Evocative of early magic lantern and Phantasmagoria shows, "The Martyred Presidents" is part of a cycle of films made by the Edison Studios to chronicle the McKinley assassination in Buffalo, New York at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition. An Edison catalog from the time suggests to exhibitors that "The Martyred Presidents" be used as a closing tableau when "...shown in connection with the funeral ceremonies of the illustrious McKinley."