On this day in 1933, a deranged, unemployed brick layer named Giuseppe Zangara shouts Too many people are starving! and fires a gun at America’s president-elect, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Roosevelt had just delivered a speech in Miami’s Bayfront Park from the back seat of his open touring car when Zangara opened fire with six rounds. Five people were hit. The president escaped injury but the mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, who was also in attendance, received a mortal stomach wound in the attack.
Several men tackled the assailant and might have beaten him to death if Roosevelt had not intervened, telling the crowd to leave justice to the authorities. Zangara later claimed I don’t hate Mr. Roosevelt personally. I hate all officials and anyone who is rich. He also told the FBI that chronic stomach pain led to his action: Since my stomach hurt I want to make even with the capitalists by kill the president. My stomach hurt long time [sic].
Zangara’s extreme action reflected the anger and frustration felt among many working Americans during the Great Depression. At the time of the shooting, Roosevelt was still only the president-elect and had yet to be sworn in. His policies remained untested, but reports of Roosevelt’s composure during the assassination attempt filled the following day’s newspapers and did much to enforce Roosevelt’s public image as a strong leader.
Unsubstantiated reports later claimed that Zangara’s real target had been Cermak and hinted at Zangara’s connection to organized crime in Chicago. Zangara was initially tried for attempted murder and sentenced to 80 years in prison, but when Mayor Cermak later died of his wounds, Zangara was retried and sentenced to death. Zangara died on the electric chair on March 5, 1933.
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Damn shame he was not successful,might have had a much better future for the country.
Agree 100%.
Never heard about that story before.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Zangara Wikipedia says Zangara was executed on March 20, 1933. Still, from assassination attempt to execution… 33 days. And it was only 14 days from when Cermak died to Zangara’s execution. Those were different times.
FDR-33 degree freemason; executed in ’33; assassination attempt to execution…33 days; his vice-pres. was Henry Wallace, the 33rd vice pres. (Wallace was a 32 degree freemason)
annuit coeptis novus ordo seclorum- brought to the dollar bill by FDR and Wallace. Nothing to see here, the number 33 doesn’t have any esoteric meaning…..move along
Not good times. Prosecutorial misconduct is as rampant today as it was then, but at least today folks have a few years if not many, to have the truth uncovered. And frankly, sainthood or a medal of honor would have been a more appropriate response to killing that fascist bastard.
I agree.