"EAST FRONT OF THE CAPITOL PACKED WITH SPECTATORS"

PRESIDENT MCKINLEY INAUGURATED FOR SECOND TIME

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On March 4, 1901, President William McKinley was inaugurated for the second time.  The President was sworn-in "at the east front of the Capitol" which was "packed with spectators." 

The Evening Star reports the ceremonies were temporarily marred by "a gentle sprinkle" which "developed into a drenching downpour...with an occasional dash of sleet."  

When the President stepped forward to take the oath of office, however, "the shower suddenly ceased."

The oath was administered by Chief Justice Melville W. Fuller*.

The President said in his second Inaugural Address...

"Fortunate as our condition is, its permanence can only be assured by sound business methods and strict economy."

Mr. McKinley also said something we probably would not hear a President say today...

"I should shrink from the duties this day assumed if I did not feel...I should have the cooperation of the wise and patriotic men of all parties..."

JFK+50 NOTE

William McKinley was a popular POTUS who led the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War.  His second term was cut short less than six months after his 2nd inaugural when he was shot in Buffalo, NY.  WM died on Sept 14, 1901. Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt, age 42, became the youngest president in U.S. History.

*Melville Weston Fuller (1833-1920) was born in Augusta, Maine & graduated from Bowdoin College.  MWF served in the Illinois House of Representatives where he opposed the policies of Abraham Lincoln.

MWF served as Chief Justice of the USSC 1888-1910 & was known for his conservatism.  He wrote major opinions on the federal income tax.

SOURCE

"Again Inaugurated," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., March 4, 1901, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

1900 Republican Campaign Poster

NO ONE WOULD WISH TO HARM ME

ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AT PAN AMERICAN EXPO

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot as he was shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition here in Buffalo.

The event was scheduled to last ten minutes, but when a presidential aide expressed his concern that McKinley was unnecessarily exposing himself to danger, the President replied...

 "No one would wish to harm me."

John D. Wells, a reporter covering the event, said at exactly 4:07 p.m...

"I saw a hand shoved toward the President...then there were two shots (fired) in rapid succession."

The man, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was identified as Leon Czolgosz.   The self-proclaimed anarchist, walking forward in the reception line, had concealed his pistol under a handkerchief wrapped around his right hand as if bandaged.

After the shots rang out, blood appeared on McKinley's shirt and he said..."Am I shot?,"  adding..."My wife, be careful about her. Don't let her know."

The President was taken to hospital where doctors determined that one of the bullets caused a superficial wound while another bullet passed through the abdomen lodging in the back. Doctors were unable to locate or remove the second bullet.

McKinley's condition gradually improved but on September 12 it began to quickly deteriorate and the President died on September 14.  Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the new president.

When Czolgosz was asked why he had done this, the assassin answered... 

"I killed the President because I done my duty.  I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none."

Leon Czolgosz, tried and convicted later in the month, was electrocuted on October 29, 1901.  

SOURCES

"The Assassination of President William McKinley, 1901," Eyewitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/

"To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents," by James M. McPherson, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., New York, 2001.

President McKinley Is Shot

Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

MCKINLEY SHOT 112 YEARS AGO

September 6, 2013

MCKINLEY SHOT 112 YEARS AGO

Buffalo, New York (JFK+50) President William McKinley was shot 112 years ago today, September 6, 1901, as he was shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan American Exposition here in Buffalo.

The President had been shaking hands for about 10 minutes when the would-be assassin fired twice at point blank range.

The man, who was taken into custody immediately after the shooting, was identified as an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz.

According to James M. McPherson, Czolgosz...

"reflected the anomie and class hatred suffering the urban industrial world of the late 19th century.  (He) was an unemployed millworker (who) drifted through the industrial cities of the Midwest, reading anarchist newspapers and adopting the revealing name of Fred Nieman--literally "nobody."

         President McKinley Is Shot
  Sketch by T. Dart Walker (1905)

Czolgosz, who stood in a long reception line,  had concealed a pistol under a handkerchief wrapped around his hand as if bandaged.

It was 4:07 p.m. when he fired the pistol point blank at the President.

After the shooting, blood appeared on McKinley's shirt and he said...
 "Am I shot?"  

Mr. McKinley then told people around him...

"My wife, be careful about her. Don't let her know."

The President was taken to the hospital where doctors determined that one of the bullets caused a superficial wound while another bullet passed through the abdomen lodging in the back. 

Doctors were unable to locate or remove the second bullet.

Czolgosz was asked why he had shot the President.  

He answered... 

"I killed the President because I done my duty.  I didn't believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none."*

James McPherson writes...

"McKinley was a transitional man, straddling the Americas of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  He was felled by a product of the social anomie that came with mass, industrialized, urban society:  the world of the century to come."

                           Leon Czolgosz

*McKinley's condition gradually improved but on September 12 it began to quickly deteriorate and the President died on September 14 at 2:15 a.m. The convicted assassin was electrocuted on October 29.

                        Temple of Music
              Pan American Exposition
                     Buffalo, New York
                Photo by C.D. Arnold

           Site of the Temple of Music
                     Buffalo, New York

SOURCE

"To the Best of My Ability: The American Presidents," by James M. McPherson, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., New York, 2001.

JFK PRESENTED MEDAL TO GENERAL EMMETT O'DONNELL 50 YEARS TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy presented the Distinguished Service Medal to Air Force General Emmett O'Donnell** in the Flower Garden at the White House 50 years ago today, September 6, 1963.

The President said...

"We wish to honor one of the most distinguished careers in the history of the USAF.  General O'Donnell is widely and affectionately known in the Air Force and throughout all the Armed Forces of our country--a distinguished record in WWII...and in the Korean war.

The Pacific has been his home, and the air over the Pacific has been, in a sense, his domain.

The country is most indebted to him.  General we are glad to have you here, and we thank you."

           General Emmett O'Donnell, Jr.
            Photo by W. A. Skelton (1959)
                            NARA Image

**General Emmett E. "Rosie" O'Donnell, Jr. (1906-1971) was born in Brooklyn, NY and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1928.  

He began his military career the following year, led the 1st B-29 attack on Tokyo in WWII and was Commander in Chief of the Pacific Air Forces from 1959-1963. 

General O'Donnell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal.

SOURCE

"The Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, John F. Kennedy, 1963," United States Government Printing Office, Washington, 1964.