Top of page

Category: Holidays

Handwritten copy (with deletions crossed out and additions added) of the first few sentence of Jefferson

An Irishman, a U.S. President, and the First Hanging in the District of Columbia

Posted by: Josh Levy

The first man hanged in Washington, D.C., was an Irishman. His trial provides a unique lens on the early republic and its nascent national capital. The case drew national attention, particularly among Federalist newspaper editors, who used it to expose the threat of Irish immigrants and their hold over the sitting U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson.

Posted in: Early America, Holidays, Politics