Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Building, Event

Location

332 Lincoln Pkwy, Buffalo, NY 14207, USA

Lat/Long

42.938684, -78.872591

Grant Recipient

City of Buffalo

On September 6^th, 1901, President William McKinley was in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition at a reception where he was shaking hands with the public. Leon Czolgosz, an individual seemingly disillusioned by the economic Panic of 1893, shot him twice in the abdomen as McKinley reached to shake his hand (Buffalo Evening News, Sept. 6, 1901)). McKinley was taken to the Expositions hospital, and initially seemed to be recovering, but his wounds became infected and on September 14^th he passed away.

Czolgosz was influenced by anarchism, a philosophical and political movement that was deeply feared in 1901 due to the series of assassinations that had occurred in Europe (Buffalo Commercial, Sept. 7, 1901). Czolgosz was deeply impacted by the speeches and writings of Emma Goldman and viewed the President as the source of oppression over America. In his confession letter, he writes that “I was willing to sacrifice myself and the president for the good of the country”.

McKinley was succeeded by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt. His assassin was sentenced to death and executed. As the third President to be assassinated in the second half of the 19^th century, Congress felt they needed to increase security for Presidents and passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with protecting the President.