Throughout your life there are things you learn about and forget. Then there are things you never learned about! I think the following falls into the later category. But on this date in 1933, there was an attempt made to assassinate Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Miami, Florida. Here’s what happened on that fateful day.
February 15, 1933 – FDR Assassination Attempt
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From:Historyonthenet.com
From ThougtCo.
On February 15, 1933, just over two weeks before Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as President of the United States, FDR arrived at the Bayfront Park in Miami, Florida around 9 p.m. to give a speech from the back seat of his light-blue Buick.
Around 9:35 p.m., FDR finished his speech and had begun talking to some supporters who had gathered around his car when when five shots rang out. Giuseppe “Joe” Zangara, an Italian immigrant and unemployed bricklayer, had emptied his .32 caliber pistol at FDR.
Whether it was because of bad aim, the wobbly chair, or Mrs. Cross’s intervention, all five bullets missed FDR. The bullets, however, did hit bystanders. Four received minor injuries, while Chicago’s Mayor Anton Cermak was mortally hit in the stomach. Read more at ThoughtCo.
The Aftermath
From Wikipedia…
Zangara confessed in the Dade County Courthouse jail, stating: “I have the gun in my hand. I kill kings and presidents first and next all capitalists.” He pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted murder and was sentenced to 80 years in prison. As he was led out of the courtroom, Zangara told the judge: “Four times 20 is 80. Oh, judge, don’t be stingy. Give me a hundred years.”[17]
After spending only 10 days on death row, Zangara, who refused to appeal his sentence, was executed on March 20, 1933, in Old Sparky, the electric chair at Florida State Prison in Raiford. Zangara became enraged when he learned no newsreel cameras would be filming his final moments. His final statement was “Viva l’Italia! Goodbye to all poor peoples everywhere! … Push the button! Go ahead, push the button!”
The Conspiracy Theory
While many times today’s conspiracy theories seem highly implausible, this one seems very possible.
From Wikipedia….
While accounts focus on Cermak and the other victims being random casualties of an attempt to assassinate Roosevelt, a conspiracy theory emerged sometime before 1999,[25] originating in Chicago,[26] asserting that Zangara was a hired killer working for Frank Nitti, who was the head of the Chicago Outfit crime syndicate. John William Tuohy, author of numerous books on organized crime in Chicago, after reviewing Secret Service records,[27] described in detail in a 2002 article his interpretation of how and why Cermak was the real target and the relationship of the shooting to the rampant gang violence in Chicago.[28] The theory is enhanced by numerous researchers, citing their analysis of court testimony, asserting that Cermak had directed an assassination attempt on Nitti less than three months earlier.[25][29 More at Wikipedia
It’s funny because most times throughout my school years, we never got much beyond World War II. And while this assassination attempt happened before WWII it’s probably something that got left out, because there was so much else happening! Did you know?
Link to Explore More About FDR Assassination Attempts
Franklin D. Roosevelt Assassination Attrempts
Hunting the President: Threats, Plots and Assassination Attempts–From FDR to Obama – Mel Ayton
