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Joseph’s short-lived presidential run
In the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, it may be of interest to note the first U.S. presidential candidate ever to be slain during a campaign.
It was church founder Joseph Smith.
A fringe candidate for the White House, Smith was gunned down 180 years ago by a mob — with his brother Hyrum — on June 27, 1844, at a jail in Carthage, Illinois.
He was 38 years old.
Joseph’s platform during his quixotic quest centered on securing the constitutional rights of religious minorities, abolishing slavery, expanding the nation’s borders, reestablishing a national bank and eliminating prisons.
Learn …