Introduction Theodore Roosevelt had been vice president of the United States for only six months when he received shocking news On September 6 1901 while at a luncheon in Vermont he learned an assassin had shot President William McKinley in the stomach and chest during a visit to western New York As second in command Roosevelt needed to travel to Buffalo New York as quickly as possible President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz holding cloth-covered gun near center on September 6 1901 66
Once there however Roosevelt found the president appeared to be doing well Doctors expected McKinley to make a full recovery To keep the country from panicking Roosevelt’s advisers urged him to leave He headed to New York’s Adirondack Mountains more than 200 miles 320 kilometers away for a vacation His wife Edith and their children joined him there But during a hike he received a telegram about McKinley’s condition The president was dying The telegram asked Roosevelt to return to Buffalo immediately At first Roosevelt wasn’t sure if he should rush The news was difficult to believe Roosevelt had so recently visited and found the president recovering Then a second telegram stated that McKinley’s situation was dire Roosevelt was convinced there was no time to waste A Harrowing Journey By the time Roosevelt started out for Buffalo it was close to midnight on September 13 The mountainous roads were dark and slippery For the first leg of his journey he traveled for hours by wagon to the nearest train station 35 miles 56 km away The distance was too far for a single set of horses In fact the strain was so great that Roosevelt switched wagons three times Each time a new driver and horses continued the trip It was early morning when Roosevelt finally reached the train station in North Creek New York His secretary William Loeb Jr met him there with a telegram Roosevelt learned that the president had died at a quarter past two in the morning The news meant Roosevelt would soon become the next president The trials of his trip were not behind him yet Boarding a train Roosevelt set off through dense fog There was a crash and a short delay when the train hit a handcar In Albany New York’s capital 77
Edison’s X-ray After President William McKinley was shot inventor Thomas Edison sent doctors a newly developed medical device an X-ray machine Edison thought it might help find a stray bullet doctors could not locate within McKinley’s body Doctors however refused to use it They were concerned it would be dangerous to move the president While they believed he was recovering McKinley developed a deadly infection Finding the bullet would not have saved him he had to switch to another train for the rest of the journey More than twelve hours after the start of his trip Roosevelt finally reached his destination After an exhausting journey there was little time for rest In Buffalo Roosevelt ate a quick lunch and borrowed formal clothing from Ansley Wilcox a friend in the city First Roosevelt paid his respects to McKinley whose body was lying in state Then back at Wilcox’s mansion home Roosevelt was sworn into office as president of the United States on September 14 Only forty-three people watched Roosevelt take the presidential oath of office These witnesses included news reporters cabinet members and local dignitaries The Twenty-Sixth President By the time Roosevelt became president he had a reputation for being many things a hunter a naturalist an author a reformer a cowboy a family man and a military hero He was an influential leader who could take the country where he wanted it to go 8
On his path to the presidency Roosevelt took many detours in both his personal and professional life Those detours strengthened his spirit built his character and informed his future decisions Tragic circumstances had landed him in the nation’s highest office But as the twenty-sixth US president Roosevelt was both prepared and determined to serve his country well Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as president at the Wilcox home in Buffalo New York on September 14 1901 9
