Volume 14 , Issue 46

1901 - Teddy Roosevelt Takes Office After President Wm. McKinley's Death

This is a sketch of President Theodore Roosevelt that was displayed in a Washington, DC newspaper, The Colored American, page 5, dated 25 June 1904, with the following caption: "Enthusiastically endorsed at the Chicago Convention by a grateful republic, and beloved by ten-millions of Afro-Americans for his manly stand for human rights and equity of all citizens before the law, President Theo. Roosevelt will be triumphantly elected president in the Fall."



Theodore Roosevelt's 1912 campaign song was, "We're Ready For Teddy." This video shows Roosevelt addressing supporters from his Oyster Bay, New York home. In 1912, former president Teddy Roosevelt ran as a third party candidate, on the Progressive (Bull-Moose) party ticket.

BUT . . . Back to 6 September 1901, the 25th president of the U.S., William McKinley, was shot, fatally wounded, inside the temple of Music on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. McKinley was shaking hands with the public when he was shot by Leon Czolgosz, and anarchist. President McKinley died on September 14, 1901 from gangrene caused by the bullet wounds.

Republican, President McKinley had been elected for a second term in 1900, and inaugerated January, 1901, with Theodore Roosevelt as his Vice-president. After Theodore Roosevelt succeeded McKInley as president, the U. S. Congress passed legislation to officially charge the Secret Service with the responsibility for protecting the president.

Theodore Roosevelt entered the White House through the tragedy, assassination of President William McKinley, receiving the nomination of Vice-president, not because he was like McKinley, the embodiment of calmness and deliberation, but because of the fact that he was entirely different from him. Roosevelt was supposedly selected for the purpose of giving the Republican ticket the fire and vim of aggressive youth. It was also allegedly thought to put Roosevelt in the second position to sideline Roosevelt in hopes his push against breaking trusts would be forgotten. But fate had changed that for Roosevelt with the assassination of President Wm. McKinley,and thus elevated Theodore Roosevelt into the presidency in 1901.

When Theodore Roosevelt began his career in the legislature of New York his ability as a public man caused people to forget his immaturity. As he had grown older his vigor of spirit and his passion for the open wire had a tendency to cause many to forget his powers of mind and his unceasing devotion to public affairs. They say Theodore Roosevelt, a republican, was a man too large and broad of mind to be influenced, manipulated by any outside sources. He was his own man.

It was reported in the The Marshall Republican, page 2, dated 20 September, 1901, out of Marshall, Saline County, Missouri mentions in an article that the republican party, in its presidents elected by the people, may be called a party of martyrs with the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley falling by the hand of assassins . . . Grant, Hayes and Harrison were spared. Back then there was no other political party in the history of constitutional government that had paid so heavy a cost in the murder of its chosen leaders. Every president elevated by the republicans, or who formally succeeded to office by death, had passed away. Of the vice-presidents elected, only Morton and Roosevelt survived. Yet the Republican party back then was less than fifty years old. The extent to which its presidents have suffered from assassination was startling, whatever the analysis of the causes may have been.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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