Program Information

At the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, anarchist Leon Czolgosz assassinated the president of the United States, William McKinley.

A Moment in Time is a brief, exciting and compelling journey into the past. Created to excite and enlighten the public about the past, its relevance to the present and its impact on the future, A Moment In Time is a captivating historical narrative that is currently broadcast worldwide.

Transcript

Lead: At the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, anarchist Leon Czolgosz assassinated the president of the United States, William McKinley.

Intro: A Moment In Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Not yet a year into his second term as president, William McKinley was engaged in a running battle with the Secret Service. No matter how hard they argued, despite proven threats, he refused to allow his guard to be increased or to change his schedule of appearances.

One of the most important events of the year was the Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo. September 5th was President's Day, with 115,000 paid admissions and a crowd of 50,000 gathered to hear the president in the main plaza.

The next day the president returned to the exhibition grounds for a public reception in the Temple of Music. To the Secret Service's objections he said, "No one would wish to hurt me." In the reception line was Leon Czolgosz. His right hand, wrapped in a fake bandage, concealed a revolver. As he approached the president, his left arm was stretched out as if to shake hands. He pumped two shots into McKinley--one bounced harmlessly off a button, the other lodged in the Presidential abdomen. Czolgosz shouted, "I've done my duty," as the guards wrestled him to the ground and began pounding him in the face. McKinley stopped their assault with the words, "Be easy with him, boys."

Physicians summoned to the scene began to operate immediately but, partly due to the president's obesity, failed to find the bullet and they closed the wound. McKinley was dead within a week, the result of botched surgery as much as the assassin's bullet. Czolgosz was pronounced mentally competent and, nine days after the president's death, went on trial. He was electrocuted on October 29, 1901, less than two months after he assassinated the president of the United States.

The producer of A Moment In Time is Steve Clark. At the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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