History of Terrorism in the United States 1
History of Terrorism in the United States
Robert Gleason
Liberty University
Dr. Carlino
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 2
Abstract
[The abstract should be one paragraph of between 150 and 250 words. It is not indented.
Section titles, such as the word Abstract above, are not considered headings so they don’t use
bold heading format. Instead, use the Section Title style. This style automatically starts your
section on a new page, so you don’t have to add page breaks. Note that all of the styles for this
template are available on the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Styles gallery.]
Keywords: [Click here to add keywords.]
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 3
History of Terrorism in the United States
Terrorism was first used in the 1790’s during the French Revolution to describe the
regime of terror tactics that were used by the revolutionary government. For the purpose of this
paper, it is important to define terrorism and then apply the definition to identify moments in
United States history of terroristic attacks. Defining terrorism is not as easy as it may seem, the
Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines terrorism as “violent or destructive acts committed by
groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands.” Though
true, it seems more like a washed down version of what terrorism really means to our society
today. The legal definition of terrorism, which found in 18 US Code § 2331, separates terrorism
into two categories, international terrorism and domestic terrorism.
International terrorism is defined as violent or dangerous acts to human life, when if
committed within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States, or any State, would be a
violation of the criminal law, and appear to be committed with the intent to intimidate, or coerce,
a civilian population, governmental policy, or the operations of government by assassination,
kidnapping, or mass devastation; and occurs outside of the national boundaries of the United
States, or beyond national boundaries in which they accomplish their goal to intimidate or coerce
a person or an area in which they seek asylum, or operate their missions (18 U.S. Code § 2331 -
Definitions, 2018).
Domestic terrorism is defined as violent or dangerous acts to human life which would be
a violation of the criminal law of the United States, or any State, with the intent to intimidate, or
coerce, a civilian population, governmental policy, or the operations of government by
assassination, kidnapping, or mass devastation; and occurs within the jurisdictional boundaries of
the United States and it territories (18 U.S. Code § 2331 - Definitions, 2018).
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 4
Terrorism can also be defined as a form of political/ideological warfare. Meaning like
war, that there is a consistency of terrorism, which is marked with violence and destruction, but
also like war, beliefs and motivations are always changing (Pratt, 2011). Terrorism in the United
States is no different, as to say the motivation for the violence has changed from the beginning of
the country to today.
From Founding to World War I
Manifest Destiny and Monroe Doctrine
In the early 1800’s, the United States found itself with a population boom, and territorial
increase with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 from France (Onion, Sullivan, &
Mullin, 2019). The United States was growing and expanding to the west which meant there
were hostilities between the United States and the Native American tribes who were being
pushed out of their homelands. The United States believed that it was the nation’s responsibility
to spread the American way of life throughout all of the North American continent, by divine
right and higher moral values, coined in 1845 as Manifest Destiny, led to the violent clashes
between Native American tribes and the United States (Miller, 2011).
Civil War
Prior to the Civil War, violent acts from abolitionists and pro slavery groups, occurred in towns
across the country. 1856-1861 Kansas was known as “Bleeding Kansas” due to the violent
uprisings that took place throughout the state (Post, 2009). Lawrence, Kansas, was the site on
two occasions, once in 1856 where the town’s newspaper and hotel were destroyed due to the
abolitionist views, while in 1863 where a pro Confederate militia, led by William Quantrell,
targeted and killed over 140 men, women, and children who were known abolitionists (Post,
2009).
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 5
In 1865, after the Union victory of the Civil War, President Lincoln was assassinated by
John Wilkes Booth, in Ford’s Theater. At the same time, two of Booths’ conspirators attempted to
assassinate Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward (Davis, et al.,
2002). The group of men were pro-slavery and were not happy with how the government
planned to rebuild after the war and planned to topple the government.
During the post-Civil War era, the Ku Klux Klan emerged as a group of former
Confederate soldiers who were determined to reverse the new rights of freed slaves and
terrorized African Americans and anyone who was sympathetic to their cause (Coyne, 1982).
In 1881, President Garfield was assassinated by Charles Guiteau for what he believed
would start a second civil war.
Anarchist
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, globalism gave rise to what some scholars call
modern terrorism. In the summer of 1881, President Garfield was assassinated by Charles
Guiteau for what he believed would start a second civil war. Also in 1881, an international
congress of anarchists met in London, England where they officially endorsed the use of
terrorism to advance anarchist ideology (Barton, 2015).
During this time the United States also saw an increase of the anarchist movement with
the 1886 Haymarket bombing, in Chicago, Illinois, and the attempted murder of industrialist
Henry Clay Frick in 1892 (Barton, 2015). The anarchists’ attacks caused many in America to
view anarchism as a dangerous doctrine meant to cause violence against citizens and
governmental officials (Barton, 2015). Then, twenty years after President Garfield was
assassinated, President McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz at the PanAmerican
Exposition in Buffalo, New York (Barton, 2015).
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 6
World War I to 1990
In 1916, the United States was a neutral nation during World War I. Even though the
United States was officially neutral, it was known that the United States was helping the cause of
the allies by sending ammunition and other supplies to use against Germany. German agents
caused an explosion, on July 30, 1916, at the pier on Black Tom Island, New Jersey, which was
used by Lehigh Valley Railroad to send munitions overseas (Long, 2016).
Post WWI
After World War I, the United States continued to be terrorized by anarchist, who sent
bombs across the country to prominent political and business leaders. In 1920, anarchists
bombed the J.P. Morgan & Co. Bank, located on Wall Street, New York City, killing 34 people,
by using a horse drawn wagon that was filled with explosives (Lyons, 2011).
In 1921, an African American man by the name of Dick Rowland, was accused of
sexually assaulting a white female elevator operator and was subsequently arrested. At
Rowland’s trial, a group of white men showed up at the courthouse due to a call in the newspaper
for there to by a lynching. At the same time, a group of African American males showed up at the
courthouse to provide safety for Rowland. Eventually shots were fired and after the dust settled
from the riots/massacre over the Greenwood section of the city was decimated and a report 100-
300 people were dead (Karatzas, 2018).
In 1927, the deadliest school violence occurred in Bath Township, Michigan. Andrew
Kehoe was a school board employee who was angry about increased taxes so he used dynamite
to set off an explosion inside of the boiler room of an elementary school. When the school was
evacuated, Kehoe had another set of dynamite explode outside of the school. Altogether, 45
people were killed and another 58 were injured (Borelli, 2017).
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 7
WWII
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed the US Naval base of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,
which killed over 2400 military personnel and civilians (People - Pearl Harbor National
Memorial (U.S. National Park Service), 2019) , which led the United States to join World War II.
After World War II, the United States celebrated a long hard fought victory. The peace
did not last long due to the racial unrest and rioting during the 1950’s and the civil rights
movement during the 1960’s. During this time, Martin Luther King Jr. and President Kennedy
were assassinated for their ideologies.
1970-1990
.
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 8
References
18 U.S. Code § 2331 - Definitions. (2018). LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved May 4,
2021, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2331
Barton, M. (2015). The Global War on Anarchism: The United States and International Anarchist
Terrorism, 1898-1904. Diplomatic History., 39(2), 303–330.
https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhu004
Borelli, F. (2017, Jan). Active shooter response IN THE SHOP. Fleet Maintenance, 21, 12-14,18-
19. http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com
%2Fmagazines%2Factive-shooter-response-shop%2Fdocview%2F1866513406%2Fse-
2%3Faccountid%3D12085
Coyne, M. (1982). Federal regulation of intra-family deprogramming conspiracies under the Ku
Klux Klan Act of 1871. Boston College Law Review., 23(3).
Davis, R., Norman, M., Ward, J., Wilson, D., & Wilson, T. (2002). Assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln | Articles and Essays | Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of
Congress | Digital Collections | Library of Congress. The Library of Congress.
https://www.loc.gov/collections/abraham-lincoln-papers/articles-and-
essays/assassination-of-president-abraham-lincoln/
Karatzas, K. (2018). Interpreting violence: The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and its legacy. European
Journal of American Culture., 37(2), 127–140. https://doi.org/10.1386/ejac.37.2.127_1
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 9
Long, J. (2016, July 28). Terrorisms 100th anniversary. Roanoke Times.
https://roanoke.com/opinion/columns_and_blogs/columns/john_long/long-terrorism-s-th-
anniversary
Lyons, C. (2011). Terror on wall street: The bombing of 1920: Chuck lyons examines the
unsolved bombing that tore through new york city's financial district. History Magazine
(Toronto), 12(6), 33.
Miller, R. J. (2011). American indians, the doctrine of discovery, and manifest destiny. Wyoming
Law Review, 11(2), 329-350.
Onion, A., Sullivan, M., Mullin, M. (2019, November 15). Manifest Destiny. HISTORY.
https://www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/manifest-destiny
People - Pearl Harbor National Memorial (U.S. National Park Service). (2019, July 2).
Www.Nps.Gov. https://www.nps.gov/perl/learn/historyculture/people.htm
Post, C. (2009). Rejecting violence on the landscape in Lawrence, Kansas. Geographical review,
99(2), 186-207.
Pratt, A. Nichols (2011). Terrorism’s Evolution: Yesterday, Today, and Forever. Connections:
The Quarterly Journal. 10(2), 1-34.
Sonora DesignWorks. (n.d.). Terrorism and its consequences. 2009 National Security Institute.
Retrieved May 4, 2021, from https://www.nsi.org/terrorism.html
[SHORTENED TITLE UP TO 50 CHARACTERS] 10
terror. (n.d.). The Merriam-Webster.Com Dictionary. Retrieved May 4, 2021, from
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terror
