Who was hung for treason in the US?
Asked by: Darryl Dooley | Last update: February 11, 2026Score: 4.9/5 (73 votes)
The most notable person executed for treason against the U.S. was William Bruce Mumford, hanged in 1862 during the Civil War for tearing down the American flag in New Orleans, though several others faced treason charges and hangings for crimes against individual states or during conflicts like the Whiskey Rebellion and Blair Mountain. John Brown, an abolitionist, was also hanged in 1859 for treason against Virginia for his raid on Harpers Ferry, inspiring future abolitionist movements.
Were the Rosenbergs actually guilty of treason?
Evidence suggests that Ethel was held mainly in an effort to force her husband to reveal further names and information. On March 29, 1951, following a high-profile trial, the Rosenbergs were convicted of treason, in the form of passing atomic secrets to Russia.
Who was the first American hung for treason?
22 John Brown was found “Guilty of treason and murder in the 1st degree” and was hanged in Charles Town, Virginia on December 2, 1859.
What president of the United States was charged with treason?
Regardless, the grand jury, made up mostly of Democratic-Republicans, indicted Burr for treason, the only time in our country's history when a President or Vice President has been indicted for this crime.
Who was executed for treason in the U.S. in 1953?
On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed at Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York, after being convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. They had been accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union during and after World War II.
John Brown: First Human Executed for Treason in the United States
Who was the last person killed for treason in the United States?
In response, Union Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin Butler, the commander of the Union ground forces, had Mumford court-martialed and executed for treason. He was the last person executed for treason against the United States. North Carolina, U.S.
Why was John Brown hanged for treason?
As an adult, he would become a strong opponent of slavery, eventually culminating with his attempted raid at Harpers Ferry. His goal had been to use the weapons at the arsenal to arm a slave rebellion, but it ultimately failed and he was arrested and charged with treason.
How many US citizens have been charged with treason?
While Treason prosecutions are rare today, only 40 cases have been prosecuted in U.S. history. Of the 40 treason cases charged since the founding of the U.S., only 13 resulted in a conviction, and only three people have been executed for it, Eisner Gorin stated.
What are three things the president can't do?
A PRESIDENT CANNOT . . .
make laws. declare war. decide how federal money will be spent. interpret laws.
Can a sitting US president be charged with treason?
Article II, Section 4: The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors. President Donald Trump was impeached twice during his single term in office.
Who was the last U.S. citizen convicted of treason?
That said, treason charges are incredibly rare in modern America. The last person convicted was Tomoya Kawakita in 1952 for aiding Japan during WWII. Most cases that might seem like treason, like espionage or terrorism, are charged under different federal laws with lower evidentiary burdens.
What did John Brown say before he died?
I say, I am yet too young to understand that God is any respecter of persons. I believe that to have interfered as I have done as I have always freely admitted I have done in behalf of His despised poor, was not wrong, but right.
Why did Benedict Arnold commit treason?
Historians have several theories about why Arnold became a traitor: greed; mounting debt; resentment of other officers; a hatred of the Continental Congress; and a desire for the colonies to remain under British rule. The September 21 meeting with British Major John Andre was a disaster for both men.
Where did the Rosenbergs actually spy?
Yes, Julius Rosenberg was definitively a Soviet spy who passed military and technical secrets, including to the atomic bomb project, but Ethel Rosenberg's role is more debated; she likely knew of his activities but may not have actively spied, though her conviction for conspiring with him was upheld, leading to their execution in 1953. While Julius provided crucial information, especially concerning military electronics, many historians doubt he was solely responsible for the atomic bomb's secrets, which were also shared by physicist Klaus Fuchs, but the harsh sentence reflected Cold War fears.
Who leaked nuclear secrets to the Russians?
Klaus Fuchs (1911-1988) was a German theoretical physicist and spy who worked at Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project and passed atomic secrets to the Soviet Union.
Who betrayed the Rosenbergs?
On Tuesday, the New York Times discovered that David Greenglass had died in a nursing home. He was 92. Greenglass became infamous in the 1950's after he provided testimony that sentenced his sister, Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg, and her husband, Julius, to death on charges of passing nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union.
Can a president go to jail while in office?
Jump to essay-1Because criminal charges have never been filed against a sitting President, the Supreme Court has never considered a case addressing whether a sitting President could be prosecuted. The executive branch has expressed the view sitting Presidents enjoy absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.
Who is higher than the president?
The Senate has exceptionally high authority, sometimes higher than the President or the House of Representatives. The Senate can try cases of impeachment, which can dismiss a President for misconduct.
Do ex-presidents fly private?
When authorized by the President, Government air- craft may be used by a former President for transition purposes. When deemed necessary for protective pur- poses chartered aircraft may also be used by a former President in winding up the affairs of his Presidency.
Which U.S. state executes the most?
No state in the Northeast has conducted an execution since Connecticut, now abolitionist, in 2005. The state of Texas alone conducted 596 executions, over 1/3 of the total; the states of Texas, Florida, and Oklahoma make up over half the total. 17 executions have been conducted by the federal government.
Who is famous for treason?
For more than two centuries, all most Americans have ever known about Benedict Arnold is that he committed treason—yet he was more than a turncoat. He was a superb leader, a brilliant tactician, a supremely courageous soldier and one of the most successful military officers of the early years of the Revolutionary War.
What is the U.S. Code 18?
Title 18 of the United States Code is the primary federal law covering Crimes and Criminal Procedure, encompassing federal offenses, court processes, prisons, and witness immunity, divided into five main parts: Crimes, Criminal Procedure, Prisons and Prisoners, Correction of Youthful Offenders, and Immunity of Witnesses, covering everything from espionage and terrorism to fraud and general criminal principles like aiding and abetting.
Which president freed the most slaves?
President Abraham Lincoln freed the most slaves through the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and the 13th Amendment (ratified 1865), which abolished slavery nationwide, freeing millions, though it was a gradual process involving Union armies and Black agency, not an immediate blanket release.
What were John Brown's last words before hanging?
John Brown's most famous "last words" were actually a written message he handed to his captors on his way to the scaffold, stating, "I, John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with Blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed, it might be done". He also delivered a powerful final speech at his trial, affirming his actions to free the enslaved were righteous and that he accepted his fate if it furthered justice, declaring, "if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children, and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, — I say; LET IT BE DONE".
Who was the white man who fought against slavery?
John Brown was a man of action -- a man who would not be deterred from his mission of abolishing slavery. On October 16, 1859, he led 21 men on a raid of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.