Felipe Arraño’s Reviews > Age of Assassins > Status Update

President William McKinley is shot twice when he was greeting people inside a Temple (p. 273). Wounds were serious but not likely to prove fatal, he was operated and sent to Milburn’s home, the president of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo which the President was visiting (p. 275). Police took the would-be murderer, they found a speech of Goldman in his pocket; he said he shot the President because it was his duty, and he was an Anarchist (p. 276). He gives his official name Leon Czolgosz, previously he was saying his name was Fred Nieman (p. 277). The aim of the police and the Department of Justice was to present Czolgosz’s crime as the work of a conspiracy; one of the chief conspirators must have been Goldman; who was nowhere near Buffalo and could hardly be blamed for another man’s crime (p. 279). The police were slowly closing in Goldman (p. 281). Goldman is arrested (p. 283). Even though the police didn’t have anything to prove the link of Goldman in the assassination attempt, she was object of national detestation (p. 287). The President died in the early hours of Saturday 14 September 1901, cause of death was gangrene in the wound (pp. 289-290). Teddy Roosevelt was sworn in as President 12 hours later (p. 290). Czolgosz struck not at the man, but at the office, but Roosevelt’s immediate accession to power showed that the office itself was unkillable (p. 290). After the President died, Czolgosz was indicated with the murder (p. 294). Goldman was released as no evidence having been found to connect her to the crime (p. 294). Goldman broke off all contact with Berkman as she found him inconsistent about the need of Anarchism in the US (p. 300). Czolgosz is found guilty and sentenced to be electrocuted (p. 302). Berkman was released from prison, years later he committed suicide (p. 314).