson’s divinity and ability to save the world. She arrived at Capitol Park prepared to assassinate Gerald Ford on September 5, 1975, but was tackled by a secret service agent before having the opportunity to shoot.

Fromme currently resides at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, TX. Since her conviction she has twice been eligible for parole but has chosen not to pursue it.

DID YOU KNOW?

o The book Helter Skelter , detailing the Manson family evolution, crimes, and convictions, is the best selling true crime novel of all time.

o Lynette was nicknamed “Squeaky” by the Family because she was often touched inappropriately by the man who owned the ranch where they lived. When he groped her, she would squeak.

Click here to watch a short History Channel Video on Fromme (featuring an interview with the now imprisoned would be assassin)

SARA JANE MOORE (1930-) The housewife

Attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford on September 22, 1975 at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

Born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Moore had a variety of careers in her adult life. She dropped out of nursing school, joined and left the Women's Army Corps, and was a CPA. When she was 42, after five marriages and four children, Moore became involved with the thriving counterculture and the political issues of the time. But Moore was soon recruited by the FBI as a spy, and when her radical friends found this out, they turned against her.

Desperate for forgivenes from her fellow politcal revolutionaries, Moore hatched a plan to assassinate the president. Prior to the attempt, Moore wrote the following poem:

"Hold-Hold, still my hand.
Steady my eye, chill my heart,
And let my gun sing for the people.
Scream their anger, cleanse with their
hate,
And kill this monster."

Moore fired her gun at Ford on September 22, 1975, only seventeen days after the attempt by Squeaky Fromme. A bystander named Oliver Sipple grabbed Moore's arm just prior to her firing, causing her to hit a wall. The bullet richocheted off the wall and hit a nearby cabdriver.

"With a gun, you can make a statement...with a gun, even if you fail, it shows them who you are, where you stand." -Sara Jane Moore in Assassins

This quote is paraphrased from an actual statement made by Moore: "There comes a point when the only way to make a statement is to pick up a gun."

Moore was sentenced to life in prison. She expressed no sorrow for her attempt, and in fact stated that she wished she had killed the president. She is serving her sentence at the women's correctional facility in Dublin, California.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Moore was hired by the FBI to investigate the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, the daughter of publisher William Randolph Hearst, who was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army and eventually became a sympathizer of their cause.
  
• Earlier in 1975, Moore had been evaluated by the Secret Service, who determined that she was not a  threat to the president.
  

Click here to watch a short History Channel video on Moore.

JOHN HINCKLEY, JR. (1955-) The fan

Attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC on March 30, 1981.

Hinckley grew up in Dallas, TX. After spending a few sememsters at Texas Tech University, he headed for Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a songwriter, an attempt which failed.

"I am nothing. You are wind and water and sky, Jodie. Tell me, Jodie how I can earn your love. I would swim oceans, I would move mountains, I would do anything for you."
-John Hinckley in Assassins
John felt that by commiting a high profile act he would become a historical figure and be considered Foster's equal. He began trailing then President Jimmy Carter, planning to assassinate him, but was arrested on a firearms charge in Nashville.  After his arrest he underwent treatment for depression, but his mental state did not improve, and he decided to target the new president, Ronald Reagan.

Over the past seven months I've left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. [...] the reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you.

On March 30, 1981, Hinckley fired six shots at Reagan, wounding him in the armpit when one bullet bounced off the bulletproof glass and hit him. In his attempt, John also wounded Reagan's press secretary, a police officer, and a secret service agent.

          The scene outside the Hilton Hotel after Hinckley fired at Reagan.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC. This verdict was highly disputed throughout the country, and, as in the case of Charles Guiteau one hundred years earlier, caused a great deal of public scrutiny towards the insanity defense.
 Idaho, Kansas, Montana and Utah outlawed the use of the defense, and numerous other states revised their wording of the grounds for its use.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Press Secretary James Brady, who was one of the bystanders wounded by Hinckley's bullets, is the namesake for the Brady Bill, which requires a 5 day waiting period and background check before buying a handgun.
  
• A popular punk song of the 1980s was one of many to address the Hinckley situation. The lyrics of this song entitled "John Hinckley, Jr. (What has Jodie Foster done to you?) included:

  "First Lincoln, then Kennedy, but Reagan got away/So you stood near the Hilton/With a gun in your hand/Waiting for Reagan/Even the mentally ill can calculate and premeditate plans."

  Click here to watch a short History Channel video on Hinckley.
  

OTHER HISTORICAL FIGURES WHO MAKE APPEARANCES IN ASSASSINS:




David Herold, a co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate Lincoln, who escaped with Booth and fled with him for two weeks before being captured and executed.

Emma Goldman, anarchist writer and speaker whose words inspired Leon Czolgosz. She was rumored to have conspired with him on the assassination,though no proof was ever found.

All photos courtesy of wikipedia.com