Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural NHS https://www.nps.gov/thri/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt_Inaugural_National_Historic_Site Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the Ansley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Here, after the assassination of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President of the United States on September 14, 1901. A New York historical marker outside the house indicates that it was the site of Theodore Roosevelt's Inauguration. As president, Theodore Roosevelt created protections for ordinary citizens, began regulation of big business, and made the US a major force in international affairs. Yet one of the most important presidencies in America's history nearly didn't happen. See the place where a brief, emotional, and improvised ceremony in Buffalo, NY brought TR into office, and forever altered the nation. The TR Inaugural Site is located on the north edge of downtown Buffalo on Delaware Avenue, between Allen and North Streets. Free parking is available to the rear. For details, see http://www.nps.gov/thri/planyourvisit/directions.htm Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site This home in Buffalo, NY, is where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President on September 14, 1901. Origin of the Teddy Bear One of the world's most well-loved bears is part of the history surrounding President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. Teddy Bear The Bull Moose in Winter: Theodore Roosevelt and World War I Roosevelt believed America should prepare for war. President Wilson wanted to keep America out of it. Theodore Roosevelt, seated Robert Todd Lincoln and Presidential Assassinations Robert Todd Lincoln, son of President and First Lady Lincoln, had the misfortune to be at the site of three Presidents of the United States. Read about occassion and how Robert Todd Lincoln was connected. a young man in his early twenties posing for a picture wearing a suit jacket On Presidential Births and Deaths There are many connections between the Presidents. This article will explore some of those connections. the United States Presidential Seal

"It is a dreadful thing to come into the Presidency in this way; but it would be far worse to be morbid about it. Here is the task, and I have got to do it to the best of o o +•« 55 0 '5 •S .2 1 ^ O ^ £o a> *± w£ •£ E rat 0. ra •= fe •= ora o ram 5^ So .2 > .2 . rorara"'. The library of the Wilcox house where Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States reflects the opulence that characterized most of the residences on then-fashionable Delaware Avenue around 1900. It was an all-purpose room used predominantly by Mrs. Wilcox. Roosevelt took the oath of office standing in front of the bay window on the south side of the room wearing a frock coat lent him by Ansley Wilcox. The coat is now on display in the house. President William McKinley was shot twice by 28-year-old anarchist Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901, during a public reception at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. Doctors removed one of the bullets but failed to find the second, contributing to the development of the infection that killed him eight days later. One of the last photographs of McKinley (left) shows him at the reception shortly before the assassin struck. Ansley Wilcox describes the inauguration: "The Secretary of War, Mr. Root, was head of the cabinet.... He addressed the new President, calling him Mr. VicePresident, and on behalf of the Cabinet, requested him to take the oath of office. President Roosevelt answered simply, but with great solemnity, 'Mr. Secretary, I will take the oath. And...I wish to state that it shall be my aim to continue...the policy of President McKinley, for the peace and prosperity of our beloved country....' i Z Z "Judge Hazel advanced and administered the oath to support the Constitution and laws. It was taken with an uplifted hand.... The whole ceremony was over within half an hour after the cabinet had entered the house, and the small company dispersed, leaving only the six cabinet officers with the President, who at once held an informal session in the library." Z D The Roosevelt Presidency CD </> O O < DC r s - CD f| .5 O I o n o o w <fi "6 Q •' TJ b_ 6 o EC I my ability; and that is all there is to it." From 1884 to the 1930s, this house was the home of Ansley Wilcox and his wife Mary Grace. When Wilcox, a distinguished Buffalo lawyer, married Mary Grace Rumsey on November 20, 1883, the bride's father gave them the use of the house as a wedding present. The couple took up residence there the next year. Because of Wilcox's prominence as a pioneer in the development of social work and civil service reform, important local and national figures were welcomed to the house. One event that occurred here was of national significance and transcends all others in importance. On September 14, 1901, in the library of the Wilcox home, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th President of the United States just hours after the death of President William McKinley. McKinley had been shot and critically wounded by an assassin in Buffalo on September 6th while attending a public reception at the Pan American Exposition. Vice President Roosevelt, who was on a speaking trip in Vermont when he learned of the tragedy, hurried to the city, where members of the Cabinet had begun to assemble to carry on the affairs of government. After surgery, McKinley rallied and the doctors assured Roosevelt that the President's chances for recovery were excellent. By September 10th McKinley's condition was so much improved that Roosevelt decided to join his wife and children for a planned outing in the Adirondack Mountains as an assurance to the nation that the danger was passed. Before leaving he gave a copy of his itinerary to his friend Ansley Wilcox, at whose house he had been staying. Roosevelt arrived in the Adirondacks on September 11th. Late in the afternoon two days later, he was returning from a climb up nearby Mount Marcy when he noticed a man approaching rapidly on the trail. "There wasn't a thought in my mind but that the President would live," Roosevelt later recalled, "and I was perfectly happy until I saw the runner coming. I had had a bully tramp and was looking forward to dinner with the interest only an appetite worked up in the woods gives you. When I saw the runner I instinctively knew he had bad news, the worst news in the world." The man handed Roosevelt a telegram: "The President appears to be dying, and members of the Cabinet in Buffalo think you should lose no time in coming." McKinley's condition had worsened shortly after the doctors confidently told everyone that "no serious symptoms have developed." When the surgeons sewed up the President's wounds they did not allow for proper drainage, and a gangrenous infection soon set in. His body, weakened from shock and the loss of blood, could not fight it. After some difficulty, Roosevelt found a wagon and driver to take him to North Creek, about 35 miles away, where a special train was waiting to carry him