Featured Article Summary #242

William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president, was shot on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo while he was shaking hands in the Temple of Music. Anarchist Leon Czolgosz fired two shots into McKinley’s abdomen. McKinley initially seemed to be improving, but his injuries worsened with gangrene, and he died on September 14. Czolgosz had been shaped by economic hardship and turned to anarchism, believing it was his duty to kill McKinley. After McKinley’s death, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became president, and Czolgosz was later convicted and executed. Congress then passed a law making the Secret Service officially responsible for protecting the president. In September 1901, President William McKinley was popular and in strong political position after winning elections in 1896 and 1900 and leading the country back toward prosperity. Theodore Roosevelt became his vice president after Garret Hobart died, and McKinley seemed likely to complete another term in peace. Meanwhile, Leon Czolgosz, born in 1873, had been shaped by economic hardship and became interested in anarchism, a movement widely feared in the U.S. because of past political violence abroad and the Haymarket bombing. Despite the country’s history of presidential assassinations, McKinley often avoided close security and routinely went out in public with little or no protection. After William McKinley’s inauguration speech in March 1901, he planned a nationwide train trip to promote new reciprocal trade deals that would open foreign markets for American businesses. He set out with his wife Ida on April 29, but she became seriously ill in California; the tour was cut short and the major Buffalo address was delayed until September 5. Meanwhile, Czolgosz, influenced by anarchist Emma Goldman’s ideas, moved through Cleveland and Chicago, then to Buffalo. On September 3 he decided to kill McKinley, bought a revolver on Main Street, and the next day, as the president arrived in Buffalo, he tried to get close but failed because of tight security. McKinley’s trip to Buffalo in September 1901 was part of a planned ten-day absence from Canton, staying at the Milburn House and repeatedly visiting the exposition to draw large crowds and income. On September 5 he delivered a speech urging an end to American isolationism, toured fair pavilions, and attended receptions while being closely guarded; despite warnings from his secretary, he kept a public handshake event at the Temple of Music in the schedule, prompting authorities to add extra security. Meanwhile, assassin Czolgosz arrived early and stayed close to the podium, but after failing to get another chance during the speech, he returned to his rented room. The next day McKinley visited Niagara Falls, watching the sights with his wife (who later rested due to illness), then returned to Buffalo for the shortened 10-minute public reception. The reception for President McKinley was held in the Temple of Music, with seating and entrances arranged so people could line up, shake hands quickly, and exit. Security was heavily planned, but the setup left crowded areas and distractions, and the usual rules about empty hands were loosely followed as people wiped sweat. During the handshake line, an assassin disguised as a cautious man shot McKinley twice in the abdomen, but was quickly tackled and subdued by bystanders and police. McKinley was helped to a chair, the attacker was taken away and searched, and the crowd first panicked before settling as McKinley was carried out. He worried about how to tell his wife, and on the way to the hospital he found a metal object he believed was a bullet; one shot only grazed him while the other penetrated his abdomen.