Images of President William McKinley
at the Pan-American Exposition

 

Good-bye-good bye, all. It's God's way. His will, not ours, be done. Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee. —[McKinley's reported last words] President William McKinley attended the Pan-American Exposition on September 5, 1901, the day set aside in his honor as President's Day. The schedule of his events published in the daily program for the day shows that he was scheduled to be at the Exposition from 10:00 a.m. until after 8:00 p.m. The following photographs illustrate a few of the events on President McKinley's schedule for September 5th & 6th, as well as the public mourning upon his death September 14th, 1901.

President McKinley riding on the Great Gorge Railway at Niagara Falls, Sept. 5, 1901.

The following are images of President McKinley's President's Day Speech on the grounds of the Pan-American Exposition, Sept. 5, 1901. President's Day had originally been scheduled for June 13, 1901, during McKinley's extensive tour of the country in response to his re-election. However, Mrs. McKinley fell gravely ill during the tour and President's Day was rescheduled.¹

"[McKinley] was always so sweet and kind and gentle," Frances [Johnston] remembered, "and so anxious to pose just the way you wanted him to, but always a little self-conscious before the camera, and so never at his best. But I finally caught him at the climax of a great speech, when he had wholly forgotten himself, and it proved his best portrait, and sadly enough, his last." This picture, which became known as the "Buffalo pose," was the model used to construct the statue of the President at the McKinley Monument in Canton, Ohio.2

Above: View the text of McKinley's Pan-American Address. Left: President McKinley shaking hands at the Government Building, sometime between 3:15 and 7 p.m. Sept. 5, 1901.

The "last posed photograph" of President McKinley, in the Government Building on 5 September 1901. Left to right: Mrs. John Miller Horton, Chairwoman of the Entertainment Committee of the Woman's Board of Managers; John G. Milburn; Senor Asperoz, the Mexican Ambassador; the President; George B. Courtelyou, the President's secretary; Col. John H. Bingham of the Government Board.

William McKinley did not care for the use of bodyguards and secret service agents, but relented to the wishes of the Chief of the Secret Service, John E. Wilkie, and the influential Republican "Boss," Senator Mark Hanna. Although the Secret Service had no official empowerment to protect the President, Wilkie exceeded his authority and assigned operative George E. Foster as McKinley's personal bodyguard.³

Those close to McKinley had reason to be concerned for his safety. A. Wesley Johns asserts that while fears for the president's life began at the time of the Spanish-American conflict, other factors contributed to this hightened concern:⁴

• Anarchism. The growth of Anarchism and the recognition that this school of thought could be dangerous. While the Haymarket Square Riots were fresh on minds of many political leaders, the recent assassinations and threats on the lives of European leaders were especially disturbing. Empress Elizabeth of Austria was assassinated in 1898; Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, was fired upon in April 1900 and King Humbert of Italy was assassinated in July of 1900.
  
  
• Social class divisions. While the country was experiencing relative prosperity, there was a widening gap between the rich and the poor. The conspicuous consumption of wealthy industrialists constrasted greatly with the struggles of sweatshop workers and tenement dwellers. This provided fertile ground for labor disputes and the spreading of Anarchist ideologies.
  
  
• Yellow journalism. As Johns points out, McKinley was "flayed relentlessly" by William Randolph Hearst, whose publications described him as a "puppet" of wealthy industrialists. An editorial printed in the April 10, 1901 Journal asserted that "If bad institutions and bad men can be got rid of only by killing, then the killing must be done." Of course, journalists of the period would refute this. The editor of The Nation (published by the New York Evening Post Company) wrote in the September 19, 1901 issue that "[t]he theory, which has been seriously advanced, that Czolgosz was led to assassinate President McKinley by reading a certain daily newspaper, is without a particle of evidence, and is an affront to common sense."

The president's secretary, George B. Courtelyou, (seen here to the right of MicKinley) was uneasy about the president's prolonged appearance at the Pan-American Exposition. Of specific concern was the reception to be held in the Temple of Music, September 6, 1901, the day after McKinley's speech. Courtelyou thought this unnecessary and twice attempted to cancel the engagement, only to have it reinstated by the President. ⁵

General William Bull was the Superintendent of Police in Buffalo. During his visit to the Pan-American Exposition, four detectives were assigned to the President, with Foster and two other secret service men, Al Gallagher and Sam Ireland. In addition, seventy-five policemen were added to the Buffalo force, augmented by Pan-American Guards, Coast Artillerymen, Pinkerton men and Railroad detectives.⁶

While McKinley's men feared for his safety, there did not appear to be any public concern. In the September 6, 1901 morning edition of the Buffalo Courier, there appeared an anonymous, "slightly burlesqued" account of the President's appearance and speech the day before.⁷ [See an image of the actual article.]

FLASHES FROM RAINBOW CITY. A Day With the President. (Slightly Burlesqued.) TIME— Yesterday. PLACE— The Exposition grounds. CHARACTERS— The President and others as needed. HERALD— Here's the main squeeze, Take care not to sneeze, President McKinley has come to the Fair; Shake out in the breeze Your handkerchiefs, please, To President McKinley now make your heads bare! CROWD— Hail to the chief! Thanks for relief We've been squshed and squoze Our corns have been trod on And also our toes, But the President is here So this push will soon clear; All hail to McKinley! The nation's great chief, Thank goodness he's got here And brought us relief. THE PRESIDENT (bowing from carriage)— The honors due to a President I'm glad to see so freely lent. I'm glad to be here at your Fair And pleased with all I've seen, I swear; I thank the fates which rule below That I could come to see your show. It's charming here and you should know I'm pleased to be in Buffalo. CROWD (in chorus)— He's pleased to be in Buffalo, Of dollar beds he does not know, Their springless hardships eke untried It should not tax him to decide, He likes to visit our big show And jolly us in Buffalo. The President's carriage and cavalcade moves forward to the Triumphal Causeway. Solos by members of the crowd while passing: CHILD— Boost me up. I want to see President Bill McKin-a-lee; Is that him riding over there, The fat man what ain't got much hair? MOTHER— Hush, hush, my child, Don't speak so loud, The President's he Who has just bowed; It's not polite for you to stare And you should not speak of missing hair. MAN— Bill McKinley? I should tell, Why, I know Bill McKinley well; I spent three months in Washington When the last campaign had just been won. I talked with Mac most every day About a job with good, big pay, And let him understand I would Take something else, if just as good— But 'stead a smile Mac wore a frown And he had the nerve to throw me down. CROWD (in chorus)— Oh, he knows Bill McKinley well, He haunted his office for a spell, At last Bill spoke and said, "Pooh, pooh, It's all night with a job for you." The President arrives at the speakers' stand. He is introduced to the assembled thousands by the Hon. John G. Milburn. One in the Crowd— Why is the man who introduces the speaker like a deaf and dumb man? Another— Because he does not speak himself, not allowed (aloud). THE PRESIDENT (what he might have said)— Fellow citizens, have a look, That's what you came for, why forsook Your business stunts and household toils To stand beneath the sun which broils; I would not tire you with a speech, Ten paces [ ? ] would not reach, And delivered now I might design 'Twould be but merest pantomime; I will not have you strain an ear For words you cannot hope to hear, The press my speech with clarion throat Will spiel to regions most remote, 'Tis easiest heard in type by eyes, And those who are near I would advise The daily papers have it played As I'm supposed to speak it on the Esplanade; Your glad huzzahs let Heaven reach, I forbear to bore you with my speech. Philosopher in Crowd— Silence is golden and they say gold is what they use in making McKinley votes. CROWD (in chorus)— Hip, hip, hurrah! The President Uses brevity and we're content, We've had our look and he's a peach, Though we'd not have stayed to hear his speech; But we're glad he's got so quickly done, And now for the Midway and for fun.

THE PRESIDENT— Adieu, adieu, kind friends, adieu, I'd like to do that Midway, too. I'd like to do that street with you, But I've got other things in view, To the Midway I must say adieu. CROWD (in chorus)— For he's the President, he's the President, It would never, never do, he's not like me and you; We can go from sun to sun to do it and get done, But the nation would be shocked to hear McKinley went And fortunate for him he's the nation's President. The crowd breaks up and the President is driven to the Stadium, where he takes his seat in the reviewing stand to review troops at the Fair. SOLDIERS (in chorus)— Right foot, left foot, don't bat an eye As President McKinley you pass by; Attention! Shoulder arms! Present! Salute your chief, the President. Hay foot, straw foot, right dress, there, That's what we call pretty fair; Better than we sometimes do, But now we're passing in review. The President bows his approval. SOLDIERS AND CROWD (in chorus)— See that salute. Oh, ain't that a beaut? From none could come but him; These troops are the flower Of a great world power And he's their commander, grim. The President walks to the Canadian Building, where the Canadian Commissioner meets him on the steps and sings. CANADIAN COMMISSIONER— President McKinley, here's my hand. Don't touch that thistle on the stand, I brought it over, don't you know. A Canadian staple just to show. THE PRESIDENT— But this is not your only crop. There are one or two other things you raise; We live in hopes the American flag Will be raised there, too, in future days. The President passes from here through the foreign buildings' site and views the buildings and exhibits of the foreign nations. THE PRESIDENT (at the conclusion of his inspection)— Here's my thanks to all the nations which I've visited at the Pan, You're the glory of two continents and I'm the very man Who should give the hand of fellowship to each one as I go, For I'm the main exhibitor of the doctrine of Monroe. CHORUS OF FOREIGN COMMISSIONERS— Oh, he's the main exhibitor of the doctrine of Monroe. He had it out to show us about three years ago, And if he has to swallow us to do it, why, we know He'll give us all protection by the doctrine of Monroe. From here the President passes to the New York State Building, where he is to take lunch as the guest of the New York State Commission. CHORUS OF NEW YORK COMMISSIONERS— The great can't live on praise alone, It won't grow muscle on the bone. And we New Yorkers have agreed That even you, sir, have to feed. THE PRESIDENT— Quite right you are, I'm famished, too. Bring on your clams and Irish stew, Your President is a man like you, We'll all take seats and fall right to. The President eats, then is hurried in his carriage to the Government Building. THE PRESIDENT (aside)— Great Scott! I'm nearly tired to death. I'd like a chance to draw my breath, I've shook hands till my hands are sore, And now I'm in for shakes some more; But I'll cut this bunch on the run, I've seen them all in Washington. Late at night; after the fireworks. THE PRESIDENT— This day and a night's enough for me. And, bless me, what a lot to see! What a lot of bows to make And what a lot of hands to shake; And so a day and night are spent- And many of them for the President. CROWD tin chorus)— Tired, so tired, we hardly can get home. Tired, so tired, why did we ever roam? Tired, so tired, why was it that we went? Tired, so tired, but we saw the President. [Author not cited.]

Despite the light-hearted burlesque above, a strangely
"prophetic" observation appeared on the same page:

One can only wonder what the author(s) of these passages may
have thought as the events of September 6, 1901 unfolded…

McKinley and his entourage visit Goat Island, at Niagara Falls on the morning of Sept. 6, 1901.

President McKinley in carriage on way to the Sept. 6 afternoon reception at the Temple of Music, with John G. Milburn (left) and George B. Cortelyou (right).	This picture was taken only minutes before the President was shot, as he greeted well-wishers in a reception line at the Temple of Music. A letter to The Nation would later criticize the practice of "Presidential Handshaking."

President McKinley's surgery began at 5:20 p.m., one hour and 20 minutes after the President was shot. Dr. Matthew D. Mann, however, was an obstetrician and gynecologist, with no experience treating gunshot wounds. Yet he was recommended by Board President John G. Milburn and performed the surgery that would remove one of the two bullets lodged in McKinley's body. The other attending physicians were P.M. Rixey, Eugene Wasdin, and Herman Mynter. Roswell Park would arrive later.

Following his surgery, the President was taken by ambulance (driven by medical students Ellis and Simpson) from the Exposition Hospital to the home of John Milburn in Buffalo for further treatment and recuperation. An anxious public and press awaited the daily medical bulletins issued by McKinley's physicians. During the eight days following the shooting, the President first seemed to rally but then finally weakened.

Thomas Leary and Elizabeth Sholes echo the prevailing observation with regard to McKinley's treatment:⁹

Roswell Park was a leader in Buffalo medicine, especially antiseptic practice. Dr. Mann and the others were neither trained trauma surgeons nor did they bother with disinfection, not even wearing gloves. The first bullet had done little harm; the second entered McKinley's abdomen. The physicians used improperly sanitized probes and when Mann could not find the bullet, he closed the incision without draining the wound. It was a fateful decision.

However, Jack C. Fisher, M.D., in his recent book Stolen Glory : The McKinley Assassination (Alamar Books, 2001) argues that it was severe fluid buildup and not gangrene that was the cause of death. Given the medical knowlege of the time, the President would likely have died, even if Roswell Park had performed the surgery.¹⁰

The Milburn Residence	The Press on "Newspaper Row"
Anxious citizens await word of the President

Whether it was gangrene or a lethal build-up of body fluid, President William McKinley died at the Milburn home on September 14, 1901. A small funeral service was held there on Sunday morning, September 15th. McKinley's casket was taken by horse-drawn carriage through the streets of Buffalo to the City Hall, where the body lay in state from 1:30 to 11:00 p.m. Early on the morning of Monday September 16th, the President's remains began a journey first to Washington D.C. and then on to Canton, Ohio, where he would lay in state and then be buried in the city's Westlawn Cemetary.

Images of Mourning in Buffalo
September 15-16, 1901

McKinley's funeral cortege through Buffalo streets	McKinley's casket arrives at Buffalo City Hall
McKinley's casket being carried into Buffalo City Hall	Citizens at City Hall await viewing.
McKinley lying in state in Buffalo City Hall	Troops at train station as the Funeral Train prepares to depart Buffalo

The funeral train bearing McKinley's casket leaving Buffalo.

Washington D.C.
September 16-17, 1901

The President's funeral train arrives in Ohio	The McKinley home - under military guard
Solemn procession from the train station to the Stark County Court House.	Funeral services at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Canton.

References:

1. A. Wesley Johns. The Man Who Shot McKinley. South Brunswick, N.J. : A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., 1970, pp. 27-28.
2. This photograph of McKinley was taken by photographer Frances Benjamin Johnston (1964-1952) and is held in the Johnston Collection of the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress (lot 2967). It also appears in Pete Daniel and Raymond Smock. A Talent For Detail : The Photographs of Miss Frances Benjamin Johnston, 1889-1910. New York : Harmony Books, [1974], p. 68.
3. A. Wesley Johns, The Man Who Shot McKinley., p. 18.
4. Ibid., pp. 18-19.
5. Ibid., p.20.
6. Ibid., pp. 28-29.
7. Buffalo Courier (morning edition), September 6, 1901, p. 4.
8. A. Wesley Johns, The Man Who Shot McKinley, pp. 70-71.
9. Thomas E. Leary and Elizabeth C. Sholes. Buffalo's Pan-American Exposition. Charleston, S.C. : Arcadia Press, 1998. p. 118.
10. Jack C. Fisher, M.D. Stolen Glory : The McKinley Assassination. La Jolla, CA : Alamar Books, 2001.

Related Information:

The Assassination of President McKinley : Bibliography on Medical Aspects, compiled by staff of the University at Buffalo's History of Medicine Collection.

Erie County Bar Association. McKinley Assassin Trial Re-Creation : The Trial of Leon Czolgosz, Assassin of President McKinley, on September 22, 2001. This site describes the recreation of the Czolgosz trial held in Buffalo as part of the Pan-American Exposition's Centenial Celebration. Included is background information on the assassination of President McKinley and the original trial of his assassin.

"From Birth to Death at the Pan-American Exposition"

"Murder At the Expo: The Assassination of President William McKinley", by Mark Gado

For information about the life and career of William McKinley:

• The McKinley Museum and National Memorial web site
• American President site produced by PBS
• The White House "William McKinley" Page

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