 |
|
George Washington |
Theodore Roosevelt - Assassination AttemptThree and a half years after he had been president Theodore Roosevelt decided to run for president as a member of the Progressive Party. The party was also known as the "Bull Moose Party." During his campaign travels a assassination attempt took place on October 14, 1912. John Schrank, a bartender from New York had followed Roosevelt for all most a 1,000 miles on the campaign trail. It is not know if he wanted to assassinated e Roosevelt because of Roosevelt seeking a third term or political reasons. One document carried by Schrank said he was advised by the ghost of President William McKinley to shoot Roosevelt. Roosevelt had finished dinner and was getting in the car to go the Milwaukee Auditorium when Schank shot him at close range. Before he could fire a second shot Roosevelt's stenographer tackled. Some in the crowed yelled "Lynch him." Roosevelt told the not to hurt him and to let him see him. He asked why Schrank shot him. Before Schrank answered Roosevelt told the police to take him away. The bullet lodged in Roosevelt's chest after going through a folded 50 page copy of his speech and a steel eyeglass case. The paper and the eyeglass case most likely saved his life. Roosevelt thought the bullet had not penetrated his lung since he wasn't coughing up blood. He decided to give a shortened speech. His friends urged him to go to the hospital.
He spoke for 90 minutes. Sometimes in a whisper. He began his speech by saying, "Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose. " After the speech it was decided he should go to a hospital in Chicago. He arrived at the hospital at 3:30 A.M. and stayed in the hospital for thirteen days. Schrank was found to be insane and was sentenced to the Central State Mental hospital. He was there for 29 years. He died in 1943. |
Topics |
||
|
|
||||
|
Sources:
The Presidents of the United States. 22 September 2004: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ Davis, Gibbs and Ilus. David A. Johnson. Wackiest White House Pets. New York: Scholastic Press, October 2004 James, Barber and Amy Pastan. Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies. New York: DK Publishing, 2002 Kane, Joseph Natan. Facts about the Presidents from Washington to Johnson. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1964. McCullough, Noah, The Essential Book of Presidential Trivia. Random House, USA, 2006 Pine, Joslyn, Presidential Wit and Wisdom: Memorable Quotes from George Washington to Barack Obama . Dover Publications, Mineola, New York, 2009 Huffington Post web site. Lang, Stephen, The Complete Book of Presidential Trivia, Pelican Publishing Company, Gretna, 2011 O'Reilly, Bill, and Dugard, Martin, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2011 St. George, Judith In the Line of Fire: Presidents' Lives at Stake , Scholastic Inc. New York, 2001 In addition to these books, I have also read and have used information from those listed on my Books About Presidents page.
|
||||
If you like this page add it to Google +1 This page was last updated on Friday, January 27, 2017 For comments or corrections email . |
