Of the four assassins of presidents in american history the least remembered is leon czolgosz the man who shot william mckinley he received a speedy trial o he received a speedy trial o we use cookies to enhance your experience on our websiteby continuing to use our website you are agreeing to our use of cookies. The death of william mckinley as eric rauchway puts it has long been described as a terrible but effective way of clearing the decks for political modernization p xi thus the dour mckinley gave way to the racy globe straddling theodore roosevelt the smoke filled rooms of gilded age politics gave way to the public moralism of the progressive era and nothing would ever be . Murdering mckinley the making of theodore roosevelts america ebook rauchway eric amazonca kindle store. Summary of by book by eric rauchway how an assassin a dead president and theodore roosevelt defined the progressive era when president mckinley was murdered at the pan american exposition in buffalo new york on september 6 1901 americans were bereaved and frightened rumor ran rampant a wild eyed foreign anarchist with an unpronounceable name had killed the commander in chief eric . Eric rauchways brilliant murdering mckinley re creates leon czolgoszs hastily conducted trial and then traverses america as dr vernon briggs a boston alienist sets out to discover why czolgosz rose up to kill his president