On this day in 1901, President William McKinley was shot by socialist-anarchist Leon Czolgosz during a public reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY, setting in motion a chain of events that would change the course of America.
Czolgosz, influenced by radical anarchist writings and figures such as Emma Goldman, viewed political leaders as oppressors. On Sept. 6, he approached McKinley and concealed a revolver in a handkerchief, firing two shots at close range, hitting the president in the abdomen. The president initially survived the attack, but he succumbed to his wounds after eight painful days, dying on Sept. 14.
Following McKinley’s death, Vice President Theodore Roosevelt assumed the presidency.
Czolgosz was apprehended immediately, confessed to the crime without showing remorse, and declared he acted in service of the anarchist cause. He was quickly tried, convicted, and executed by electric chair on Oct. 29, 1901, at Auburn Prison in New York.
The assassination shocked the nation and heightened fears of anarchist violence. It prompted tighter security measures for public officials and influenced the development of anti-anarchist legislation and stricter immigration controls.
McKinley became the third US president to be assassinated, joining the ranks of Abraham Lincoln, who was shot by pro-Confederate radical John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, and James A. Garfield, shot by Charles J. Guiteau, who died on September 19, 1881, after lingering for 80 days following the attack. All three were Republicans targeted by radicals of varying ideologies. Only one Democrat president has been assassinated — John F. Kennedy in 1963.
McKinley was the last president to have served in the Union Army during the Civil War; he was the only one to begin his service as an enlisted man and end it as a brevet major. He inherited a depressed economy, advocated for the gold standard, and raised tariffs to protect American manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition. He was also commander-in-chief during the Spanish-American War.
Mount McKinley bears his name as a lasting tribute to his legacy.
In 2015, the Obama Administration killed that name and officially named it Denali, the moniker used by some Alaska Native tribes historically. As one of his first acts upon returning to the presidency in 2025, President Donald Trump restored the name Mount McKinley in federal usage as a tribute to the president, and honoring his achievements and tragic and painful end to his life.
Trump, too, was the target of leftist would-be assassins, surviving two attempts on his life in 2024.
Murkowski fights Trump with legislation renaming Mount McKinley ‘Denali’
House passes first bill, begs President Trump to change the name of Mount McKinley back to Denali
Alex Gimarc: Trump is throwing elbows at Lisa by restoring the name of Mount McKinley
Interesting article- especially in the sharp similarities to our present politics. And thanks, Suzanne, for all you do!
No one from Alaska cares about McKinley and we don’t call Denali Mt McKinley. You immediately know someone is an outsider if they say Mt McKinley. Trump can change whatever he wants on paper, true Alaskans won’t be swayed.
CKB2, here’s a little history lesson for you. I’m sure there are many true Alaskans in this time period that would differ with your opinion that no one but Outsiders call The Mountain McKinley, including myself who has been here since 1975.
The mountain in Alaska was named McKinley in 1896 by a gold prospector, and then officially recognized by the federal government in 1917 when the Mount McKinley National Park Act was signed. The name was officially changed back to Denali in 2015 under the Obama administration.
True Alaskans aren’t anti-Caucasian anti-Christian bigots who pretend to be indigenous.
I still call it mt McKinley and so does the FAA in fact the FAA weather cams are called McKinley north and McKinley south. Fact is everyone I know calls it McKinley. You must be the nubie I’m sure not. I have the original letter from Bradford Washburn describing a rescue on Mt McKinley in the early 70s.
CKB2,
My existence in Alaska predates Statehood, my great uncle came here in 1898 and blazed the Richardson trail. My Grandfather was conceived and born in Valdez in 1911.given the above, I guess I am a ” true Alaskan”.
I grew up calling it Mt McKinley… that’s its name.
BTW, if you want it’s name changed, petition Congress. President Obama had no authority to change its name.
Did Trump have the authority to rename the Gulf of Mexico?
Nobody knows what that is. You must mean the Gulf of America.
A socialist killed McKinley and a socialist tried to kill trump and one is trying to be mayor.
Suzanne your a patriot ma’am & such class thank you for your knowledge sharing. MAGA
I’ve lived in Alaska all of my life and I’m 1/2 Native by blood. Our family has never called the mountain anything but Mt. McKinley. But, we do have a small compost pile behind the house that we call Mt. Obama.
This comment sure made my day!
Leftists know only two things: Hate and Violence.
Charlie, I love your post! Thanks for making my day!!!
My Mt. Obama is underneath my cabin’s outhouse.
Mt. McKinley has always been called Mt. McKinley in our home, and that goes back generations ago. The temporary name change to Denali was just another effort by the guilt feelings of white man. Another opportunity to appease us Natives. The liberal white Democrats should butt out of our lives. And thank you President Trump. You have freed us again from the insane Democrats.
It will always be Denali, despite some autocratic oaf in the Whitehouse…
I would like the justice of those days return in our penal system. The perpetrator was tired and executed in just 53 days. That is how it should work, not years of legal gymnastics. Mt. McKinley it is.