The Assassination of William McKinley

Who was William McKinley? William McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio on January 29, 1843 and was the twent-fifth president of the United States. McKinley was known for being a Republican leader, and his main focus was upon high tariffs on imports as a formula for prosperity. William McKinley's theory of dealing with other countries was to "Let England take care of herself. Let France look after her own interests. Let Germany take care of her own people; but in God’s name let America look after America."(William McKinley) William McKinley used protectionism as his platform for his election into the U.S. House of Representatives and the Ohio statehouse. Here, he served two terms as governor, and he 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."

The man responsible for the assassination of William McKinley was Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz was an anarchist who came to the Exposition in Buffalo, New York with a mission. His mission was to remove the government which he believed to be evil, and he believed he could achieve this by beginning with removing the President. As Czolgolsz attendedthe Pan American Exposition he simply looked upon the excitement with disgust and focused upon murdering the President. A better description of that day can be read here "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."(Kingseed, Wyatt)
"While attending the Pan-American Exposition, President William McKinley was assassinated at a reception in the Temple of Music. Suddenly, the dark clouds of despair fell on the Exposition and began to ruin all the good that the great fair stood for. Some historians claim that this heinous crime was the beginning of Buffalo's downfall."(Heverin T. Aaron) Csolgosz fired two shots at McKinley, "the second shot hit the president in the stomach and Czogolz cried out, `I done my duty.' The President's bodyguards grabbed him, seized the gun and punched him in the face. McKinley said faintly, `Be easy with him, boys.'"(Cavendish,1) Czolgosz's response to authorties when asked why he assassinated the President was "I didn't believe one man should have so much service, and another man have none."(Leon Csolgosz) Czogolz was executed in the electric chair in the prison at Auburn, New York State, on October 29th, 1901.

Cavendish, Richard. "Assassination of President McKinley."The History Today. September 2001

Gado, Mark. The Assassination of President William McKinley.Courtroom Television,LLC.,2005