Andrew Kehoe's Argumentative Essay

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1) Andrew Kehoe is considered a mass murderer. In 1927 he killed 44 people including his wife and 37 children. He injured 58. It’s now called the “Bath Massacre”. Kehoe was a member of the school board and was allowed access to the school in Bath, Michigan. Kehoe was angry at the new taxes being implemented, so he wired dynamite underneath the school. He believed the new tax wouldn’t leave him enough money to continue paying for his farm. Before heading to the school that morning he burned down his house and six outhouses on his farm. He tied up his horse’s legs so they wouldn’t be able to run after lighting the fire. After lighting the dynamite at the school, he called the superintendent over and used to a shotgun to set off more dynamite killing the superintendent and himself. Overall, it seemed as he was out to kill the citizens of Bath Township. After the massacre, they built a new …show more content…

I couldn’t find any evidence directly stating that Kehoe suffered from depression. However, I can infer from his history that he mostly likely did suffer. His wife was ill with tuberculosis and money was cut short due to hospital expenses. He began receiving foreclosures for his farm, because he had stopped paying for the mortgage. In 1925 Kehoe was elected as the clerk, but was then defeated in 1926. He was angry that the citizens had rejected him. A couple of his neighbors became worried that he was going to commit suicide when work on his farm had come to a stop. Suicide is often linked to severe depression. High levels of dopamine have been linked to violence and anger. He was known by his neighbors as someone who became angry if anyone disagreed with his opinions. This is shown in his crime where he became angry with the citizens and set off dynamite. Neighbors also claimed that they witnessed him mistreating his farm animals. He had even beaten a horse to death when it wasn’t cooperating with