President McKinley - Assassination

Friday, September 6, 1901, was a day of great excite­ment at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The day before had been President's Day at the exposition, and before an estimated crowd of 50,000 people, President William McKinley had given what some said was the best speech of his life. On that Friday, the president was welcomed to the exposition as a guest, and he had arranged a reception for the thousands of citizens who wanted to meet him and shake his hand. This was not unusual for the presi­dent, who had in fact made several train trips around the country, stopping in small towns to greet and talk with regular Americans.

Leon Czolgosz had come to the exposition with one goal in mind: to kill the president. This was not the first time he'd seen McKinley. He'd been at his speech the day before. Afterward, he had spent the night in a room above Novak's saloon in Buffalo, where he'd signed the register as John Doe. Even though Czolgosz had very little money, he ate a big meal that day, and then went to the barbershop to get a shave. Maybe he wanted to look good for his big day, or maybe he just did not want to arouse suspicion.

That morning, he had gone to Niagara Falls for the president's appearance there, but he had arrived too late and ended up taking the first train back to Buffalo. No one knows why he went to Niagara Falls. Perhaps Czolgosz just wanted to see the president up close before shooting him later in the day.

Czolgosz was twenty-eight years old, five feet seven and a half, and weighed 140 pounds. On September 6, he wore a gray suit and gave the impression of being a clean-cut young man who was eager to meet the president. He had large, deep-set blue eyes, slightly wavy brown hair, and full lips. Before arriving at the Temple of Music, he removed a revolver from his pocket, held it in his right hand, and quickly wrapped it up with a handkerchief—an action he had been practicing for a long time. With the gun wrapped

Questionnaire:

• Explain. How President William McKinley was assassinated?