Anarchist and Polish-American Leon Czolgosz killed American President William McKinley. Born to first-generation Polish immigrants, he was raised in abject poverty and relocated frequently. He only received five years of formal education before beginning to work when he was in his mid-teens. He was an intelligent youngster, nevertheless, and read extensively outside of the classroom. When he lost his employment at the age of 19 as a result of the ongoing slump, he first developed an interest in socialism. He quickly came to the conclusion that it was the actions of the governmental apparatus that increased the wealth of the rich at the expense of the poor. He soon began to drift away from the Church and toward anarchy. However, the anarchist became wary of his strange conduct and left him alone. When he discovered that President McKinley would be attending the Pan American Exposition, he made the decision to murder him as a show of protest, fatally shooting him with his just-purchased handgun. He was electrocuted to death within 45 days of President William McKinley’s passing following a swift trial. At that time, Czolgosz was 28 years old.
Young Adulthood & Childhood
Most people agree that Leon Frank Czolgosz was born in Alpena, Michigan, on May 5, 1873. Police records, however, list Detroit as his place of birth. The precise year of his birth is also a point of contention.
Paul Czolgosz and Mary Nowak, his parents, were first-generation immigrants from Poland. They migrated to the United States, possibly in 1872 after the birth of their third son, and were devout Roman Catholics.
Of his parents’ ten children, Leon was born as the fourth child. He had three older brothers named Waldek, Frank, and Joseph. Additionally, he had two younger sisters named Celia and Victoria as well as four younger brothers the names Walter, Jacob, John, and Michael. He also has Charles and Antoine as half-siblings from his father’s second marriage.
What the Czolgosz family accomplished while residing in Poland is unknown. Paul was a manufacturing worker in the USA, earning less than a dollar per day while hopping from job to job in quest of better opportunities.
When Leon was five years old, possibly around 1878, the family relocated to Detroit. They relocated again after about two years, possibly in the early 1880s, this time to Posen, a community in Michigan’s Presque Isle County. His father bought a farm here.
Leon only attended school for five years, so he did not have a very extensive official education. He was a quiet, devout, orderly, smart youngster who loved to read outside of school and was regarded as an intellectual in his family.
Mary Czolgosz, the mother of factory worker Leon Czolgosz, passed away in 1885 or 1886, six weeks after Victoria, her youngest child, was born. Paul then sold the land and went back to Alpena. From there, they relocated once more to Pennsylvania’s Natrona. Here, Leon started working at a glass plant.
By 1890, the family had relocated to Cleveland, an Ohio port city, where Leon, then seventeen, started working for the Cleveland Rolling Mill Company. He quickly obtained a merit-based pay boost because he was regarded as a reliable worker in this place.
A severe economic slump in 1893 forced Cleveland Rolling Mill to temporarily halt operations. When it first opened its doors, it lowered workers’ wages, which sparked a strike and cost Leon and his brother, who also worked at the same mill, their jobs. Leon was also put on a list.
Leon reclaimed his position in 1894 and went by the name Fred C. Nieman. Nieman, a surname that combines German and Polish roots, means “nobody.” But the experience had a lasting impact on his mental state. He started concentrating on the disparity between the owners of the factories and the employees.
Anarchist of Leon Czolgosz
Leon Czolgosz was deeply outraged by the gap between the rich and the poor, and he gradually started to gravitate toward socialist beliefs. He joined the Golden Eagle Society, a society for moderate social workers. Later, he left Golden Eagle to join the anarchist Sila Club, which was more radical.
He gradually came to the opinion that the governmental system allowed the wealthy to amass more riches at the expense of the poor. He attempted to join many anarchist organizations, but they all shied away from him due of his peculiar conduct.
He had lost confidence in God and the Church by 1896. He was cut off from society and had a psychological breakdown in 1898, which cost him his job. By that time, Leon’s father had purchased a 55-acre farm in Warrensville, Ohio, where he now made his home.
He never assisted with the chores while working on his father’s farm; instead, he read radical books. Additionally, he made frequent trips to Chicago and Detroit, where he was drawn to prominent figures in the anarchist movement like Emma Goldman, Emil Schilling of the Liberty Club, and Abraham Isaak, editor of the radical publication Free Society.
When Gaetano Bresci, an anarchist, killed King Umberto I of Italy on July 29, 1900, he became even more determined to achieve his goal. Czolgosz was even more thrilled when Bresci told the press that he killed the King for the benefit of the ordinary man.
He relocated to Buffalo in the summer of 1901, where he spent a few months living at a boarding home in West Seneca. He might have gone there in search of employment in an effort to benefit from the Pan American Exposition, which was scheduled to begin on May 1, 1901.
He may not have found employment because, in May 1901, he briefly visited Cleveland. He was there for Emma Goldman’s lecture meeting here. He was so moved by her speech that he went up to her and asked her what books she recommended he read.
He introduced himself as Fred C. Nieman when he met Goldman at Abraham Isaak’s Chicago home on July 12, 1901. He wanted her to introduce him to her anarchist pals and expressed his dissatisfaction with Cleveland’s socialists. There wasn’t time for that, though, because Emma Goldman was on her way to Boston.
It was quickly discovered that his real name was Leon Czolgosz and not Nieman. Goldman and Isaak were dubious of his motives as a result of this, his awkward demeanor, and his propensity to inquire bluntly about their secret organizations, prompting them to publish a warning about him in “Free Society.”
The murder of President McKinley
Leon Czolgosz arrived back in Buffalo on August 31, 1901, and booked a room at John Nowak’s bar at 1078 Broadway. President William McKinley would visit the Pan American Exposition on September 5 and 6, it was reported shortly after. At this time, Czolgosz made the decision to murder him.
He may have paid $4.50 for a 32 caliber Iver Johnson “Safety Automatic” revolver (series #463344) on September 2, 1901. He then awaited his opportunity, hoping to finish the work by September 5.
The President spoke at the exposition on September 5, 1901, about tariffs and international trade. Even though Czolgosz had brought a handgun, he soon recognized that he would never be able to approach the President closely enough. So he made the choice to hold off until the following day.
The President was set to address the public for ten minutes on September 6, 1901, at 4 pm in the Temple of Music, an auditorium on the fairgrounds. Czolgosz saw his opportunity and pounced, standing in line with his handgun wrapped in a handkerchief and arriving at the President at 4:07 pm.
Czolgosz smacked the president’s hand away as he reached out to shake it before shooting him twice in the belly. The first shot ricocheted off a coat button after striking it. The second, however, struck his stomach and severely injured him. The President passed away from his wound on September 14, 1901.
Death & Trial of Leon Czolgosz
The throng rushed Czolgosz as President McKinley sagged backward. When they were finally able to take him into custody, the police had to fight hard to keep the throng at bay. He was initially held in a cell at Buffalo’s 13th Precinct house at 346 Austin Street. He was later transferred to the police headquarters.
He claimed to have killed the President because he felt it was his job to do so, according to his interrogators. He added that he did not believe it was fair for one individual to receive so many services while another man would receive none.
At first, it was assumed that he was a participant in a sizable plot. She and other anarchists were briefly detained as a result of his claim that his speech had motivated him. It was discovered later that he had acted alone.
He was taken to the Erie County Jail on September 16, 1901, where County Judge Emery read the accusations to him. The trial itself started on September 23, 1901.
He was given a defense attorney, but he refused to work with them. During the trial, he was silent in his defense as well. Therefore, his defense attorneys asserted that he was insane.
Additionally, the juries agreed that no rational individual would shoot the President in such a little area. He could not, however, be considered legally insane because he was aware of the consequences of his actions.
The jury found him guilty on September 24, 1901, following an hour of deliberation, and unanimously recommended the death penalty on September 26. He didn’t say anything, never expressing any emotion.
Czolgosz was electrocuted in Auburn Prison on October 29, 1901. He received three 1800-volt shocks, one after the other. His final phrases were, “I don’t feel bad about what I did. I regret not being able to see my father.”
The prison authorities refused to release his body to his family members, who wanted to transport it for a decent burial but were afraid of mob violence. Instead, they covered his corpse in sulfuric acid to hasten decomposition, then buried him in the jail grounds.
Estimated net worth
The estimated net worth of Leon Czolgosz is unknown.
Trivia
President McKinley was slain by Leon Czolgosz using a revolver, which is now on exhibit at the Buffalo History Museum. Although the Temple of Music, where he shot the President, was later demolished, the general location is now marked by a stone marker on Fordham Drive.