The Assassination of William McKinley
Today is the anniversary of the day that William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York at the Pan-American Exposition. That event took place on September 6, 1901 (113 years ago today). An excellent account of the assassination of McKinley and the events leading up to it and following it can be found in Scott Miller's 2011 book The President and the Assassin. McKinley wasn't immediately killed by his assassin's bullet, he hung on to life for another eight days, and died on September 14th. There is some argument about whether he died from the bullet wound, or from incompetent medical treatment, although certainly the latter was precipitated by the former.
McKinley and his wife, Ida, arrived at the Pan-Am Expos the previous day on September 5. This was to be the culmination of a national tour that McKinley was taking and which he cut short due to Ida's poor health. September 5th had been designated as "President's Day" in the President's honor and events scheduled for the day included private receptions and a military review as well as a speech to be given by McKinley. On the morning of the 6th, McKinley visited Niagara Falls where he gave the last speech of his life, one which was well reviewed. He returned to the Exposition for a scheduled public reception that afternoon. His secretary, George B. Cortelyou, advised the President against the reception, believing it to be a security risk. When Cortelyou suggested that McKinley skip the reception, McKinley replied, "Why should I? No one would wish to hurt me." Courtelyou wasn't concerned about McKinley's popularity, he was very popular at the time. Rather it was the fact that there had been, in recent months, a series of assassinations and assassination attempts on the lives of world leaders by anarchist groups.
McKinley arrived at the reception at 3:30 p.m., accompanied by Cortelyou and Exposition President John Milburn. He went to the Temple of Music building where the reception was to take place. At that time there was no formal agency for providing Presidential security, but the U.S. Secret Service, founded in 1865 to combat counterfeiting, began provided informal security beginning in 1894, for McKinley's predecessor Grover Cleveland. The Secret Service was there that day for protection, along with Buffalo detectives and a squad of eleven Army servicemen that had been instructed to keep an eye on the crowd. McKinley stood and shook hands with the people filing by in a long line.
Waiting in that line was 28 year old Leon Czolgosz, the son of Polish immigrants. Czolgosz was an unemployed factory worker who had became interested in anarchism. In May 1901 he attended a speech given by famous anarchist Emma Goldman, in Cleveland, and he had traveled to Goldman's home in Chicago on July 12 and spoke briefly with her before she left to catch a train. Goldman was later arrested and briefly detained on suspicion of involvement in McKinley's murder, but charges were not proceeded with because of a lack of evidence, Czolgosz he read that McKinley would be attending the Exposition, so he traveled by train to Buffalo. Czolgosz attended McKinley's speech on September 5 for President's Day and considered shooting the President then but he could not get close enough. Instead, he returned to the Exposition the next day. He joined the line of people waiting to shake the president's hand.
Czolgosz wrapped his hand in a white handkerchief to hide the gun he was carrying. Secret Serviceman George Foster later admitted that he did not notice Czolgosz because he was paying close attention to James Parker, a six-foot six inch African-American waiter from Atlanta who had been laid-off by the exposition's Plaza Restaurant, and who was standing immediately behind Czolgosz. McKinley had been shaking hands for approximately ten minutes when Cortelyou left his side to shut the doors. William J. Gomph, the exposition's official organist, was softly playing Schumann's Träumerei on the massive organ that was a special attraction at the Temple of Music. At 4:07 p.m. Czolgosz advanced to face the President. McKinley reached out to take Czolgosz's "bandaged" hand, but before he could shake it Czolgosz pulled the trigger twice.
James Parker punched Czolgosz in the face and tackled him, knocking the gun from Czolgosz's hand. Agent George Foster jumped onto Czolgosz and shouted to fellow agent Albert Gallagher "Al, get the gun! Get the gun! Al, get the gun!" But Gallagher got Czolgosz's handkerchief, which was on fire. Private Francis O'Brien, of McKinley's Army detail, picked up the gun.
McKinley remained standing while security dragged Czolgosz away. After someone hit Czolgosz again, McKinley softly pleaded with the crowd "Go easy on him boys." Eleven minutes after the shooting an ambulance arrived and McKinley was taken to the hospital on the Exposition grounds. He had been shot twice. One bullet struck a button and deflected off his ribs, making only a superficial wound. However, the second bullet hit McKinley in the abdomen, passed completely through his stomach, hit his kidney, damaged his pancreas, and lodged somewhere in the muscles of his back. Doctors were unable to find the bullet, so they left it in his body and closed up the wound. As Scott Miller explains in his book, in those days medical science felt the greater risk was to be had in the damage caused by searching for the bullet, whereas a bullet at rest lodged in the body was not viewed as serious a medical risk.
McKinley was taken to John Milburn's home to recover. His condition improved for a time, but suddenly worsened and McKinley died at 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901. Czolgosz went on trial for murder nine days later and after two days of trial he was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed in the electric chair on October 29, 1901.
After McKinley's death, newspaper editorials across the country criticized the lack of protection afforded to United States Presidents. In the fall of 1901 Congress asked the Secret Service to control presidential security, and the Service was protecting President Theodore Roosevelt full-time by 1902. But it wasn't until 1906 that legislation was passed in Congress officially designating the Secret Service as the agency in charge of presidential security.
Never one to look to others for protection, Theodore Roosevelt adopted the practice of carrying a concealed revolver on his person for protection. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.
McKinley and his wife, Ida, arrived at the Pan-Am Expos the previous day on September 5. This was to be the culmination of a national tour that McKinley was taking and which he cut short due to Ida's poor health. September 5th had been designated as "President's Day" in the President's honor and events scheduled for the day included private receptions and a military review as well as a speech to be given by McKinley. On the morning of the 6th, McKinley visited Niagara Falls where he gave the last speech of his life, one which was well reviewed. He returned to the Exposition for a scheduled public reception that afternoon. His secretary, George B. Cortelyou, advised the President against the reception, believing it to be a security risk. When Cortelyou suggested that McKinley skip the reception, McKinley replied, "Why should I? No one would wish to hurt me." Courtelyou wasn't concerned about McKinley's popularity, he was very popular at the time. Rather it was the fact that there had been, in recent months, a series of assassinations and assassination attempts on the lives of world leaders by anarchist groups.
McKinley arrived at the reception at 3:30 p.m., accompanied by Cortelyou and Exposition President John Milburn. He went to the Temple of Music building where the reception was to take place. At that time there was no formal agency for providing Presidential security, but the U.S. Secret Service, founded in 1865 to combat counterfeiting, began provided informal security beginning in 1894, for McKinley's predecessor Grover Cleveland. The Secret Service was there that day for protection, along with Buffalo detectives and a squad of eleven Army servicemen that had been instructed to keep an eye on the crowd. McKinley stood and shook hands with the people filing by in a long line.
Waiting in that line was 28 year old Leon Czolgosz, the son of Polish immigrants. Czolgosz was an unemployed factory worker who had became interested in anarchism. In May 1901 he attended a speech given by famous anarchist Emma Goldman, in Cleveland, and he had traveled to Goldman's home in Chicago on July 12 and spoke briefly with her before she left to catch a train. Goldman was later arrested and briefly detained on suspicion of involvement in McKinley's murder, but charges were not proceeded with because of a lack of evidence, Czolgosz he read that McKinley would be attending the Exposition, so he traveled by train to Buffalo. Czolgosz attended McKinley's speech on September 5 for President's Day and considered shooting the President then but he could not get close enough. Instead, he returned to the Exposition the next day. He joined the line of people waiting to shake the president's hand.
Czolgosz wrapped his hand in a white handkerchief to hide the gun he was carrying. Secret Serviceman George Foster later admitted that he did not notice Czolgosz because he was paying close attention to James Parker, a six-foot six inch African-American waiter from Atlanta who had been laid-off by the exposition's Plaza Restaurant, and who was standing immediately behind Czolgosz. McKinley had been shaking hands for approximately ten minutes when Cortelyou left his side to shut the doors. William J. Gomph, the exposition's official organist, was softly playing Schumann's Träumerei on the massive organ that was a special attraction at the Temple of Music. At 4:07 p.m. Czolgosz advanced to face the President. McKinley reached out to take Czolgosz's "bandaged" hand, but before he could shake it Czolgosz pulled the trigger twice.
James Parker punched Czolgosz in the face and tackled him, knocking the gun from Czolgosz's hand. Agent George Foster jumped onto Czolgosz and shouted to fellow agent Albert Gallagher "Al, get the gun! Get the gun! Al, get the gun!" But Gallagher got Czolgosz's handkerchief, which was on fire. Private Francis O'Brien, of McKinley's Army detail, picked up the gun.
McKinley remained standing while security dragged Czolgosz away. After someone hit Czolgosz again, McKinley softly pleaded with the crowd "Go easy on him boys." Eleven minutes after the shooting an ambulance arrived and McKinley was taken to the hospital on the Exposition grounds. He had been shot twice. One bullet struck a button and deflected off his ribs, making only a superficial wound. However, the second bullet hit McKinley in the abdomen, passed completely through his stomach, hit his kidney, damaged his pancreas, and lodged somewhere in the muscles of his back. Doctors were unable to find the bullet, so they left it in his body and closed up the wound. As Scott Miller explains in his book, in those days medical science felt the greater risk was to be had in the damage caused by searching for the bullet, whereas a bullet at rest lodged in the body was not viewed as serious a medical risk.
McKinley was taken to John Milburn's home to recover. His condition improved for a time, but suddenly worsened and McKinley died at 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901. Czolgosz went on trial for murder nine days later and after two days of trial he was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed in the electric chair on October 29, 1901.
After McKinley's death, newspaper editorials across the country criticized the lack of protection afforded to United States Presidents. In the fall of 1901 Congress asked the Secret Service to control presidential security, and the Service was protecting President Theodore Roosevelt full-time by 1902. But it wasn't until 1906 that legislation was passed in Congress officially designating the Secret Service as the agency in charge of presidential security.
Never one to look to others for protection, Theodore Roosevelt adopted the practice of carrying a concealed revolver on his person for protection. Once a cowboy, always a cowboy.