Trouble in Lafayette Square

Author Gil Klein reveals the fascinating role of Lafayette Square in the nation's history.

Lafayette Square near the White House is surrounded by landmarks and steeped in a fascinating history of rebellion. A congressman shot and killed the son of Francis Scott Key in broad daylight on the square and got away with it. On the night Lincoln was assassinated, a co-conspirator forced his way into Secretary of State William Seward's house and nearly killed him. The women's suffrage movement created the White House protest that goes on to this day. Puerto Rican nationalists tried to force their way into the Blair House to assassinate President Truman, who was living there.