Ronald Reagan was 69 years old was he was sworn in for his first term on January 20, 1981. At almost 70 years old, he was the oldest man ever to become president of the United States. Because of his age, many people worried that he would not have the energy needed for the job. A little over two months after being sworn in, his presidency narrowly avoided a sudden end in a failed assassination attempt.
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| The first inauguration of Ronald Reagan |
On March 30, 1981, Reagan left the Washington Hilton Hotel accompanied by his press secretary and some attendants. John Hinckley Jr. pushed forward from amidst a group of reporters and fired six shots at the president. Timothy McCarthy, a Secret Service agent guarding Reagan, threw himself in front of Reagan, taking one of the bullets. However, another bullet hit Reagan in the chest. Hinckley also shot press secretary James Brady in the head and policeman Thomas Delahanty in the neck.
Hinckley was quickly overpowered and arrested by Washington police. Later he confessed that he shot the president to get the attention of a famous movie star, Jodie Foster. He was declared not guilty by reason of insanity. Many were shocked that the would-be presidential assassin avoided accountability for the crime. However, Hinckley was sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, a mental institution, because of the threat he posed to society.
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John Hinckley Jr., the would-be presidential
assassin |
The injured men were rushed to the George Washington University Hospital. The president walked into the hospital under his own power, especially impressive for a 70-year-old man with a collapsed lung. Reagan remained in good spirits as he was treated and prepared for surgery. He told his wife, Nancy, "Honey, I forgot to duck." He joked with the doctors, saying, "I hope you are all Republicans."
The president resumed some of his executive duties the next day, signing a piece of legislation from his hospital. About two weeks later, he left the hospital and returned to the White House. He continued his work, albeit at a slower pace, and had to cancel plans for the month. Daniel Ruge, Physician to the President, thought Reagan's recovery was not complete until October. Both McCarthy and Delahanty also recovered, but the shooting left Brady paralyzed.
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James Brady and Thomas Delahanty lie wounded just after the
assassination attempt |
Reagan's popularity soared after the failed assassination. He received a hero's welcome in Congress at the end of April. After the shooting, Reagan went on to lead the country for two terms as president.
4 comments:
Extremely informative and well written
It was really interesting to learn that Reagan's attempted assassination was due to someone wanting to get an actor's attention. It's even more shocking to me that he was not declared guilty. I wonder what the reason was that he wanted to get the movie star's attention. Maybe he was just a huge (stalker) fan? Or did he feel that the movie star wronged him in some way? Very interesting.
Hinckley was just an obsessive fan. He first became obsessed with Foster after seeing her in the film Taxi Driver. In this film, the main character, played by Robert De Niro, attempts to assassinate a presidential candidate.
Interesting topic and very well written. It seems very bad for the US that any man on the street could come up and fire six shots at the president, was the attack planned at all? Also, it's amazing to think that Reagan survived such an attack, it almost goes along with his career as an actor. Maybe it was all a scheme to raise the president's popularity ;)...
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