Our Back Pages / September 3, 2024

Assassination Nation

The Nation magazine was founded in the startled wake of Abraham Lincoln’s murder—the first presidential assassination in the country. It wouldn’t be the last.

Richard Kreitner

When the first issue of The Nation rolled off the presses in 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s body had been laid in the ground only weeks earlier. For years, the country remained in the grim shadow cast by the president’s assassination. And then it happened again—and again.

In 1881, James Garfield became the second president to be killed in office, shot by a jilted job-seeker who ambushed him at a Washington train station. The Nation noted an important contrast: Whereas the bullet fired at Lincoln’s head was “the last shot of the civil war,” coming as “men’s pulses were still throbbing with the hates and fears and hopes and sorrows of the struggle through which the country had just passed,” Garfield’s senseless slaying in a time of peace brought only “sympathy and sorrow,” with “no taste of bitterness or discord.” Indeed, as the attack was deplored by all parties and politicians, it “brought about a better understanding between the North and the South.” The universal condemnation proved, The Nation suggested, that there was no constituency for undermining the American form of government.

Four decades later, in 1912, a former saloonkeeper shot Theodore Roosevelt at a campaign rally in Milwaukee. The ex-president, who had ascended to the office when William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist in 1901, was running for a third term on the Progressive Party ticket. The wounded Roosevelt drew accolades even from political foes for intervening in the chaotic moments after the shooting to prevent his assailant from being lynched; then, with the bullet lodged in his chest, he calmly finished his speech.

“There can be but one feeling in regard to the attempt to assassinate Mr. Roosevelt—a feeling of deep joy that he escaped with apparently slight injury,” The Nation reflected in its next issue. “Americans have reason to congratulate each other that their country has been spared another causeless murder of a public man…. We all felt a sort of patriotic humiliation when Garfield and McKinley were shot, and it is a profound satisfaction not to have to go through that again.” The editors—no fans of Roosevelt—praised his “characteristic coolness and pluck in danger” but took issue with those who argued “that the way to prevent such shocking and lamentable crimes is to forbid severe criticism of public men.”

“Free discussion is the very breath of our political life,” the editors wrote. “It is obvious that we cannot order or alter our whole plan of government by public discussion, merely because cranks and lunatics can get hold of deadly weapons and commit crimes that startle the world.”

Support independent journalism that exposes oligarchs and profiteers


Donald Trump’s cruel and chaotic second term is just getting started. In his first month back in office, Trump and his lackey Elon Musk (or is it the other way around?) have proven that nothing is safe from sacrifice at the altar of unchecked power and riches.

Only robust independent journalism can cut through the noise and offer clear-eyed reporting and analysis based on principle and conscience. That’s what The Nation has done for 160 years and that’s what we’re doing now.

Our independent journalism doesn’t allow injustice to go unnoticed or unchallenged—nor will we abandon hope for a better world. Our writers, editors, and fact-checkers are working relentlessly to keep you informed and empowered when so much of the media fails to do so out of credulity, fear, or fealty.

The Nation has seen unprecedented times before. We draw strength and guidance from our history of principled progressive journalism in times of crisis, and we are committed to continuing this legacy today.

We’re aiming to raise $25,000 during our Spring Fundraising Campaign to ensure that we have the resources to expose the oligarchs and profiteers attempting to loot our republic. Stand for bold independent journalism and donate to support The Nation today.

Onward,

Katrina vanden Heuvel

Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Richard Kreitner

Richard Kreitner is a contributing writer and the author of Break It Up: Secession, Division, and the Secret History of America's Imperfect Union. His writings are at richardkreitner.com.

More from The Nation

Cole Ramsey holds a transgender pride flag in front of the Ohio Statehouse on June 24, 2021, to protest the passing of legislation against trans women playing sports in high school and college.

“I’m Terrified”: Trans-Feminine Athletes in Their Own Words “I’m Terrified”: Trans-Feminine Athletes in Their Own Words

In part two of a series, trans women athletes describe what it’s like to compete in the Trump era.

Dave Zirin

Supporters of Mahmoud Khalil rally at Foley Square in Manhattan on March 12, 2025.

Columbia Is Betraying Its Students. We Must Change Course. Columbia Is Betraying Its Students. We Must Change Course.

The administration is choosing complicity over courage in the case of Mahmoud Khalil. It’s time for the faculty to demand a new path.

Bruce Robbins

The Trans Cult Who Believes AI Will Either Save Us—or Kill Us All

The Trans Cult Who Believes AI Will Either Save Us—or Kill Us All The Trans Cult Who Believes AI Will Either Save Us—or Kill Us All

What the Zizians, a trans vegan cult allegedly behind multiple murders, can teach us about radicalization and our tech-addled politics.

Grace Byron

Protesters demonstrate in lower Manhattan in support of Mahmoud Khalil on March 10, 2025.

We Are Asking the Wrong Questions About Mahmoud Khalil’s Arrest We Are Asking the Wrong Questions About Mahmoud Khalil’s Arrest

The only relevant question is not “How can the government do this?” It is “How can we who oppose this fascist regime stop it?”

Elie Mystal

DOGE’s Private-Equity Playbook

DOGE’s Private-Equity Playbook DOGE’s Private-Equity Playbook

Elon Musk's rampage through the government is a classic PE takeover, replete with bogus numbers and sociopathic executives.

Maureen Tkacik

Parts of LA  Are Not Going to Be Habitable

Parts of LA Are Not Going to Be Habitable Parts of LA Are Not Going to Be Habitable

Insurers have figured out that risk is too high in parts of California. We need to re-conceive how people are housed, and fast.

Column / Kate Wagner