About this item
On September 6, 1901, President William McKinley held a public reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. In the receiving line, holding a gun concealed by a handkerchief, was Leon Czolgosz, a young man with anarchist leanings. When he reached McKinley, Czolgosz fired two shots, one of which would prove fatal. The backdrop of the assassination was among the largest of many world's fairs held in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Exposition celebrated American progress, highlighting the new technology electricity. Over 100,000 light bulbs outlined the Exposition's building--on display inside were the latest inventions utilizing the new power source. This new treatment of the McKinley assassination is the first to focus on the compelling story of the Exposition: its labor and construction challenges; the garish Midway; the fight for inclusion of an accurate African-American display to offset racist elements of the Midway; and the impressive exhibit halls.
About the Author
Roger Pickenpaugh recently retired after a thirty-year teaching career at Shenandoah Middle School in Sarahsville, Ohio. His books include studies of outstanding weather events in Ohio and the Civil War. His first book in the latter category was "Rescue by Rail: Troop Transfer and the Civil War in the West, 1863." In recent years he has studied Civil War prisons. His first book on that topic was "Camp Chase and the Evolution of Union Prison Policy." This was the study of a major Ohio prison. Last year the University of Alabama Press published "Captives in Gray: The Civil War Prisons of the Union." Pickenpaugh is now completing a companion volume, "Captives in Blue." Pickenpaugh lives in Noble County Ohio with his wife and co-researcher, Marion.
