The United States of America is 248 years old. The first known attempt to assassinate a President was made against President Andrew Jackson on Jan. 30, 1835. Throughout its two centuries of existence, there have been more than 20 assassination attempts on presidents or presidential candidates.
On July 14 of this year in Butler County, Pennsylvania, former President and 2024 Presidential candidate Donald Trump was targeted, while on stage making a speech. Eight bullets were fired in under six seconds, killing a rally member, injuring two others, and grazing Trump’s left ear, which left a 2-cm wide wound, according to an update from CBS News on July 25th. The gunman, Thomas Mathew Crooks, was shot and killed on the scene by the U.S. Secret Service. The assassination attempt not only left the crowd in shock but came as a reminder of the role gun violence has played in American politics.
Millikan’s AP United States Government teacher Dr. Russel Rudman said, “The polls currently would have been different had the assassination attempt not happened.” Dr. Rudman explained that “it could have a slight effect on that group of people who are still undecided.”
While the country was quick to focus on the whirlwind caused by the shooting and attempted assassination, it didn’t stop there. Only two months later on Sept. 15, at the former President’s West Palm Beach golf course, a second assassination attempt on Trump occurred. Ryan Wesley Routh, a Hawaii resident, was apprehended and charged with five crimes including an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
U.S. Secret Service agents found Routh outside the golf course after seeing the barrel of his weapon through the bushes. A letter was revealed exposing his attempt to assassinate the former president. He pleaded not guilty, and a trial is set for Nov. 18 in Fort Pierce, Florida.
“As the conventions progress, and in accordance with the direction of the President, the Secret Service will continuously adapt our operations as necessary in order to ensure the highest level of safety and security,” said U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in a statement released July 15 on the United States Secret Service website, one day after the Butler County incident.
Nevertheless, a little more than a week after the incident in West Palm Beach, shots were fired into Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign office in Arizona. Although the Vice President was not in the state of Arizona, the shots were fired as a violent message toward Harris’s presidential campaign.
Throughout the 248 years of this country, four presidents, Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy, have been victims of politically motivated assassinations.
In past decades, gun violence has been a constant and pressing issue in not only the political environment but our society as well. This year, the reoccurring threats on both presidential candidates serve as a reminder that there have already been more than 20 political assassination attempts and the number is only rising. The influence these events will have on the election is soon to be unraveled on November 5.
Mason Mundon • Nov 3, 2024 at 9:34 pm
Word’s article is a fascinating piece on the assassination attempts on former United States presidents, mainly covering the recent assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Word begins the article with a brief explanation on the first assassination attempt on a president to happen in the United States on Andrew Jackson, including a date, and reveals the many others that have come after it.
Word goes onto a detailed description of the assassination attempt committed by Thomas Mathew Crooks on former president Trump while he was giving a speech in Pennsylvania. Word provides great details of what exactly happened at that speech and how it was thwarted by law enforcement, including details such as how many bullets were fired and where Trump was hit. She uses an interview conducted with Millikan’s AP United States Government teacher, Dr. Russel Rudman, on how this assassination attempt has affected the polls between both political parties, helping to explain the ripple effect of this attempt and establishing the credibility of her report. Furthermore, Word gives an excellent elaboration on the second assassination attempt two months after the first on former president Trump at his golf course in West Palm Beach where Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested and charged. Moreover, Word touches on the more recent assassination attempt on Vice President Kamala Harris when shots were fired into Vice President Harris’s campaign office in Arizona, efficiently tying it to how it represented a violent message towards her presidential campaign.
Word utilizes these explanations of recent assassination attempts on United States political figures in a phenomenal way to emphasize the importance of gun violence in our society and the role it plays in American politics. She uses the number of past assassination attempts and threats to demonstrate how this number is only rising as gun violence becomes more of an issue in the United States.
Diana Martinez • Oct 30, 2024 at 9:22 pm
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word wrote an article titled “The History Of Presidential Assassinations and the Role in the 2024 Election”. Word did a phenomenal job presenting statistics on the amount of U.S. presidential assassination attempts to her audience. Word writes thoroughly detailed information on former President Trump’s attempted assassination on July 14 and provides a reliable source from CBS News. Not only does she report these facts, but she also considers Millikan’s AP United States Government teacher, Dr. Russel Rudman, ‘s opinion on how these attempted assassinations can play a role in this upcoming election in November. This article also highlights the incident in Arizona, where shots were fired in Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign which informs her audience of a less-known incident that took place. She also expressed the consequence of gun violence especially in political environments by stating the previous presidents who were assassinated. Word then connects these examples of gun violence to a broader view that the action of gun violence is increasing and will leave an impact on the election. All in all, Word wrote an exceptional and informative article.
Liam Harney • Oct 30, 2024 at 2:01 pm
In Words article she talks about how in the past there have been many assasination attempts on presidents lives throughout America’s history. She states that 20 assasination attempts have occurred in the past and 4 of which have succeeded. The victims of these attempts are Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy. She then focuses on the assasination attempts on former president Donald Trump and how attempting to kill him may swing uncertain voters to vote for him instead of Kamala Harris. This escalating issue is clearly a huge problem in America today and if there are more attempts in the future and one of them goes through, America will be in shambles. These attempts are splitting the country in half and instead of being “One Nation under God” we are fighting our fellow Americans making the perception gap wider. The author does a great job of illustrating this and how it will affect us in the future. Americans seem to be more divided now than at any point since the civil war.
Dylan Murray • Oct 30, 2024 at 2:00 pm
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word wrote an article titled “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election”. In this article, she examines the usage and potential uprising in concern facing gun safety and political status. Word embarks throughout the past two centuries elaborating on past and current assassination attempts such as JFK and our current Donald Trump, implementing the need to create change that being gun safety as this problem has been reoccurring marking over 20 assassination attempts labeled in our history.
Words ability to come back to the present day and find evidence for each given case furthers her immediate approach to this crisis. She continues her evidence after an interview with Dr. Rudman, an AP United States Government teacher at Millikan High School where he talks about the impacts that the attempts hold over not only the presidency but the society. He remarks that the only reason that many are beginning to vote for Trump is due to the shooting on July 25th as its main impact becomes directed towards those who are undecided in the polls making them feel compelled to change their positioning.
Moreover, in more recent terms, the same situation could be counteracted by Kamala Harris as a recent incident had caused a similar occurrence. The overall situation with weaponry and gun safety in America is showing its immediate concerns to the public and the presidency as it continues throughout our future. Words arguments towards gun safety are taken and assessed as it would be seen by all as a means of a proper legitimate issue that ultimately has a major impact on all those surrounded by it. All in all, Hana Words’s article is very informative as it addresses the needs and concerns of the public and presidency regarding gun safety in present-day America.
Anthony Torres • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:58 pm
This article greatly informed readers and students of the history of assassinations on US presidents and how this infamous legacy has a role in the current 2024 election. Word first explains to us the history of assassinations on US presidents and provides statistics and examples of these events such as Lincoln and Kennedy. These examples demonstrate not only how long this problem has lived in the US but also the impact it’s had with much devastation and fear. However, if Word were to add assassinations from other political figures outside of the US I could have further shown the problems and the consequences they lead to.
Furthermore, the word then transitioned from giving us the history and background of presidential assassinations and how now this problem has a significant role in the 2024 election. Word reveals that former president and campaign runner Donald Trump was the target of two assassination attempts these past few months. Also shots were fired at vice president and second campaign runner Harris’s campaign office in Arizona. This informs us about the serious attempts there were on these people’s live and how they may have affected the polls in the election from undecided voters quoted by a reliable source Dr. Rudman. We now know the concern of these actions and how, if successful, they could’ve changed the course of history.
In the end, I found this article very informative on the history of assassinations in the US and how this subject has a significant impact on this year’s election. So I was very surprised to hear these consequences and now have a better understanding of this election and its importance. In short, it was a very interesting and informative article that was very well written and made.
Aiden Ransom • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:56 pm
On October 22, 2023, Hana Word wrote an article titled “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election”. Word did an excellent job describing the most recent, and the history of presidential assassinations in our country.
The article focuses on the first and second assassination attempts on Former-President Donald Trump. In order to do this, Word utilizes trusted sources, like CBS News. She also interviews Dr. Rudman, a history teacher here at Millikan High School. This helps to add more credibility and a sense of connection to the events. The lesser-known attack on Vice President Harris’ campaign office in Arizona is also mentioned in this article. She then describes how the growing threat of gun violence is a pressing issue in the political space.
On top of this, she covers the history of political assassinations, talking about the successful attacks on Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Kennedy, as well as the ~20 unsuccessful assassinations. This helps to remind the reader of the pressure of violence in politics.
Furthermore, I would like to add that since the writing of this article, there has been a possible third attempt on Former-President Trump’s life.
Michael Diaz • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:54 pm
I found this topic selection intriguing and equally as captivating due to its re-surging relevancy in the upcoming 2024 election. Word did a fantastic job with a concise overview of the origins of presidential assassination attempts since the birth of the United States. I appreciated the dissecting of the political motivations behind these tragic events and the underlying threat that gun violence poses to not only these presidents, but our national security. As many people are already aware of the famous infamous assassinations of well-known presidents such as John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln, but I’m surprised to have learned something new from this article, such as the very first United States presidential assassination attempt of Andrew Jackson in 1835. Simultaneously, I found the details of the recent Donald Trump assassination attempts to be incredibly informative and precise. I would consider clarifying the explicit usage of firearms in each of the four successful attempts mentioned within the article, further reinforcing the message of gun violence not only occurring among mere attempts, but the tragic nature of these attempts when they are completed. As a whole, Word did an exemplary job in her writing and structure of her article.
Angel Machado • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:52 pm
Word’s article does a fantastic job at illustrating America’s struggles with gun violence by referencing assassination attempts against political figures from the past and present. Word begins her article by reasoning that presidential assassinations have made a distinctive mark in American culture since America was a fresh and young republic. She provides historical evidence by referring to the attempted murder of President Andrew Jackson. From this point, she transitions to present-day America in order to highlight the current events regarding the two Presidential Assassination attempts of former president Donald Trump and attempted attack against Kamala Harris.
Word does an excellent job at revealing the effect that attempted assassinations has on the election by credibly appealing to the reader through Millikan’s AP United States Government teacher Dr. Russel Rudman. He proclaims that the assassination attempts on July 14 of 2024 against Donald Trump most likely resulted in a change of mind among voters. This piece of evidence does a great job at highlighting the significance of gun violence during the election, but could possibly be further explained by discussing how the polls would change.
Nonetheless, the time shift between present day assassination attempts and past assassination attempts serves as both credible and logical sources that greatly fuel the inductive structure of the article, such as stating that (Abraham Lincoln, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy”. This ultimately outlines the problem America has with gun violence and how it can alter the U.S. presidential elections.
Olivia Toumajian • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:51 pm
The article successfully highlights the influence of assassination attempts on presidential elections throughout the 250 years since the revolution. Additionally, it underscores the few successful assassination attempts in American history. Specifically, it mentions the cases of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy who were both important figures in American history and remain the most remembered assassination attempts in the history of the United States.
Furthermore, Word delves into recent assassination attempts, such as the 2 attempts on former President Donald Trump. The author argues that political violence will continue to escalate which may result in increased group polarization between the parties. Word does an excellent job of connecting the topic of her article to current events, such as the election of 2024 and the race for the primary election. Moreover, the article discusses an act of political violence on Kamala Harris, the democratic nominee for the election. It demonstrates that although it was not an assassination attempt, violence is evident within our political system and requires an immediate change.
Lastly, I would like to make an addition to the article about the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, in 1981. It was a shock to America, as the most recent attempt was John F. Kennedy in 1963. Not only did it spark the debate over the legitimacy and effectiveness of the secret service, it also made many Americans sympathetic to Reagan, which may have helped him while running for his second term in office (which he won).
Ethan Enriquez • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:50 pm
This article gives a brief history of other presidents who have had assassination attempts toward them as well as the significance this assassination attempt on Donald Trump has in the upcoming election. Word explains how in our country’s 248 years of existence there has been a total of 20 assassination attempts on our country’s presidents. Along with this Word does an exceptional job of explaining how these latest assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump can have a significant impact on the election polls. She does this by having Dr. Russel Rudman, an AP US Government teacher share his idea on how this event may cause people who are still undecided to sway their vote in one direction or the other. The use of Dr. Rudman’s idea is a good addition as it adds the opinion of someone trustworthy about this topic as he teaches and studies our government. His knowledge of our government makes him a credible source when it comes to the opinion of how this event may impact our election. Another fantastic way Word shows the significance of this attempt is by highlighting how gun safety plays a huge part in American politics and society. By highlighting this issue it shows how significant this attempt was because it can cause a change in running strategies for the presidential campaigns that are running in this election. A suggestion I have for this article is to explain to the audience in what direction those undecided voters may move or why this new event will cause them to change their votes. In summary, I believe that Word creates an excellent summary of our country’s history of presidential assassination attempts and how these new assassination attempts can affect our country’s politics and society.
Fletcher Rosenberg • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:35 pm
Word’s article is an informative piece that did a lot to illuminate the history of presidential assassination attempts over the last 250 years. This article begins with the most recent information on the Trump assassinations which helps both to get the reader’s attention and to update everyone on the up-to-date news. Following this, the article does a great job chronicling the following attempt on Trump showing that this was much more than a one-time occurrence.
After this, Word does a commendable job of tying in the possible political effects of this attempt on Trump’s life. With a quote from Dr. Rudman, the author connects this national news to life at Millikan showing the real results the assassination attempts may have on the polls and then the vote in November. All things considered, Word wrote a very good article connecting both the past and the present and the short-term and long-term effects of these assassination attempts.
Demir Guven • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:33 pm
Word starts off her article with statistics about America and previous assassination attempts. She talks about how America is barely 250 years old and the first known attempt to assassinate a president was in 1835 on Andrew Jackson. Word does an excellent job pulling in her readers and touching their interests. She then goes on to use different news sources, for example CBS, to explain the tragic assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. Word then highlights that on July 14th, “eight bullets were fired killing in under six seconds, killing a rally member, injuring two others, and grazing Trump’s left ear.” Word then goes on to explain in detail about Trump’s other two assassination attempts which caused much commotion throughout the upcoming election. To conclude, Word did a great job of explaining the causes and effects of these Presidential assassination attempts.
Daniel Anderson • Oct 30, 2024 at 1:30 pm
Word’s article does a fantastic job at depicting the impact that presidential assassination attempts have had in the past and the impact that they have on this year’s election. Word did an excellent job at picking a topic that is influential and eye-popping, though it does lack the ability to stay on path with the title of the article. Furthermore, Word chooses to elaborate more on the history of presidential assassinations than its role in the 2024 presidential election, a choice that could have been better exemplified in the title of the article. Nonetheless, Word is articulate on the logical appeal that she uses to showcase how presidential assassination attempts have shaped the political landscape of America. The number of presidential assassination attempts in US history as well as the names of presidents who were assassinated provides established evidence to the impact that presidential assassinations attempts have had in the past. Evidence for the role of the presidential assassination attempts today could have included the notings of the incredibly strong and loyal followings of 2024 presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Trump’s strong following leading to the capitol attack on January 6, 2021 could have also been used as evidence.
Jason Fiala • Oct 30, 2024 at 11:59 am
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word published an article titled “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election.” In this compelling piece, Word examines the historical context of presidential assassinations and how they resonate within today’s political climate. She connects the chilling history of such violent acts to recent threats against political figures, notably those directed at former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris during their campaigns.
Word effectively highlights the potential influence of these threats on voter perceptions, illustrating the chilling effect that political violence can have on democracy. She incorporates expert insights to discuss the psychological and societal impacts of these events, suggesting that they can shape not only individual opinions but also the overall political landscape. This historical view encourages readers to consider how past events might inform current and future electoral dynamics.
Moreover, the article shows reflection on the fragility of politics in a climate where violence is a big threat. Word’s thorough research and insightful analysis make this piece a timely and necessary exploration of the consequences of political violence in America.
Overall, her work offers a valuable perspective on the intersection of history and contemporary politics, urging readers to recognize the implications for the upcoming election.
Jesse Nava • Oct 30, 2024 at 11:54 am
This article starts off with giving interesting facts about the United States of America’s first assassination attempt. Which is something I liked about the article Hana made, since it gives a nice little fun fact that a lot of people don’t know or just don’t really care. And they made a great article that caught my eye when they were given instructions for this assignment; since I am a little interested in the presidential debates and to see who is going to win. But something I think that would have made the article more interesting is mentioning what Donald said regarding the assassination attempt.
I also loved how Hana mentioned the second assassination attempt, and the attempt/warning on Kamala and I had no clue that these two happened. But again I think it would make the article more interesting if you had mentioned their comments on all of the attempts. I also liked how Hana wrote about the gun violence problems we have and that should be mentioned more often. One last thing that I think would have made it more interesting is mentioning what the secret service director had done after the attempts and how she quit. But overall I liked this article since I am very interested in these types of stuff that happen in the world.
Dabu, Nathan A. • Oct 30, 2024 at 11:51 am
In this article, “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election” by Hana Word, starts by sharing the beginning of the interesting history behind presidential assassinations in the United States starting with an example from President Andrew Jackson on Jan. 30, 1835. This establishes a very good transition into the main topic which is about the assassination attempt on Former President and 2024 Republican Presidential Candidate, Donald J. Trump on July 14 of this year. They perfectly describe the setting of the event, stating that it took place in Butler County, Pennsylvania during a campaign rally.
Furthermore, they accurately explained how the situation went down, saying how eight bullets were fired that unfortunately lost a life of a rally member, injured two other individuals, but while also grazing Trump’s left ear, leaving a small wound. They used credible sources like CBS News to help identify the gunman, who’s name is Thomas Mathew Crook who was shot and killed on the scene by the U.S. Secret Service. The also mentioned another attempt made on Former President Trump during another rally at his West Palm Beach Golf Course, as well as at a different location at Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign office in Arizona where shots were fired into the building.
Adding on, this story alone created a great opportunity to talk about the issue of gun violence in the country, and so the editor took this chance to explain how this event could have a drastic effect on the political state of the union. The editor also decided to take a statement from one of our own professors, Dr. Russel Rudman, an AP United States Government teacher, said that this assassination attempt had an effect on the current polls, as well as a potential effect on the undecided voters.
To sum up, this article perfectly shows examples of gun violence in the country and how it has begun to affect major events like presidential campaigns and rallies around the United States. Hana effectively and greatly includes many explanations and opinions that make this article unbiased and not politically-sided.
Paul Brockway • Oct 30, 2024 at 10:04 am
October 29, 2024
Dear Corydon Editor,
The article is an excellent summarization on the history of presidential assassination attempts throughout the centuries since the attempt on Andrew Jackson in 1835. Word uses statistics and facts for presidential assassinations to further prove her claim, using well known successful attempts which changed the world, like when John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln, and when Lee Harvey Oswald killed John J Kennedy.
While they focus on assassination attempts from the distant past for the most part, most of
their focus is on the recent attempts against the controversial Former-President, Donald J. Trump, using credible sources, such as Dr. Russel Rudman, an AP United States Government teacher, further expanded on the significance of the assassination attempt on the current presidential election and established even more credibility for this article. The article states its opinion that the amount of political radicalization and division will only escalate the violence further, which can be considered a true possibility as a result due to the rise of conspiracy theorists and ultra nationalism.
The author does a great job of illustrating the danger by highlighting the less well known
vandalization of a Kamala Harris campaign office in Arizona as a violent demonstration of the political discourse happening in the country. Overall, this was a great informer on the pattern of the presidential assassination attempts, showcasing a fundamental systemic issue in American politics that needs to be addressed.
Sincerely,
Paul Brockway
Alex Ron • Oct 30, 2024 at 9:46 am
Word’s article does a great job of describing the recent attempts on former President Trump’s life, and the history of assassinations in the United State’s 248 year history as a nation. I enjoyed how the article mentions the past attempts and the unfortunate successes of assassinations in our country’s history, with Lincoln, Kennedy, Garfield and McKinley being victims of political assassinations. The article goes in depth to focus specifically on the past 2 attempts made on former candidate and former President Trump and how the assassination attempts could possibly sway undecided voters to favor Trump.
Word’s article also talks about in the article the history of gun violence and its ties to politics, along with how the Kamala Harris campaign was affected by political violence or an act of it when their office in Arizona was attacked and vandalized. She mentions how there have been 20 plus political assassination attempts and the numbers will continue to rise as time goes on and with continued political divisions in our nation it can only be more and more frequent.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this article as it highlights the history of assassinations in the United States and the most attempted assassinations and political violence that tends to happen within our nation every election cycle, how it can influence voters and polling and how we need to address political violence in our nation and help prevent it in the future.
Chloe Gott • Oct 29, 2024 at 3:11 pm
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word wrote an article called, “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election.” I like the first sentence, which really draws in the reader and is relevant to the topic of the article. I also like the description of the recent assassination attempt on Donald Trump, which gives an accurate description of what occurred on that day for people who were not aware.
I would of liked to read more about what affect the attempted assassination has on the election. Is there an estimate of how much this could affect the polls? Is there data into this information? I would have also liked if there was additional information about how this could affect the polls, for example how many of Trump’s supporters elevated their opinions about him, saying in tweets how he is “heroic” for how he “took a shot” or the effect that this took in the media. It would of also been nice to have a photo of the plethora of Trump stickers stuck on poles in Long Beach with his fist up, which I’m assuming is still around. I would have also liked more information on the attempted assassination on Kamala Harris and the affect of that on the polls.
Overall, this is a great article for people who may need a recap or do not know of the recent attempted assassinations. I also like how this was related to American History and the multiple assassinations of the past.
Sophia Garcia • Oct 29, 2024 at 3:08 pm
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word wrote an article titled “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election”. The author opens up with an eye-opening statistic, which is the fact that America is 248 years old, and throughout that time, almost 20 assassination attempts towards presidents or presidential candidates have been committed. This not only draws attention for readers to continue to read what Word is about to speak on but also gives us a solid concept of how bad this problem is. Using examples such as the recent assassination attempts on former president Donald Trump helps bring a connection with readers from recent generations to help find a way to fully grasp what this issue looks like. Word also mentions the attempt on Kamala Harris, shooting at her office although she was not there. This also shows how many attempts have been made with this electron alone. If there have only been 20 in the whole, and there have already been 3 attempts to hurt both candidates, there must be a big issue.
Furthermore, not only does this author speak on the presidential assassination attempts, but Word also focuses on the biggest, broader problem within this more specific issue. Word sheds light on gun violence which not only has brought issues to the political areas but also our society as well. If our political figures are also being affected by gun violence, it must be a topic worth debating on if it is good for our country or not.
Jordyn Breland • Oct 29, 2024 at 3:03 pm
The article provides an appropriate addition to the Millikan Corydon as it relays information relating to recent events and how they play an important role in the upcoming election. Word did a wonderful job of intriguing the reader by presenting recent news and various facts about the history of gun violence in politics and other aspects of society. The article includes a significant amount of information with meticulous detail as she informs the reader about assassination attempts on former presidents or presidential candidates.
Word explains the assassination attempts on Donald Trump through specifics and recounts all the facts related to the case. By highlighting these important events, she stresses the significance of gun violence and what role it plays in our country. Additionally, Word includes the shots fired in Arizona to display the ongoing threat of gun violence as people use weapons to prove their point or send a message. Hana Word’s article addresses the pressing issue of gun violence from an interesting and factual standpoint.
Jordan Guzman • Oct 29, 2024 at 2:53 pm
This article is an excellent addition to the Millikan Corydon to engage the Millikan community in today’s politics and issues. Hana Word does a good job of briefly going over the first and second assassination attempts against the former President Donald Trump.
The article first begins with the history of the United State’s presidential assassination attempts and assassinations. The article highlights tragic assassination attempts including Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. The main focus of the article is the constant issue of gun violence. Word continues to use reliable sources such as CBS News to elaborate on the event of Trump’s attempted assassination.
In addition, Word interviews Dr. Russel Rudman, an AP United States Government teacher at Millikan High School, went more in-depth about the upcoming presidential election. Word does an excellent job of conveying the message of political violence as it increases. Word displays evidence to support her claim of gun violence revealing the violent actions towards Harris’ presidental campaign.
I would like to add the third assassination attempt against Trump on October 12, 2024. During a rally in Coachella, law enforcement officers prevented another attempt after arresting a man with unregistered firearms near the event. These attempts add to the importance of gun violence in the United States expressed in the article. Overall, Word does an incredible job analyzing the assassination attempts towards Donald Trump and the United States’ history.
Dylan • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:48 pm
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word wrote an article titled “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election”. The article has a lot going for it. One of the things that it did right was the history of the topic which the article gives a list of presidents that have fallen victim to an assaination. One suggestion I would give based on history is who were the other attempts made on for instance the assaination attempt of Ronald Regan in 1981. Another praise I would give is the transition from history to a present topic we are still fresh with, The July assaination attempt on former president Donald Trump. But I would enhance the fact that the weapon used has also been a major problem for mass gun violence and connect it to one of the biggest debates in United States history. I was also excited to hear from an AP United States Government teacher and what he thinks about the impacts it will make on the upcoming decisive election. Finally I praise Word for including both the West Palm Beach golf course incident and the Kamala Harris’s campaign office incident, and how both of these campaigns are being affected by gun violence.
Sincerely,
Dylan Lewis
Shawna Brief • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:32 pm
Word’s article begins with overall facts and statistics about assassination attempts on presidents and presidential candidates in the past 250 years. Hana’s beginning statistic excellently pulls the reader in and makes them want to read more about this topic. The main focus of this article is the assassination attempts on Former President Donald Trump, who is also running for a second term, which grabs the reader’s attention further since this election is among the most controversial. Word uses credible sources such as CBS News to elaborate on what happened at a Pennsylvania Trump rally on July 14, 2024, as well as the second attempt at his golf course in west Palm Beach. She continues to relate these attempts to the history of gun violence and the role it plays on politics. Hana does an excellent job of using multiple sources of different points of view, such as interviewing AP US government teacher Dr. Rudman, who believes this assassination attempt could have an effect on the polls. Ward doesn’t hesitate to include Trump’s competitor Kamala Harris, who also faced a violent threat to her campaign office in Arizona. At the conclusion of the article, Word gives her opinion that gun violence has been an increasing issue in America in recent years, not only in politics but in society. I appreciate the emphasis at the end for an awareness of rising gun violence, but I wish it was tied in throughout the article, to really highlight the main reason for these assassination attempts. Reading Hana Word’s excellent article kept me informed on what is going on in politics today, as well as increased my awareness of the upcoming election and the many factors that go into it.
Olivia Garcia • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:24 pm
This article addresses a concerning increase in politically motivated violence, particularly with the recent assassination attempt on former United States President, Donald Trump. The thorough historical context provided, referencing the first recorded politically motivated assassination attempt in the United States, was especially helpful in illustrating how deep rooted this issue has been in American history. It’s alarming to see how, despite significant security advancements, such violent threats still persist and may even be intensifying. The article also captured the emotional weight of these events for the public and political community. The article’s coverage of the response of AP Government teacher, Dr. Russel Rudman, expands on the potential impact of these situations on undecided voters, making it clear how these tragic events extend their impact in the political field. Overall, I was impressed with the insightful approach to such a complex topic. The article’s balance of historical context and recent events gave a powerful perspective on the history of politically motivated violence in the U.S. The article was diligently written and both informative and impactful, bringing much needed attention to a pressing issue in our world today.
Charlotte Fields • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:23 pm
Hana Word, without bias and solely with the purpose of informing the audience, accurately portrays the importance of political violence in the future of the nation. She writes in simple terms to provide straightforward information to her audience.
Additionally, her article structure organizes her given information in a timeline format to gradually increase the tensity of the general situation. Hana, in precise detail, introduces each part of the timeline so that the following parts can be inferred and expanded by the audience.
From the perspective of an individual who has difficulty with finding political news without bias, this article explicitly keeps the topic as solid news that can be built upon following events that occur in the future. Accordingly, Hana hints at continuing to write about the topic after the election.
As a suggestion, Hana would be strong in writing more media explaining the context in trending topics within political and social topics, as this article informed the audience about key points in a pivotal issue. This issue is becoming more critical for the future of our country, and the article helps others realize the importance of gun violence nationwide.
Cienna Rydman • Oct 29, 2024 at 1:23 pm
This article does an excellent job in relating the past to the present and how our actions affect the future. It expresses specific events in our history such as the previous presidents who have been assassinated. Furthermore, Word ties this into the present scenarios of assassination attempts on the two candidates for this year’s election, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Word does an outstanding job in using precise dates and reliable sources to back up the timeline of events. It’s very impressive how she informed us on such a delicate topic especially so close to this presidential election. Since these assassination attempts have occurred, people have been curious about how this could affect the polls and the undecided party.
Word’s article is profoundly structured in all the timeline of events, however I think she could’ve added more interviews with citizens or staff on campus about what they think. Since the topic of politics, especially the assassinations, is very reliable on what other people think about certain events, it will add more depth and more information about how this is affecting the future election.
All in all, this article does a great job laying out the information in a strict order of events, while stating the possibilities of effects that could come from these events. Word seems to portray this article in that way in order for the reader’s individual opinions to be expressed. We know that everybody has different and strong opinions about this topic, so constructing an open-ended article like this is an amazing idea and fully informs the readers about the relationship between the past and present presidential assassination attempts.
Santiago Rodriguez • Oct 29, 2024 at 9:51 am
On October 22, 2024, Hana Word wrote an article titled “The History of Presidential Assassinations and its Role in the 2024 Election”. Word’s article is an excellent piece that highlights the long history of presidential assassination attempts as well as fulfilled assassinations throughout the almost 250 years since the start of the American Experiment. The article states that there have been many assassination attempts on presidents with the most well known attempts successfully killing their target like in the case of John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln.
The article highlights the First and Second assassination attempts thwarted by law enforcement against Former-President Trump. The article states its opinion that the amount of political violence will only continue to escalate which can be considered a true possibility as a result of the growth of polarization. The author does a great job of illustrating this with the mention of the less well known vandalization of a Kamala Harris campaign office in Arizona which can also be seen as an act of political violence.
Furthermore, I would like to add an update as yet a third attempt on the Former President’s life here in our Home-state of California. This attempt demonstrates the need to emphasize the importance of addressing political polarization in order to prevent further violence, a topic also greatly exemplified by Word’s article.
Alanna Deegan • Oct 29, 2024 at 9:28 am
This article begins with statistics and facts on the United States of America and presidential assassinations, as well as assassination attempts. Hana did an excellent job of drawing in readers and sparking interest in the topic. Hana then goes on to elaborate on the event of Donald Trump’s attempted assassination, where she explicitly utilized credible sources such as CBS News. Hana then goes on to interview Dr. Russel Rudman, an AP United States Government teacher at Millikan High School, further explaining the significance of the assassination attempt on the upcoming presidential election and establishing credibility in this report. Word also elaborates on the second assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course. As well as explaining the details of Trump’s two assassination attempts, Word also explains how Kamala Harris has also experienced threats of violence during this presidential race as one of her campaign offices in Arizona was repeatedly shot at. What makes this report exceptional is that Word also presents data that explains the events she is referring to. For instance, Word touches base on the controversy of gun violence in the United States and how it does not just impact the average citizen, it impacts political figures as well. Overall, I feel as though this article and Hana Word’s writing is phenomenal.