Rauchway describes William McKinley’s assassination in the year of 1901 by explaining to the reader the motives of the assassin, the reaction of the district attorney and society, and the response that Roosevelt had to suddenly becoming the President of the United States. On September 6, 1901 President William McKinley was tragically assassinated at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY by Leon F.

Czolgosz. President McKinley ran the politics of state supported capitalism. He was a strong conservative, which was reflected in his successes of reopening factories and putting individuals back to work. Czolgosz disliked McKinley’s politics and wanted McKinley himself to fall in order to prove America was vulnerable and to strip the American people of any illusions of safety. Although the motives behind Czolgosz’s actions were completely immoral, he did have well supported