On September 6, 1901, the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo was filled with excitement. Crowds gathered to see President William McKinley, a leader at the height of his popularity, who delighted in greeting ordinary Americans face to face. It was supposed to be a celebration of progress and prosperity, but history had other plans.

Among those waiting in line was Leon Czolgosz, a disaffected young man who had lost faith in the system and embraced anarchist ideas. Concealing a revolver in a handkerchief, he stepped forward and fired two shots that would change the course of American history.

This episode of Dave Does History takes you into that moment, the desperate week that followed, and the lasting legacy of McKinley’s assassination. It is a story of optimism cut short, of a nation in mourning, and of the sudden rise of Theodore Roosevelt.

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