The First Conspiracy Theory
Andrew Jackson, despite enormous popularity, inspired vehement opposition, so much so that a new party sprang up. There were many reasons to deplore Jackson, but the Whigs were mainly concerned with Jackson's rejection of a national bank. When Richard Lawrence shot twice at Jackson in the first assassination attempt on a president, many thought the Whigs put him up to it. Soon it emerged that poor Richard thought he was Richard the Third. He was judged insane and spent the rest of his life in an asylum.
Neither of Lawrence's bullets hit Jackson, but Jackson already had a bullet lodged in his chest from an earlier duel. Jackson killed the man who had insulted him. Today Jackson is still celebrated and reviled, but not for being a poltroon.
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