A Breeding Ground for Anarchy
McKinley was regarded as the most popular president since Lincoln after winning a second term in the 1900 Presidential Election. By this stage, the one-time isolationist realized that trade reciprocity was essential to help the American economy move forward. On the day before Czolgosz shot him, McKinley had announced a reciprocal trade agreements policy with foreign nations to ensure better markets for American goods.
Czolgosz was among those who listened to the speech on September 5 where McKinley announced that “isolation was no longer possible or desirable.” By the end of the 19th century, American workers had grown increasingly frustrated by the fact that the enormous wealth of the industrial era only benefited a small percentage of wealthy individuals. Men like J.D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie were rich beyond the wildest dreams of the ‘common’ man. Indeed, these men would spend more on one evening’s entertainment than the average tradesman or coal miner could earn in their life.
The increasing disparity between the rich and poor, coupled with poor working conditions, led to a host of worker uprisings which the industrialists helped quell. By the 1890s, anarchists brought their radical ideas from Europe and had murdered four European leaders in the space of six years. Anarchy attracted a number of people with no hope or prospects such as Czolgosz.
Did McKinley Overestimate His Popularity?
Either McKinley was blissfully unaware of the rising tide of frustration, or else he was naïve in the extreme. Ever since he was elected president in 1896, McKinley became famous for ignoring the pleas of his team to increase his security during public appearances. On this occasion, the president was at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. His personal security advisor, George Cortelyou, was nervous because the president would be out in the open.
He urged the president to reconsider his decision to turn up at the public reception at the Temple of Music and removed it from the program twice. On both occasions, McKinley restored it. Cortelyou asked him to remove the event one last time, and the president replied with the fateful words: “Why should I? Who would want to hurt me?”
The answer, of course, was anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Cortelyou tightened security for the event. The speech, which happened the day before and was witnessed by up to 50,000 people, passed without incident. The president went on a tour of the fair and received rapturous applause wherever he went. Czolgosz arrived at the fair early and was close to the podium when the president arrived to make his speech. He considered pulling the trigger there and then but wasn’t confident that he would hit his target.
On the morning of September 6, 1901, both McKinley and Czolgosz woke up early. The president’s wife, Ida, was feeling unwell and had to return to Milburn House where the couple was staying. President McKinley proceeded to the Temple of Music after stopping for refreshments. He was only minutes away from his assassin’s bullets.