Did Thomas Jefferson really shot a person on the lawn of the White House for treason?

Poppet! Said: 1 All the presidents get to shoot at least one person, as long as it's on the White House grounds! It's one of the perks of office!

;-) .

2 No. It is a Hollywood myth, started by a line from the movie Swordfish (2001). "There is a very persistent story that Thomas Jefferson personally executed someone on the White House lawn for treason; some sites name the prisoner as a Rodney Cox from North Carolina.1 We have no evidence that this event ever occurred: no such thing is ever mentioned in Jefferson's papers, or contemporary newspaper accounts.

The story, as far as we know, originated entirely with the movie Swordfish (2001), where it is mentioned by John Travolta's character, Gabriel Shear. The true origins of the story are a puzzle. Several actual events could have been (severely) misunderstood or mistaken for a "Jefferson execution:" * Jefferson was involved in drafting a "Bill to Attaint Josiah Philips and Others" in 1778, which ordered the trial and provided for the execution of the murderer and bandit Josiah Philips for treason.

Josiah Philips was eventually found and convicted of robbery, not treason.2 * The murder of Alexander Hamilton by Aaron Burr in their famous 1804 duel has also been suggested as a possible source for the story in question. Neither of the above seems very plausible as a source. Unless further reliable evidence surfaces, we can only explain this story as a complete fabrication by the scriptwriters of Swordfish.

Footnotes 1.? Robert Ludlum, "Re: IS IT TRUE THAT HE SHOT A MAN AT THE WHITE HOUSE FOR TREASON? " American story Forums: Thomas Jefferson Lecture Hall. Accessed February 10, 2009.

2.? PTJ 2:189-193. Further Sources * Coates, Eyler Robert. The Thomas Jefferson FAQ.

"DID JEFFERSON SHOOT A TRAITOR ON THE WHITE HOUSE LAWN?" * Internet Movie Database. Swordfish. * Jefferson Library.

A Summary View. "Jefferson still survives, unlike the other guy. " A brief discussion of this question in our library blog."(http://wiki.monticello.org/mediawiki/index.php/Did_Jefferson_shoot_someone_on_the_White_House_lawn%3F) .

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.