Violence followed President Jackson throughout his life. In May 1833, Robert Randolph, a Naval officer who Jackson had dismissed, attacked Jackson with the intention of breaking his nose. Randolph succeeded in giving the President a bloody nose. The president had to be restrained from responding with his cane.

A potentially more serious attack occurred when an unemployed painter, Richard Randolph, pointed two pistols at Jackson on the portico of the Capital. Randolph stood at a distance of eight feet from the president when he fired. However, both pistols failed to go off. The assassin was insane, believing Jackson had killed his father. Randolph spent the remainder of his life at St. Elizabeth’s mental hospital.