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Assassination of William McKinley


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Assassination of William McKinley

U.S. President William McKinley was shot and fatally wounded on September 6, 1901, while shaking hands with the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He died on September 14 from gangrenecaused by the bullet wounds. Re-elected president in 1900, McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, and was reluctant to take security precautions. The Secretary to the President,George B. Cortelyou, feared an assassination attempt at the Temple of Music, but McKinley kept the visit in the schedule. The assassin was Leon Czolgosz, who had lost his job during the economic Panic of 1893. He regarded McKinley as a symbol of oppression, and felt it was his duty as ananarchist to kill him. Unable to get near McKinley earlier in the visit, Czolgosz shot McKinley twice as the President reached to shake his hand in the reception line (1905 illustration shown). McKinley initially appeared to be recovering, but took a turn for the worse on September 13 and died Scissors-32x32.png

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_William_McKinley

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The Trial and Execution of Leon Czolgosz

When Leon Czolgosz was removed from the Temple of Music and taken to Buffalo Police Headquarters, he was in near death condition. Having suffered a terrible beating at the hands of President McKinley's military escort and the secret service, it was questioned as to whether or not he would survive to go to trial. The police had a terrible time trying to keep the angry mobs of Buffalo away from Czolgosz. If given the chance the mobs would tear him apart, so security and protection for the assassin was a constant problem.

 

On September 27, 1901, Czolgosz was moved from Buffalo to Auburn prison where he was to receive the punishment for his crime. When he arrived at Auburn, he came into contact with more people than he ever had during the entire ordeal. At 3:10am, his train arrived at the prison and he was brutally dragged from the train and shoved through a crowd of three hundred people who were constantly mauling him. Czolgosz was handcuffed and the continuous beatings made it almost impossible for him to walk. The prison guards were caught completely off guard by the crowd's reaction and had to use clubs and revolver butts to keep the mobs back. Many times he was knocked to his knees so the guards found it necessary to drag him up the stairs to the prison office. He was thrown to the ground upon reaching the office and cried out in terror, frothing at the mouth and uttering the most horrible sounds.

 

He stumbled into a cane seat and lay there moaning in terror, while the crowd hung on the iron gates outside and chanted, "GIVE HIM TO US! GIVE HIM TO US!" Scissors-32x32.png

http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/panamex/assassination/executon.htm

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