The Assassination of President William McKinley, 1901 The Assassination of President William McKinley, 1901 Printer Friendly Version >>> President McKinley, whose popularity was heightened by the victory of the United States in the Spanish-American war, was easily returned to a second term in the election of 1900. His running mate was Theodore Roosevelt, Governor of New York. In less than a year McKinley’s presidency was cut short by an assassin's bullet delivered in Buffalo, New York. "Now that damned cowboy is in the White House!" declared political boss and Senator from Ohio, Mark Hanna on hearing the news. President McKinley Reviews Troops, September 6, 1901 In September 1901 the President scheduled a visit to the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, NY. Planning for this extravaganza had been in the works for years but postponed during the Spanish-American War. With the war's conclusion the preparations for the Exposition could go forward and all the governments of the western hemisphere were invited to attend. It occupied 350 acres with buildings whose architecture reflected the style of the Spanish Renaissance.

The major theme of the exposition extolled the wonders of the new source of power - electricity. Arriving on September 6, President McKinley welcomed visitors at the Exposition’s stadium followed by a short reception at the Temple of Music. Noting that the reception was to last only ten minutes, an aide felt the president was unnecessarily exposing himself to danger. In reply, the president commented "No one would wish to hurt me." McKinley stood at the head of the reception line in the Temple of Music. His famous handshake whisked each recipient on his way. A slim, 28-year-old man named Leon Czolgosz approached. He had a handkerchief wrapped about his right hand. As the president reached for his left hand, Czolgosz dropped the handkerchief revealing a pistol. He fired twice. The first bullet bounced off McKinley's chest. The second ripped through his stomach.

McKinley's first thoughts were of his wife - "be careful how you tell her, oh be careful" and of his assassin - "be easy with him boys." He lingered for eight days finally succumbing to gangrene and infection on September 14 with the words "it is God's way, his will, not ours, be done." Czolgosz, a self-proclaimed anarchist, had been deeply affected by the treatment of the Slavic miners during the coal strikes of 1897. Justice was swift. His trial began on September 23 and a guilty verdict presented the next day. Given that the purpose of the exposition where the President was shot was to extol the wonders of electricity, it is one of history's ironies that his assassin met his maker on October 29, 1901 at Auburn Prison, New York courtesy of the latest method of execution � the electric chair. ADVERTISMENT "Suddenly I saw a hand shoved toward the President. . . Then there were two shots in rapid succession." Reporter John D. Wells was covering McKinley's visit to the Exposition and witnessed his assassination.

We join his account as the President enters the Temple of Music: "In the capacity of Exposition representative of the Buffalo Morning Review I was called upon to cover the visit of President McKinley to the Pan-American Exposition on that memorable Friday when the Chief Executive of this great nation was stricken by an assassin. Outside the Temple of Music was a dense crowd, fully fifteen thousand in number, all attracted there by the President's reception. Once the President's party were well inside the building, the doors were closed to allow time to make complete preparations for the levee. The chairs had been peculiarly arranged, leaving a lane from the southeast entrance of the building to the southwest exit, through which the people were to pass. It was scarcely large enough for the passage of more than one file of people. Under the majestic dome of the building, and bordering the passageway, a small space had been cleared. Here the President stood. In line, along each side of the passageway, were the eighteen members of the artillery corps detachment. In company with three other newspaper men, I stood in the rear of the President and to the right of the floral decorations. The President on his way to the Temple of Music, 15 minutes before being shot.

Mrs. McKinley, hidden by her parasol, sits at his side When everything had been arranged the signal was given and a guard opened the southeast door. Outside there was a detail of at least twenty Exposition policemen regulating the influx and maintaining the single column. It was exactly at four o'clock. Everybody seemed to be happy, and the President particularly so. He beamed on every one in line and had a kind word for all. Even at this time the assassin must have been within the Temple. I saw him myself but a minute later. Nothing about his person especially attracted me; I just glanced at him, that was all. He appeared to be a kindly disposed German boy, and had a decided Teutonic complexion that could not be mistaken. The last persons to shake hands with the President were a woman and a little girl, and a negro. I had just consulted my watch, desiring to take the exact time on some little incident that had occurred, and which I do not now recall, for I never recorded the notes. It was exactly 4:07 o'clock. Suddenly I saw a hand shoved toward the President - two of them in fact - as if the person wished to grasp the President's hand in both his own.

In the palm of one hand, the right one, was a handkerchief. Then there were two shots in rapid succession, the interval being so short as to be scarcely measurable. I stood stockstill. I saw Detective Foster strike upward the hand that would fire the third shot, and then saw a soldier (Private O'Brien of the Artillery Corps, it afterward developed) seize the man from behind and drag him down. Then I saw Gallaher and Ireland jump to the side of Foster, who was then on his knees with his fingers about the throat of the assassin. I took two or three steps toward the President. He had turned about a little and fell into the arms of Detective Geary. Mr. Milburn supported him from the other side. Just a few drops of blood spurted out and dropped on his white waistcoat. I remember this distinctly. The President was led to a chair a dozen steps away, and into this he sank, exhausted. His collar and necktie were quickly loosed and his shirt opened at the front. I was considerably excited, inasmuch as the shooting appealed to me, to use what may seem to be a heartless expression, in a business way.

I was a newspaper man, and there for the sole purpose of covering the story. I might look at it from a sentimental viewpoint later. I did not know which to follow, the President or the assassin. Then I concluded to follow the President. I walked to his side, and, seeing the others using their hats in lieu of fans, did the same with mine. Secretary Cortel who was bending over him, and distinctly I heard the President say: 'Cortel, you be careful. Tell Mrs. McKinley gently.' At this juncture I rushed to where the assassin lay prostrate on the floor. A dozen or more men, detectives and guards, were standing over him, striking and kicking him. The ambulance that responded to the call. In keeping with the theme of the Exposition, it was electrically powered. I then hastened back to the side of the President's chair. He had just raised his eyes, and observed the rough treatment being accorded his would-be assassin. Raising his right hand slightly he said: 'See that no one hurts him.' Some person with more forethought than others had immediately ordered the doors closed to keep out the crowd. This was done, and the doors were bolted.

Outside the immense concourse of people was ignorant of what had happened. There was a murmur of discontent at the closing of the doors. They little imagined that, within, the President was writhing in pain, the victim of an anarchist's bullet. Not even when the ambulance dashed up to the southwest door of the Temple did they comprehend what had happened - it was so incredible. They thought some woman had fainted and the doors were closed pending her removal. The doctors rushed into the building, and Dr. Ellis felt the pulse. Upon the suggestion of Mr. Milburn, the coat was removed and the President laid on the litter. When the doctors and Mr. Milburn appeared at the door bearing the wounded President a heart-rending sigh went up - such as I have never heard nor ever expect to hear again. Even then the people could scarcely believe that the President had been shot. With the realization of the fact came tears and wailing. References: This eyewitness account appeared in: Wells, John D., "The Story of an Eye-Witness to the Shooting of the President, Collier's Weekly 21 Sept.

1901; Gould, Lewis L., The Presidency of William McKinley (1980); Seale, William, The President's House: A History (1986). How To Cite This Article: "The Assassination of President William McKinley, 1901," EyeWitness to History, (2010). The President was rushed to a near-by infirmary where his stomach wound was closed. He was then moved to the home of the Director of the Exposition to recuperate. Despite optimistic press releases, McKinley's condition deteriorated and by September 14 he was dead. Modern analysis has attributed McKinley's demise to gangrene that infested his wound. It is most likely that his death could be averted today by the use of antibiotics. Presidential First - William McKinley became the first US President to ride in an automobile when he took a spin in a Stanley Steamer in 1900. The President's Wife: Ida McKinley was an invalid who suffered epiletic seizures. Her husband was entirely devoted to her and they had a loving relationship.

10/1/2001 • American History , Politics Leon Czolgosz stood in line and counted the people between him and the president of the United States. Nondescript, dressed in a dark suit, and wearing an innocent expression, Czolgosz (pronounced chlgsh) looked younger than his 28 years. He had waited for more than two hours in 82-degree heat on September 6, 1901, for his turn to shake hands with President William McKinley, who was visiting the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. It was the first year of the new century, a perfect time to reflect on the nation’s rise in world prominence and to speculate on the future. The exposition, a world’s fair that celebrated the Americas’ industrial progress and achievement, had attracted visitors from around the world. The event was more than halfway through its six-month run when President McKinley, the most popular chief executive since Abraham Lincoln, arrived. McKinley’s final public appearance in Buffalo was an afternoon reception in the Temple of Music, an ornate red-brick hall on the exposition grounds.

Since being elected president in 1896, McKinley had been notorious for discounting his own personal safety at public appearances, and he had repeatedly resisted attempts by his personal secretary, George Cortelyou, to cancel this event. Cortelyou had argued that it wasn’t worth the risk to greet such a small number of people, but the 58-year-old president refused to change his mind. ‘Why should I?’ he asked. ‘Who would want to hurt me?’ Cortelyou, always nervous about public receptions, tightened security as best he could. The people who wished to greet the president at the Temple had to file down a narrow aisle under the scrutiny of a special guard provided for the occasion. Outside, mounted police and soldiers controlled the massive crowd seeking entrance. Just months into his second presidential term, McKinley — who had easily won reelection in 1900 — had made the most significant speech of his presidency the day before, announcing a policy of reciprocal trade agreements with foreign nations to encourage improved markets for American goods. It marked the culmination of a decade-long evolution in thinking for the long-time isolationist and exemplified his statesmanship in recognition of changing times.

McKinley’s star first rose on the national scene some 10 years earlier as the Republican Party’s staunchest advocate of protectionism. He believed that high tariffs discouraged the importation of foreign goods, thereby helping keep prices high for American goods and producing profits for industries and high wages for workers. Using protectionism as his platform for election to the U.S. House of Representatives and the Ohio statehouse, where he served two terms as governor, McKinley established himself as his party’s standard-bearer. According to biographer Margaret Leech, McKinley ‘carried to Congress an emotional conviction that the solution for all the country’s economic ills was to make the already high tariff rates higher still.’ By 1900, however, he saw reciprocity as a means for commercial expansion and a way to promote world peace. McKinley was a veteran of the Civil War and retained vivid memories of the bloody conflict. As president, he was reluctantly drawn into the Spanish-American War of 1898. At first he downplayed stories of Spanish atrocities against Cuban nationals. But the yellow journalism of competing newspaper publishers William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer fired passions after the battleship Maine exploded and sank in Havana’s harbor.

Big business, looking to expand markets, added to the inexorable forces pushing the president toward war. Spain proved little challenge though, as American forces easily defeated the outnumbered and out-gunned army and navy of the Old World power. As the victor, the United States gained Puerto Rico, Wake, Guam, and the Philippines. The Pacific Islands were particularly significant as they established an American presence in a new hemisphere. Moreover, the United States annexed the Hawaiian Islands that summer. American business concerns became ecstatic over the prospects for expanded influence overseas. But not everyone supported the president. Hearst in particular continued to publicly criticize him. The condemnation reached a low point on April 10, 1901, when the publisher’s Journal printed an editorial that declared, ‘If bad institutions and bad men can be got rid of only by killing, then the killing must be done.’ Although Hearst had been responsible for many attacks on McKinley, he maintained that the editorial had been published without his knowledge. He ordered the presses stopped, but a number of newspapers were already on the streets. On September 5 an estimated 50,000 people, including Leon Czolgosz, had listened to the president’s speech.

‘Isolation is no longer possible or desirable,’ McKinley said. ‘The period of exclusiveness is past. The expansion of our trade and commerce is the pressing problem. Commercial wars are unprofitable. A policy of good-will and friendly trade relations will prevent reprisals.’ The New York Times, remarking on the president’s about-face, wrote, ‘Unquestionably the President has learned much in the last few years.’ Unfortunately, America’s move toward imperialism had done little for the common workingman. Already frustrated by years of economic depression that began with the Panic of 1893, and by the lack of progress toward more humane working conditions, American workers wondered why some of the vast wealth of the industrial boom wasn’t trickling down to them. Millionaires like railroad king Cornelius Vanderbilt, oil baron John D. Rockefeller, steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, and banker J.P. Morgan had accumulated unprecedented private wealth and were known to spend more on an evening’s entertainment than a coal miner or tradesman could earn in a lifetime. Such ostentatious displays bred discontent. Rubbing salt in the wound, the industrialists routinely relied on the government to help squelch worker uprisings.

Employee unions had progressively become a more dominant force in American life during the last quarter of the nineteenth century as they sought to improve working conditions. Strikers had clashed violently with police and the military in Chicago’s Haymarket Riot in 1886 and again in the Pullman strike eight years later, leaving scores of people dead in the streets. In 1892, Pinkerton detectives in Homestead, Pennsylvania, suppressed a steel strike and protected scab laborers. The government had sided with management against workers in each instance. A more dangerous element — anarchism — exacerbated the situation when it arrived from Europe. Anarchists brought a more radical philosophy to the scene, maintaining that any form of government exploited and oppressed the people. They believed that one way to combat government was to eliminate those in power. Since 1894, anarchists had assassinated four European leaders — President Sadi Carnot of France, Empress Elizabeth of Austria, King Humbert of Italy, and Spanish statesman Cnovas del Castillo. In the United States, an anarchist had attacked industrialist Henry Clay Frick, in part for his role in the failed Homestead strike.

For some individuals with little or no formal education, few skills, and no hope of improvement, anarchism offered a natural outlet for their frustration. Cleveland resident Leon Czolgosz fit the profile perfectly. Poor, reclusive, and often unemployed, he had been born in Detroit to Polish parents in 1873. He left school after five and a half years and worked at various jobs and later drifted to Chicago and became interested in the socialist movement. The interest continued in Cleveland, where he took a job in the city’s wire mills. Two weeks before he traveled to Buffalo, Czolgosz attended a lecture given by the nation’s most notorious anarchist leader, Emma Goldman. She spoke of the struggle between the classes and why the time had come for action against government. Surrounded by his entourage inside the Temple of Music, McKinley enjoyed the opportunity to meet his admirers. Host John Milburn, the exposition’s president, stood on the president’s left, so he could introduce acquaintances to McKinley as they approached. Secret Service agent George Foster, the president’s chief bodyguard, usually held that position, but he found himself five feet away from the president and standing opposite him.

To McKinley’s right stood Cortelyou, who looked into the face of each person as they came close to his boss. He intended to signal the guards to close the doors after 10 minutes to stop the parade of well-wishers and then rush the president on to his next appointment. President McKinley greeted each person with a warm smile and a handshake, pausing briefly to exchange words with any children who had accompanied their parents. The line moved quickly. Many in attendance held cloths to dab the sweat from their foreheads on the warm, humid day. As the waiting people shuffled forward, Foster noticed one man in line who had his right hand wrapped in a handkerchief. Foster wondered if it covered an embarrassing injury. McKinley saw the man’s apparent disability, and he reached to shake his left hand. Suddenly, Leon Czolgosz thrust his bandaged right hand into the president’s chest. Onlookers heard two sharp popping sounds, like small firecrackers, and a thin veil of gray smoke rose up in front of the president. McKinley looked confused and rose up on his toes, clutched his chest, and leaned forward.

Members of his entourage moved to support the slumping president and help him to a nearby chair as the blood spread across his white vest. ‘Be careful how you tell my wife,’ McKinley said, his strength already waning. Foster and others pounced on the assailant, knocking him roughly to the floor as he tried to aim his revolver for a third shot. McKinley managed a weak, ‘Don’t let them hurt him,’ when he saw Czolgosz being pummeled beneath a mass of angry guards. As the pandemonium continued, aides rushed the president to a hospital on the exposition grounds. One bullet had struck his sternum a glancing blow, causing only a superficial wound, but the other had penetrated his abdomen, a potentially fatal injury. Dr. Roswell Park, the exposition’s medical director and a surgeon with an international reputation, was performing a cancer operation in nearby Niagara Falls. Rather than wait for his return, the doctors present believed it imperative to act immediately, and they decided to operate as soon as prominent Buffalo surgeon Dr. Matthew Mann arrived. At 5:20 p.m., an hour and 13 minutes after the shooting, President McKinley went under the knife.

As he slipped into an ether-induced sleep, he murmured the Lord’s Prayer. Operating conditions were far from ideal, and professional lapses occurred that in retrospect probably raised an eyebrow or two, but the grave emergency required snap judgment. At one time doctors had to reflect the waning sun’s rays onto the patient with a mirror because of inadequate lighting. An anxious crowd awaited word of the president’s condition. At 7:00 p.m. the physicians released a statement detailing the extent of McKinley’s injuries and describing the surgery, during which they had searched for but could not find the second bullet. Summing up, they said the president’s ‘condition at the conclusion of the operation was gratifying. The result cannot be foretold. His condition at present justifies hope of recovery.’ While initial reports were optimistic, as they would be for the next six days, one presidential adviser felt an uneasy foreboding. Secretary of State John Hay had already experienced the assassinations of two presidents — the first as a personal secretary to Abraham Lincoln and the second as a personal friend and confidant of James Garfield. Called to Buffalo from Washington, Hay reportedly told his escort that the president would surely die.

But the secretary of state’s fear was an exception. The optimism of other reports prompted cabinet officials to return to their duties elsewhere. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, who had rushed to the president’s bedside when he received news of the shooting, left Buffalo ‘with a light heart’ and joined his family on vacation in the Adirondacks. The president improved daily, and he felt strong enough on the morning of September 12 to receive his first food orally — toast and coffee. McKinley’s spirits were good, but by afternoon he began to experience discomfort, and his condition rapidly worsened. Within 36 hours Hay’s prediction came true. Gangrene, unseen, had been forming along the path of the bullet for nearly a week. Some 40 years before penicillin became generally available, McKinley had been doomed the moment Czolgosz fired his revolver. The president died in the early morning hours of September 14, surrounded by a small group of family and friends. That afternoon Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as president of the United States.

As doctors had removed the president to John Milburn’s house after surgery, another spectacle was playing out across town at police headquarters, where the anarchist’s life was in as great a peril as McKinley’s had been. Police brandishing rifles and soldiers with bayonets transported the assailant through an angry mob of thousands who called for Czolgosz’s head. Now an estimated crowd of 30,000 stood ready to rush the station to drag the prisoner from his cell. ‘Kill him! Lynch him!’ they demanded. One observer commented that the ‘roar of the crowd was never to be forgotten by anyone who heard it.’ Buffalo Police Superintendent William Bull’s quick action probably saved the prisoner’s life. Bull and his men, some of them mounted, used nightsticks to beat back the surging crowd and eventually managed to cordon off the street and surround the police station three deep, a daunting presence that discouraged mob action. District Attorney Thomas Penney interrogated the would-be assassin inside the station. Czolgosz readily confessed. A self-described anarchist and disciple of Emma Goldman, Czolgosz said he had acted alone. ‘I killed President McKinley because I done my duty,’ he explained without emotion.

‘I didn’t believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none.’ From his cell across the street from city hall, Czolgosz must have heard the caisson carrying McKinley’s remains roll slowly through the streets of Buffalo on September 16 on its way to the train station for its journey to Washington, D.C. There the president’s body was placed under the Capitol dome in the same chamber that once housed the remains of Lincoln and Garfield, before completing its trip for burial in McKinley’s hometown of Canton, Ohio. Czolgosz was indicted and arraigned on September 16, and the trial commenced one week later in Buffalo’s city hall. The accused, resigned and unrepentant, pled guilty, but Judge Truman C. White, one of the most experienced of New York’s supreme court justices, instructed the court clerk to enter a plea of not guilty in accordance with New York state law. Loran L. Lewis and Robert C. Titus, the two retired justices of the state supreme court appointed to serve as defense counsel, didn’t hide their disgust at having been handed the assignment. District Attorney Penney focused on the medical aspects of the president’s wound and death.

During cross-examination, Dr. Herman Mynter, one of the attending physicians, discussed why the doctors did not find the second bullet. He explained that given McKinley’s weakened condition, further search risked killing him on the operating table. Doctors did not find the bullet during the autopsy, he noted, because the McKinley family did not want the body mutilated. The prosecution then established beyond any doubt that the defendant had committed the crime. Czolgosz’s signed confession and interrogation immediately after the shooting confirmed his guilt. The only hope for a not-guilty verdict remained with the question of the defendant’s mental state, a matter of much newspaper speculation in the weeks preceding the trial. The prosecution and the defense had engaged six psychiatrists to examine Czolgosz, but the alienists, as they were then known, found no evidence of insanity. Defense counsel never even raised the issue until closing arguments, and then only weakly. In fact, defense counsel called no witnesses on Czolgosz’s behalf. In fairness, though, the defendant refused to discuss the matter with either attorney, leaving them little on which to base a defense.

The state rested its case after just one and a half days, and the judge issued his instructions to the jury. In 30 minutes they returned with the expected verdict — guilty in the first degree. The trial had been a model of expediency, but it hardly represented an example of a strong defense. By today’s standards it would likely result in a mistrial on appeal. But in 1901, given the crime’s dastardly nature and a public calling for blood, defense counsel did not file an appeal. The following month, the state of New York carried out Czolgosz’s death sentence at the penitentiary in Auburn. The warden received more than 1,000 requests for invitations to the execution, but he allowed only 26 witnesses in accordance with state law. Prison officials also rejected two morbid proposals — one from a museum curator to buy the corpse for $5,000 and another from a kinescope operator for $2,000 to film the condemned man’s walk to the death chamber. On October 29 the executioner threw a switch and sent 1,700 volts of electricity through Czolgosz’s body.

Officials were afraid that removal of Czolgosz’s corpse might cause a spectacle, so they secured the family’s permission to inter it in the prison cemetery. Prison guards doused the body with sulfuric acid to render it unrecognizable. At Czolgosz’s request, the prison chaplain did not conduct a religious ceremony. In spite of death threats made towards McKinley during his presidency, he had been protected by the most casual and primitive security. The president had often walked unattended in Canton and strolled alone on the White House grounds without George Foster in attendance. After his death — the third presidential assassination in 36 years — Congress stepped up security for United States presidents by directing the Secret Service to add the protection of the president to its duties. Two years later, Congress enacted legislation that made presidential protection a permanent Secret Service responsibility. This article was written by Wyatt Kingseed and originally appeared in the October 2001 issue of American History magazine. For more great articles, subscribe to American History magazine today! U.S. President William McKinley Assassinated, 1901 U.S. President William McKinley Assassinated U.S. President William McKinley Assassinated President William McKinley.

Picture courtesy of the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. Share By Jennifer Rosenberg On September 6, 1901, anarchist Leon Czolgosz walked up to U.S. President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in New York and shot McKinley at point-blank range. After the shooting, it first appeared that President McKinley was getting better; however, he soon took a turn for the worse and died on September 14 from gangrene. Greeting People at the Pan-American Exposition On September 6, 1901, U.S. President William McKinley spent the morning visiting Niagara Falls with his wife before returning to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in the afternoon to spend a few minutes greeting the public. By about 3:30 p.m., President McKinley stood inside the Temple of Music building at the Exposition, ready to begin shaking the hands of the public as they streamed into the building. Many had been waiting for hours outside in the heat for their chance to meet the President.

Unbeknownst to the President and the many guards who stood nearby, among those waiting outside was 28-year-old anarchist Leon Czolgosz who was planning to kill President McKinley. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World At 4 p.m. the doors to the building were opened and the mass of people waiting outside were forced into a single line as they entered the Temple of Music building. The line of people thus came up to the President in an organized fashion, with just enough time to whisper a "Nice to meet you, Mr. President," shake President McKinley's hand, and then be forced to continue along the line and out the door again. President McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, was a popular president who had just started his second term in office and the people seemed clearly glad to get a chance to meet him. However, at 4:07 p.m. Leon Czolgosz had made it into the building and it was his turn to greet the President.

Two Shots In Czolgosz's right hand, he held a .32 caliber Iver-Johnson revolver, which he had covered by wrapping a handkerchief around the gun and his hand. Although Czolgosz's swaddled hand was noticed before he reached the President, many thought it looked like it covered an injury and not that it was hiding a gun. Also, since the day had been hot, many of the visitors to see the President had been carrying handkerchiefs in their hands so that they could wipe the sweat off their faces. When Czolgosz reached the President, President McKinley reached out to shake his left hand (thinking Czolgosz's right hand was injured) while Czolgosz brought up his right hand to President McKinley's chest and then fired two shots. One of the bullets didn't enter the president - some say it bounced off of a button or off the president's sternum and then got tucked into his clothing. The other bullet, however, entered the president's abdomen, tearing through his stomach, pancreas, and kidney. Shocked at being shot, President McKinley began to sag as blood stained his white shirt.

He then told those around him, "Be careful how you tell my wife." Those in line behind Czolgosz and guards in the room all jumped on Czolgosz and started to punch him. Seeing that the mob on Czolgosz might easily and quickly kill him, President McKinley whispered either, "Don't let them hurt him" or "Go easy on him, boys." Surgery President McKinley was then whisked away in an electric ambulance to the hospital at the Exposition. Unfortunately, the hospital was not properly equipped for such a surgery and the very experienced doctor usually on premises was away doing a surgery in another town. Although several doctors were found, the most experienced doctor that could be found was Dr. Matthew Mann, a gynecologist. The surgery began at 5:20 p.m. During the operation, the doctors searched for the remains of the bullet that had entered the President's abdomen, but were unable to locate it. Worried that continued searching would tax the President's body too much, the doctors decided to discontinue looking for it and to sew up what they could. The surgery was completed a little before 7 p.m.

Gangrene and Death For several days, President McKinley seemed to be getting better. After the shock of the shooting, the nation was excited to hear some good news. However, what the doctors did not realize was that without drainage, an infection had built up inside the President. By September 13 it was obvious the President was dying. At 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, President William McKinley died of gangrene. That afternoon, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as President of the United States. An Execution After being pummeled right after the shooting, Leon Czolgosz had been arrested and taken to police headquarters before nearly being lynched by the angry crowds that surrounded the Temple of Music. Czolgosz readily admitted that he was the one who had shot the President. In his written confession, Czolgosz stated, "I killed President McKinley because I done my duty. I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none." Czolgosz was brought to trial on September 23, 1901. He was quickly found guilty and sentenced to death.

On October 29, 1901, Leon Czolgosz was electrocuted. William McKinley - U.S. Presidents - HISTORY.com William McKinley A+E Networks Introduction William McKinley served in the U.S. Congress and as governor of Ohio before running for the presidency in 1896. As a longtime champion of protective tariffs, the Republican McKinley ran on a platform of promoting American prosperity and won a landslide victory over Democrat William Jennings Bryan to become the 25th president of the United States. In 1898, McKinley led the nation into war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence; the brief and decisive conflict ended with the U.S. in possession of Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Guam. In general, McKinley’s bold foreign policy opened the doors for the United States to play an increasingly active role in world affairs. Reelected in 1900, McKinley was assassinated by a deranged anarchist in Buffalo, New York, in September 1901. Google William McKinley’s Early Life and Pre-Presidency Career William McKinley was born January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio .

As a young man, he briefly attended Allegheny College before taking a post as a country schoolteacher. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, McKinley enlisted in the Union Army; he eventually earned the rank of brevet major of volunteers. Returning to Ohio after the war, McKinley studied law, opened his own practice in Canton, Ohio, and married Ida Saxton, the daughter of a local banker. After the deaths, in quick succession, of her mother and her two young daughters early in their marriage, Ida’s health rapidly deteriorated, and she spent the rest of her life as a chronic invalid. McKinley patiently catered to his wife throughout his burgeoning political career, winning praise from the public for his loving devotion to her. Did You Know? During the Civil War, McKinley served on the staff of Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, a fellow Ohioan who would become his lifelong mentor and friend. His ties to Hayes helped McKinley rise through Ohio's political ranks and win election to Congress in 1876, the same year Hayes was elected as the nation's 19th president.

McKinley entered Ohio politics in 1869 and rose through the ranks as a Republican, winning election to the U.S. Congress in 1876. Over nearly 14 years in Congress, he served as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and became known as a proponent of economic protectionism, in the form of high tariffs on imported goods. After a tariff measure bearing his name passed in 1890, voters rejected McKinley and other Republicans due to rising consumer prices and he returned to Ohio. The following year, he ran for governor, winning by a narrow margin; he would serve two terms in that post. William McKinley: Election of 1896 and Domestic Policy After the so-called Panic of 1893 led to a crippling economic depression in the United States, McKinley and his fellow Republicans regained the political advantage over the Democrats. McKinley won the Republican presidential nomination in 1896 thanks to his congressional and gubernatorial experience, his longtime support of protectionism and the skilled maneuvering of his chief supporter, the wealthy Ohio industrialist Marcus Alonzo Hanna.

In the general election, McKinley faced William Jennings Bryan , who ran on a platform attacking the gold standard and supporting the coinage of silver as well as gold. Touted by Hanna as the “advance agent of prosperity” and the protector of America’s financial interests in contrast to Bryan’s radical policies, McKinley won the popular vote by a margin of some 600,000, the largest victory in 25 years; he also won more than a third more electoral votes than Bryan. Soon after taking office, McKinley called a special session of Congress in order to raise customs duties, an effort he believed would reduce other taxes and encourage the growth of domestic industry and employment for American workers. The result was the Dingley Tariff Act (sponsored by the Maine congressman Nelson Dingley), the highest protective tariff in American history. McKinley’s support for the Dingley Tariff strengthened his position with organized labor, while his generally business-friendly administration allowed industrial combinations or “trusts” to develop at an unprecedented rate.

William McKinley: The Spanish-American War and Foreign Affairs It was foreign affairs that would determine McKinley’s presidential legacy, beginning with an ongoing conflict in Cuba, where Spanish forces were attempting to repress a revolutionary movement. Though the American press and public were outraged by the bloodshed, McKinley hoped to avoid intervention, and pressed Spain to make concessions. After the sinking of the U.S. battleship Maine in Havana’s harbor in February 1898 was linked (erroneously, as was later discovered) to an external explosion presumed to be a Spanish mine, McKinley asked Congress for the authority to intervene in the conflict; a formal declaration of war came on April 25. From early May to mid-August, U.S. forces defeated Spain near Santiago harbor in Cuba, occupied Puerto Rico and seized Manila in the Philippines. The Treaty of Paris , signed in December 1898 and narrowly ratified by Congress the following February, officially ended the Spanish-American War. In it, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines to the United States and Cuba gained its independence.

While opponents of the treaty derided it as “imperialist,” McKinley took his cue from the majority of Americans who supported it, sending troops to quell a nationalist insurgency that broke out in the Philippines shortly after the war ended. McKinley’s administration also pursued an influential “Open Door” policy aimed as supporting American commercial interests in China and ensuring a strong U.S. position in world markets. In 1900, McKinley backed up this policy by sending American troops to help put down the Boxer Rebellion , a nationalist uprising against foreign intervention in China. McKinley’s Reelection in 1900 and Assassination In 1900, McKinley again faced William Jennings Bryan, who ran on an anti-imperialism platform, and was reelected with a greater margin of victory than he obtained four years earlier. The outcome reflected the American public’s satisfaction with the outcome of the Spanish-American War and the country’s economic prosperity. After his second inauguration in March 1901, McKinley embarked on a tour of western states, where he was greeted by cheering crowds.

The tour ended in Buffalo, New York , where he gave a speech on September 5 in front of 50,000 people at the Pan-American Exposition. The following day, McKinley was standing in a receiving line at the exposition when a unemployed Detroit mill worker named Leon Czolgosz shot him twice in the chest at point-blank range. (Czolgosz, an anarchist, later admitted to the shooting and claimed to have killed the president because he was the “enemy of the people.” He was executed in October 1901.) Rushed to a Buffalo hospital, McKinley initially received a hopeful prognosis, but gangrene set in around his wounds and he died eight days later. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him. Access hundreds of hours of historical video, commercial free, with HISTORY Vault . Start your free trial today. Tags The Assassination of William McKinley The Assassination of William McKinley The Assassination of William McKinley While attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, President William McKinley was shot twice by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. McKinley and his wife arrived at the exposition on September 5, 1901.

He held several private receptions, a military review, and then delivered a speech. On the morning of September 6, the president visited Niagara Falls, and then returned to the exposition for a public reception. Waiting in line was Leon Czolgosz, the native-born son of Polish immigrants. Czolgosz fancied himself an anarchist after hearing a speech by Emma Goldman in 1898. However, he was not a member of any known anarchist organization, and was even suspected by them as being a spy. Anarchism in the late Nineteenth Century was an extension of the Marxist critique of Capitalism, combined with a desire to do away with the state as a form of government. This leftist philosophy sought to defend the rights of the working class against the ruling class, but saw the overthrow of the ruling class as a precursor to dissolving the state. Some revolutionaries used acts of terrorism (especially bombings) and assassination as a means of sparking revolution, and in the late Nineteenth Century, several heads of state had been assassinated by Anarchists. Czolgosz seems to have been inspired by the July 29, 1900 assassination of King Umberto I of Italy by an anarchist.

Earlier assassinations included: 1881: the assassination of Russian Tsar Alexander II, by the group Narodnaya Volya 1894: the assassination of the French president Marie-Francois Sadi Carnot 1894: Bombing of Greenwich Observatory in London Leon Czolgosz waited in the Presidential reception line inside the Temple of Music with a .32 caliber Iver-Johnson "Safety Automatic" revolver concealed in a handkerchief wrapped around his right hand, giving the impression of a bandaged wound. When the president extended his hand for the handshake, Czolgosz slapped it aside and shot the President twice. One bullet deflected off of the president's ribs and did no major damage. The other bullet damaged McKinley's stomach, kidney, and pancreas, and lodged somewhere in his back. Ironically, the doctors were forced to operate in a building on site without electricity, while much of the outdoor buildings and displays were covered with lights. Although Thomas Edison's new x-ray machine was on site, doctors were reluctant to use it, probably because they were unsure about possible side-effects. As McKinley seemed to improve, they decided to leave the bullet inside the president.

McKinley continue to improve while remaining under close medical supervision in Buffalo. On the morning of September 12 he had improved enough to eat some toast with a cup of coffee, but by that afternoon his condition deteriorated. The president went into shock and died on September 14, eight days after the shooting. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt, on vacation in the Adirondacks, was hastened to Buffalo where he was sworn in as President. Leon Czolgosz was tried for murder, found guilty, and executed by electric chair on October 29, 1901. William McKinley Assassination William McKinley Assassination POTUS Portraits William McKinley Assassination William McKinley, American President at the turn of the 20th century was tragically gunned down extending a kind hand to a would be assassin, anarchist Leon Czolgosz. The stalking of President McKinley would begin on Presidents Day, September 5, 1901 when Czolgosz read in the paper of the Presidents upcoming visit to Buffalo, New York for the Pan-American Exposition world fair. He intended to follow McKinley throughout his visit until an opportunity presented itself.

He would then take quick action to assassinate the President. Czolgosz was initially inspired by anarchist Emma Goldman when he attended a speech given by her in 1898. He read every book and article about the anarchist movement he could find. But with an increasing appetite for radical, violent anarchism Czolgosz intended to fulfill his new vision to emulate Italian anarchist Gaetano Bresci's actions in Italy the previous year. Bresci assassinated King Umberto I, of Italy on July 29, 1900. Shooting him three times. Breski was arrested, found guilty and sentenced to a life of hard labor at Santo Stefano Prison on Ventotene Island. May 22, 1901 was found dead in his cell, believed to have committed suicide. September 5, William McKinley and First Lady Ida McKinley rode a train to Niagara Falls and attended an evening fireworks display at the Expo.

William McKinley delivered a very well received speech, the last of which would be heard again In the late afternoon of September 6, 1901 President McKinley attended a public reception held in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition fair grounds. McKinley would be greeting a crowd of thousands of adoring citizens and McKinley insisted on shaking the hands of as many as humanly possible for the time. The President was well guarded by secret service, police and security. But in a reception receiving line there was major concern for McKinley's wide exposure to such a massive crowd. Standing to either side of the President was Secretary Cortelyou and President of the Exposition John G. Milburn who assisted in introducing the President to the citizens waiting eagerly to shake the hand of their beloved and revered U.S. President. About ten minutes into the reception McKinley was approached by a man sporting what protectors and onlookers observed as a benign bandage over his right hand. The Unsuspecting McKinley offered a greeting to the man, which was slapped aside by 28 year old laborer and professed anarchist Leon Czolgosz.

The assassin shot twice into the President's body with a gun he pulled from hiding beneath a handkerchief wrapped around his hand. The assassins weapon of choice, a snub nose 32 caliber Iver-Johnson revolver. Czolgosz attempted to fire a third shot at the President when he was knocked to the ground by a bystander. James B. Parker a large African American (Expo worker) pummeled Czolgosz, breaking his nose. He was secured immediately and arrested. When word spread of the shooting and the crowd understood the magnitude of events, cries roared to "Lynch him!" while he was dragged away by authorities. Czolgosz was interrogated by District Attorney Thomas Penney and eventually confessed to shooting McKinley because "I done my duty." He believed McKinley was a symbol of all the injustices in the country. Weak and bleeding profusely from the abdomen McKinley's only thoughts were of his wife Ida he Pleaded for the news to be relayed with great delicacy. McKinley was then rushed to the Exposition emergency room and treated for his wounds.

A bullet that hit the right sternum and the other imbedded deep into the abdomen. Surgery was performed by Dr. Mathew Mann under difficult circumstances including operating with very little light as there was no electricity in the building. One bullet resting at the surface was extracted with little effort, however the bullet that penetrated the stomach could not be found and the President was sewed up leaving it inside. McKinley was later moved to Milburn's home to recover. It was widely thought by all the Presidents care givers, McKinley was doing well and would make a complete and quick recovery. With such optimistic predictions for McKinley's full recovery, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt left on vacation to the remote Adirondacks with his wife Edith and children. Theodore Roosevelt was hundreds of miles away and deep into the wilderness when McKinley unexpectedly took a turn for the worse on Friday, September 13th. Hand delivered telegrams were brought up the mountain to Roosevelt informing of the Presidents declining health. The final telegram to reach Roosevelt read: "THE PRESIDENT APPEARS TO BE DYING AND MEMBERS OF THE CABINET IN BUFFALO THINK YOU SHOULD LOSE NO TIME COMING".

Wasting no time as requested, Roosevelt left the mountain cabin around midnight, Saturday morning. Forced to leave his family behind Roosevelt swiftly began the sixteen mile trek back down the mountain on horse and buggy through heavy mud, rain and darkness. Roosevelt was still hours away from reaching the train station at the bottom of the mountain, when Roosevelt's Presidential aspirations came to fruition. Having done everything medically possible, McKinley died at 2:15 Saturday morning on September 14th of gangrene. As the shocking news spread over the wires a great sadness befell the entire country. Roosevelt learned of McKinley's death upon arriving at the train station at 5:22 a.m. His secretary William Loeb, Jr. handed him a telegram sent by Secretary of State John Hay that read: THE PRESIDENT DIED AT TWO-FIFTEEN THIS MORNING. Roosevelt boarded the train, headed to the Milburn house in Buffalo to pay his respects to the President and meet with cabinet members. Roosevelt left the Milburn home to go to the home of personal friend Ansley Wilcox, where the emergency inauguration was being set up.

A little more than 24 hours since McKinley's death, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office and became the youngest President in United States history at the age of 42. On September 15th, the Presidents funeral train traveled from Buffalo to Washington D.C., then Canton, Ohio where McKinley was buried at the Westlawn Cemetery. September 23rd, Czolgosz's trial began at the Buffalo Supreme Court with Justice Truman C. White on the bench. The Assassination of James Garfield and the trial of his assassin Charles Guiteau was examined extensively for guidance. Determined to have a speedy trial and disallow the insanity plea to be offered as a defense, Prosecutors and the defense team introduced insanity experts to determine if Czolgosz was legally insane. The prosecution won the debate and proved Czolgosz to be of sound mind and he was found guilty three days later. The Jury deliberated for a mere 30 minutes, convicted him of first degree murder and he was sentenced to death. Czolgosz was interviewed twice the night before his impending execution by Superintendent of State Prisons Collins, followed by his brother and brother-in-law.

Czolgosz was adamant he did the planning and execution of the assassination all on his own and vehemently denounced the church, insisting there be no service of any kind. Czolgosz was taken to the chair and executed October 29, 1901. At his request a service was not performed and for security reasons Czolgosz remains were not given to the family for burial. He instead was buried on the Auburn, N.Y. prison grounds. In the aftermath- Attorney General Knox vows to find a way to rid the U.S. of Anarchists, even if they all have to be rounded up and deported. Legislation began immediately in the ratification of Anarchists living within the United States and those seeking to enter the country from abroad. The Alien Immigration Act of 1903 was such major legislation in response. The Act disallowed known anarchists to enter the country and allowed for known anarchists living within the U.S. borders to be deported.

The Legal Aftermath of the Assassination of William McKinley - Pan-American Exposition of 1901 - University at Buffalo Libraries University at Buffalo Libraries Health Care and Medical Technology The Legal Aftermath of the Assassination of William McKinley Portrait of William McKinley. Photographer: Francis B. Johnston. Source: The Life of William McKinley, Including a Genealogical Record of the McKinley Family and Copious Extracts From the Late President's Public Speeches, Messages to Congress, Proclamations, and Other State Papers. New York, P. F. Collier & Sons, 1901. On September 5, 1901, Leon Czolgosz unsuccessfully sought an opportunity to assassinate President McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. His second attempt on September 6 was successful. At the Temple of Music, while McKinley was in a greeting line, Leon Czolgosz fired two shots into the President. James Parker Czolgosz was wrestled to the ground by an Exposition attendee, African-American waiter James Parker, who was credited with having prevented Czolgosz from firing a third round.

[See a related essay on James Parker by Daryl Rasuli.] Soldiers of the U.S. Artillery descended upon Czolgosz and began to beat him. From where he lay wounded, President McKinley was heard to have said, "Go easy on him boys." At police headquarters the assassin was interrogated by District Attorney Thomas Penney. Czolgosz confessed that he killed the President because, "I killed President McKinley because I done my duty. I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man shoud have none." "The Confession of Leon Czolgosz". Source: Photocopy kindly reproduced by the Karapela's Manuscript Museum. Surgery was performed on President McKinley by Dr. Matthew Mann. The operation began at 5:20 p.m., one hour and 20 minutes after the President was shot. The highly regarded surgeon, Roswell Park, was unavailable, so Mann, an obstetrician and gynecologist, performed the operation. In addition to Mann, the attending physicians were P.M. Rixey, Eugene Wasdin, (later) Roswell Park, and Herman Mynter. Matthew D. Mann, M.D.

Physician and Surgeon; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Universty of Buffalo. Photographer: Undetermined. Source: Men of Buffalo: A Collection of Portraits of Men Who Deserve to Rank as Typical Representatives of the Best Citizenship, Foremost Activities and Highest Aspirations of the City of Buffalo. Chicago: A.N. Marquis & Co., 1902, p. 377. Dr. Roswell Park Herman Mynter, M.D. Professor of Operative Surgery, University of Buffalo; Surgeon to German and German Deaconess Hospitals. Photographer: Undetermined. Source: Men of Buffalo: A Collection of Portraits of Men Who Deserve to Rank as Typical Representatives of the Best Citizenship, Foremost Activities and Highest Aspirations of the City of Buffalo. Chicago:A.N. Marquis & Co., 1902, p. 390. On September 14, 1901 President McKinley died of gangrene at the home of John G. Milburn, president of the Pan-American Exposition. After the final funeral service in Washington, D.C.

on September 17th, McKinley's body was returned to his home of Canton, Ohio and entombed at the Westlawn Cemetery. By the time the body had been laid to rest, the Erie County Bar Association had assigned two honorable defense attorneys to what they termed the "distasteful task" of providing counsel to the assassin. Members of the local bar who were involved with the trial were presiding Judge Truman C. White, District Attorney Thomas Penney, as well as defense attorneys Hon. Loran Lewis and the Hon. Robert Titus. The jurors reached a verdict in little more than 30 minutes. On September 26, 1901 at 2:00 p.m. Judge White sentenced Leon Czolgosz to death by electric chair at Auburn State Prison. He was executed October 29, 1901. Police Photograph and Report of Leon Czolgosz. Photographer: Unidentified. Source: Facsimile of the Police Report filed September 6, 1901. Department of Police, Buffalo N.Y., Bureau of Identification. Facsimile courtesy of the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society.

The assassination of President McKinley by an avowed anarchist, only compounded Americans' fears, already stirred by such recent events as the assassinations of King Humberto of Italy and Empress Elizabeth of Austria and the Haymarket and Homestead riots in the United States. The focus of this fear was the anarchist movement, and the relationship of this ideology to immigrants. State and federal legislation began to target anarchists, with bills being introduced almost immediately to expel avowed anarchists from the country and to prohibit their entry into the United States from other countries. One such statute, the Alien Immigration Act of 1903, is discussed in Anarchy at the Turn of the Century. See the following pages: 1901: The assassination of President William McKinley Home 1901: The assassination of President William McKinley An account of assassination of the President of the United States, William McKinley, by young Detroit-born anarchist, Leon Czolgosz. At the beginning of the 20th Century, anarchists were in the middle of what was known as the ‘Propaganda by the Deed’ period.

The idea was that by killing members of the ruling order, not only would the ‘fear of God’ be put into them but that it would eventually inspire the masses into rising up against their masters. This tactic was put into practice repeatedly in Russia and on 29th July in Italy, King Humbert I was assassinated. After Humbert’s assassination, rumours were spread about the possibility of a world-wide anarchist plot to kill world leaders, of which America’s President William McKinley was thought to be a target. Of course, in the end, no plot could be unearthed but nonetheless, the fear factory had started production. There’s no smoke without fire after all, is there? McKinley certainly accomplished a lot in his time in politics. Serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, he entered Congress as a Republican in 1872. His policies were always very conservative and McKinley soon attracted the support of powerful financier and politician Marcus Hanna who secured him the Republican Presidential nomination in 1896. Under his time as President, McKinley pursued a highly imperialist foreign policy. The Spanish American War was fought under his watch, which brought America into the world arena as a world power.

It was in the Spanish American War that America began their imperial conquest of Latin America. Also, after their victory, the US demanded they be given the Philippines, later took Hawaii and then made Cuba an American colonial state (and would hold on to it through the brutal dictatorships until 1959, when Castro’s brutal dictatorship took over – the Cubans have definitely had a tough time of it!). Sometime in 1901, however, Detroit born 29-year-old Leon Czolgosz (pronounced “Colgosh”) of Russian-Polish parentage had become an anarchist after attending a talk by the famous anarchist Emma Goldman and had decided he wanted to do something to help the international working class movement. With Propaganda by the Deed being the most visible tactic used by anarchists at the time and finding out that the President would be going to Buffalo, Czolgosz went to Buffalo to wait for him. On September 5th 1901, McKinley held an open-air speech and then went to hold ‘an audience’ with the public for ten minutes.

As the crowd formed into a line and the President prepared to shake hands with the various people who’d come out to see him, Czolgosz wrapped a .32 calibre pistol in a handkerchief. Fifty guards were stationed around McKinley that day – federal, state and city – and were supposed to be keeping watch. However, as the President moved through the crowd, no one noticed Czolgosz, who had positioned himself at the front. McKinley eventually came to Czolgosz. He smiled and extended his hand. Czolgosz never took it, but instead flung the President’s hand to one side and fired twice, hitting him in the chest and abdomen. Unsurprisingly, Czolgosz was set on by eight guards who beat him senseless with fists and gun butts. The crowd was ready to lynch him. Czolgosz was taken to one side and then beaten again. James Parker, a waiter at the event, later told how he “took a knife out...and started to cut his throat”. The police soon took him away and locked him up. The President was rushed to hospital, but despite initial positive media coverage, his condition soon deteriorated.

The chest wound turned out to be superficial, but the shot to the abdomen had gone through both walls of his stomach and through his kidney. The bullet’s path had become gangrenous and on September 15th, at 2:15am, President McKinley died. Czolgosz was tried and found guilty just over a month later. On October 29th, he was strapped into the electric chair. In his final words, he explained “I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people – the good working people...I am not sorry for my crime”. Even though Czolgosz had maintained that he acted alone, the state refused to believe this. In Chicago, nine anarchists were arrested on conspiracy to assassinate the President with no evidence apart from the fact that they were anarchists. Another anarchist, John (Johann) Most, was arrested for publishing an article in one of his German language anarchist papers. In Kansas, vigilantes routed an anarchist meeting. In Wyoming, a man professing sympathy for Czolgosz was tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.

A suspected anarchist was mobbed in New York and in New Mexico, an anarchist playing the violin in a pub was arrested. In St Louis, police issued an arrest warrant for Emma Goldman even though she had never met Czolgosz. She was arrested and only released after two weeks. Her Dad was even excommunicated from the synagogue he went to. Though there was some support for Czolgosz’s actions, as the repression shows, it was not on a mass scale. As with the rest of the ‘Propaganda by the Deed’ period, the actions of a few, admittedly brave, anarchists failed to inspire revolution in the working class and instead led to severe repression of the movement at a time when they were not yet ready to defend themselves.

By libcom President William McKinley is shot - Sep 06, 1901 - HISTORY.com President William McKinley is shot Share this: President William McKinley is shot Author President William McKinley is shot URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1901, President William McKinley is shaking hands at the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, New York, when a 28-year-old anarchist named Leon Czolgosz approaches him and fires two shots into his chest. The president rose slightly on his toes before collapsing forward, saying “be careful how you tell my wife.” Czolgosz moved over the president with the intent of firing a third shot, but was wrestled to the ground by McKinley’s bodyguards. McKinley, still conscious, told the guards not to hurt his assailant. Other presidential attendants rushed McKinley to the hospital where they found two bullet wounds: one bullet had superficially punctured his sternum and the other had dangerously entered his abdomen. He was rushed into surgery and seemed to be on the mend by September 12.

Later that day, however, the president’s condition worsened rapidly and, on September 14, McKinley died from gangrene that had gone undetected in the internal wound. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was immediately sworn in as president. Czolgosz, a Polish immigrant, grew up in Detroit and had worked as a child laborer in a steel mill. As a young adult, he gravitated toward socialist and anarchist ideology. He claimed to have killed McKinley because he was the head of what Czolgosz thought was a corrupt government. Czolgosz was convicted and executed in an electric chair on October 29, 1901. The unrepentant killer’s last words were “I killed the president because he was the enemy of the good people—the working people.” His electrocution was allegedly filmed by Thomas Edison. On September 16, after receiving a funeral befitting a president in Washington, D.C., McKinley’s coffin was transported by train to his hometown of Canton, Ohio, for burial. Related Videos

Question: In which state was US President William McKinley assassinated?
Answer: NEW YORK