Transcript Notes on the Curse of Tippecanoe

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA0KwbkZko8
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Origins: As governor of the Indiana Territory, William H. Harrison bribed and
forced Native Americans to cede their lands to the U.S. government.
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These hostile acts angered the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, and brought
government soldiers and Native Americans to the brink of war in a period
known as Tecumseh's War.
In 1811, Harrison successfully attacked Tecumseh’s village along the
Tippecanoe River, earning fame and the nickname "Old Tippecanoe".
Tecumseh's brother Tenskwatawa, known as the Prophet, supposedly set a
curse against Harrison and future White House occupants who became
president during years with the same end number as Harrison. Can you
name them?
Randi Henderson and Tom Nugent, "The Zero Curse: More than just a coincidence?" (reprinted from the
Baltimore Sun), November 2, 1980, in Syracuse Herald-American, p C-3
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Targeted killing of a public figure usually for
political purposes.
Date back as far as recorded history.
One of the oldest tools of power politics.
Four U.S. presidents have been assassinated.
Over 20 known attempts on U.S. Presidents.
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In response to the Kennedy assassination,
Congress enacted a law on August 28, 1965,
making it a federal (no longer merely a state) crime
to kill, kidnap, or assault the President, Vice
President, or President elect or to threaten these
officials with death or bodily harm.
The penalty for killing the President is life
imprisonment or death.
The punishment for an attempt on the President's
life is imprisonment for a term up to life.
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Threatening the President of the United States is a class D
felony under United States Code Title 18, Section 871.
It consists of knowingly and willfully mailing or otherwise
making "any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict
bodily harm upon the President of the United States".
The U.S. Court of Appeals held that a threat was knowingly
made if the maker comprehended the meaning of the words
uttered by him.
If in addition to comprehending the meaning of his words,
the maker voluntarily and intentionally uttered them as a
declaration of apparent determination to carry them into
execution.
The offense is punishable by five years in prison, and
$250,000 fine.
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"President Wilson ought to
be killed. It is a wonder
some one has not done it
already. If I had an
opportunity, I would do it
myself.”
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“In this country sovereignty resides in the people, not in the
President, who is merely their chosen representative. To
threaten to kill him or to inflict upon him bodily harm
stimulates opposition to national policies, however wise, even
in the most critical times, incites the hostile and evil-minded
to take the President's life, adds to the expense of his
safekeeping, is an affront to all loyal and right-thinking
persons, inflames their minds, provokes resentment,
disorder, and violence, is akin to treason, and is rightly
denounced as a crime against the people as the sovereign
power.”
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“They always holler at us to get an
education. And now I have already
received my draft classification as 1-A
and I have got to report for my physical
this Monday coming. I am not going. If
they ever make me carry a rifle the first
man I want to get in my sights is L. B. J.”
Watts vs. United States
"We agree with petitioner that his only
offense here was 'a kind of very crude
offensive method of stating a political
opposition to the President.' Taken in
context, and regarding the expressly
conditional nature of the statement and
the reaction of the listeners, we do not
see how it could be interpreted
otherwise.“ Supreme Court
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a 1971 interview,
Groucho Marx told Flash
magazine, "I think the only
hope this country has is
Nixon’s assassination.”
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The mailing of letters containing the words
"kill Reagan" and depicting the President's
bleeding head impaled on a stake.
It was considered a serious threat and the
person was charged and convicted.
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(CNN) In 1976, President Ford issued Executive Order 11905
to clarify U.S. foreign intelligence activities. The order was
enacted in response to the post-Watergate revelations that
the CIA had staged multiple attempts on the life of Cuban
President Fidel Castro.
"No employee of the United States Government shall engage
in, or conspire to engage in, political assassination."
Following the September 11. 2001, attacks, the White House
said the presidential directive banning assassinations would
not prevent the United States from acting in self-defense.