The book Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore’s America by Eric Rauchway examines the murder of President William McKinley and the assassin’s motives that impacted America. Rauchway also reveals to us the making of Theodore’s America through a tragic event to show us how Roosevelt gave it meaning through the start of the Progressive Era with his own political agenda. McKinley’s policies came to and end bringing open doors to new policies on social reform. The book is a well-constructed written book that presents to the reader the story of what had occurred chronologically from the beginning of the assassination to the end of the murder’s life. The main issues that are presented in the book include the assassination of the President and …show more content…
On September 6, 1901, Leon F. Czolgosz had murdered McKinley at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. President McKinley was “celebrating the mighty United State he had build”, not expecting to be close to his death in just a few short hours (Rauchway, pg. 7). McKinley was a conservative president who also was an experienced congressman and governor of Ohio that promised prosperity to the country “McKinley had presented himself to the voters as the embodiment of conservatism, and he looked the part. His stern, square features, topped by the level of a dark brow, had all the expression of a closed door.” (pg.4). His promises of prosperity to the country came true bringing the country out of crisis and bringing it back to life. Rauchway claims that McKinley was an astounding President whose life came to end to soon by the two bullets fired from the man’s gun. Czolgosz knew the consequences of killing the President, but believed he did his duty in doing so. He did not approve of any of McKinley’s policies so he decided to end the President’s life and show America’s vulnerability. Rauchway claims that Czolgosz aim at America was …show more content…
Rauchway created more of a story with factual information making it more engaging to the reader. I felt the arguments that Rauchway provided were fairly accurate creating a balance of both sides of the story. With being engaged in the novel, it helped me understand a time in history that I never understood before. I was able to understand more of Roosevelt’s direction of his presidency as he helped America become hopeful of the future. After the assassination many citizens were devastated, but it came to their realization that it was a wakeup call for the political system. Rauchway makes it clear in the novel of how Roosevelt faced one of America’s toughest times, but through that time helped American grow stronger as a nation. What I like about Rauchway writings is that he organizes the storyline and it is detailed in every chapter explaining the smallest parts of the story. For example, he mentions the time of the hour, the emotions of the characters, Czolgosz life history, etc. He does not miss any facts, which is very helpful to know background information when just learning about a
Volume III: P-Z. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971. Print. The. Pittman, Benn. The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators. New York, NY: Moore, Wilstach, and Baldwin, 1865.
The Greenland Natives were killed around 1000 A.D and many assumed that Leif Erikson was the murder. However, the time that this occurred Erikson was around the age of 8. How could an 8 year old kill all those natives? The answer is that he didn’t kill them, his father did. Erik the red was Leif’s father and the culprit of the Greenland Native’s deaths. Some people may have associated Leif with his father or just thought Leif did it all. But according to Saga Of Erik The Red, c. 1000 Red did it all.
Killing Reagan is a book written by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. The book’s focus is to take readers behind the scenes, through the life and times of Ronald Reagan. From his Hollywood days to his days in presidency, near-death experience, and the nearly impossible obstacles he had to overcome in order to carry out the duties as a man and as President of the United States. The authors wanted to create a portrait of a “great man operating in violent times”, and that they did.
Using Leon Czolgosz as a platform from which to examine the ills of 1900’s society, Rauchway expounds upon their implications for America’s immediate future, and how they, in combination with McKinley’s murder, helped set the stage for Theodore Roosevelt and his administration. Why would a man like Leon Czolgosz have assassinated the president? How did this reflect and affect public sentiment, and how did the tier of American society that Czolgosz represented– the unhappy, alienated and downtrodden working class– provide Roosevelt with the opportunities he needed to make drastic change? Rauchway offers answers to each of these questions, while illustrating along the way that Czolgosz was neither insane nor truly an anarchist, Roosevelt was not quite the spontaneous, apolitical figure he pretended to be, and McKinley’s murder, tragic though it was, was in some ways a necessary evil.
O'Reilly, Bill, and Martin Dugard. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever. New York: Henry Holt and, 2011. Print.
After reading the story, I found I had mixed emotions about it. To explain, when we were getting into detail and finally finding out what really happened the day of June 28th, I found myself completely interested and glued to the book. I also enjoyed the way the incident was explained because I felt like I was there watching it all happen from the great detail. I enjoyed Phillips style of writing because through his writing, he really came off as an intelligent person who is very familiar with the legal system. The book is an easy read, and I liked the non-pretentious style of writing. I did not find myself struggling with reading the book at all, which made the overall experience that much more enjoyable.
The essays, “Death of Abraham Lincoln” and “The Timely Death of President Harding”, critique society’s tendency to respect the dead and glorify the presidents’ former lives regardless of their characteristics while living.
During the process of reading this compilation of works, Portrait of America, many different point of views were aired. The opinion or attitude on the subject was too tainted. The authors were very biased to their perception of the "story". This book could have been much more beneficial if the facts would have stayed to the straight and narrow. Only the detrimental facts needed to be applied to these chapters. For a history class, as broad as this, this book opened too many doors that could not be explained in as much detail as would be liked. Many of the authors enjoyed mentioning the most scandalous moments of the people's lives then dropped the fact without much support or follow through as to what happened to cause or end these events. Brief summaries only tease the mind, and with the course load of most students, there is hardly extra time to investigate the matter further in detail. For a class such as History 152, biographies and/or documentary style books are more worth the while of the student. For instance make a list of a selection of novels that could be read for the class, so that every student can then explore in depth what that student thinks is interesting. Although the book was teasing in nature the chapters did flow well and were easy to read. The procession of the chapters had wonderful transition as to not loose the student. While proceeding through this book there were several different reoccurring topics that appeared. This paper will discuss these two reoccurring topics: the civil rights movement and former presidents.
The lives of everyone in the town of Springfield Oregon changed on May 21st of 1998. A quiet boy named Kip Kinkel became known as “The Killer at Thurston High” after killing both of his parents, murdering two classmates, and severely injuring 24 others. There are many factors in the 15 year old boy’s life that led up to the horrific events that occurred on that day. The same factors that influenced the tragedy in occurring could have very easily insured that it never happened to begin with.
Chapter two takes place on November 11th, 1918. The president of the United States, who was Woodrow Wilson would sent a message to fellow Americans relieving them by saying "The war is over". This would be the beginning of the new era, although life would still be centered around the war. The opportunity for people to make money was more obvious. With the soldiers being back from war and parades and everything in celebration, it would soon be over with much of the population looking for work. Strikes, Lay-offs would cause controversy. It was considered to be as evil as the red scare intended to be. Questions were being asked and people wanted answers after the war. Wilson had a lot of power and determined a lot of peoples lives. Henry Cabot Lodge an Intellectual leader of the Republicans who had a seat in the senate had power as well and stated that they were equal with the president in making treaties. Lodge opposed Wilson is most events that they both participated in. Wilson would later veto the senate and get reelected as president of the united states.
On November 22, 1963, at 12:30 in the afternoon, President John F. Kennedy was shot at and killed while participating in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. The most important question that arises from this incident is ‘Who killed President John F. Kennedy?’ This is an issue which has been debated by scholars, The Government, and even common people alike. Many people seem to feel that it was a conspiracy, some large cover-up within a cover-up.
While researching the Kennedy assassination there were many articles, saying that the mob was involved in the shooting. The writers were convinced that there was more than one person involved when it came too killing John Kennedy, on that warm sunny day in downtown Dallas. However, while these authors were convinced that there was another party involved, so was the rest of America with eighty percent saying the report was false. The goal of this paper is to bring this topic into the spotlight once more, by connecting the shooting of the president with the mob, and Lee Harvey Oswald.
A murder which easily occured and left a footprint in history that many historians and essay writers will enjoy to read about, because the factors leading up to it are so interesting and unique, that it cannot be compared to another assassination. Somehow these 2 men involved both had difficult childhoods which set them on pathways which changed their lives forever. Many are unaware of James Garfield himself and how he was the first left handed president. Being one of four presidents assassinated in office, he had the second shortest term of power behind William Henry Harrison, whose term went from March 4th- April 4th 1841 after dying from pneumonia. James Garfield led many of his time in office and will always be remembered as the 20th president in United States
If Youngs’s thesis was to illustrate how the sufferings and achievements of E. Roosevelt’s life was what made it possible for her to become the influential woman that she was, then Youngs did a great job by incorporating so much of E. Roosevelt’s early life into the biography. But if Youngs did not intend for that to be his thesis then this book was a confusing mess that left readers wondering why he put so much of E. Roosevelt’s early life in the book but a minimal amount of her life during her husband’s long presidential terms in office.
Kurtz, Michael L. Crime of the century: the Kennedy assassination from a historian's perspective. Knoxville, TN: University of Tennessee Press, 1982.