Contents ▼▲
Front Matter The Beginning of the U.S Franklin's Return Troubles After the War The Constitution The First President Washington's Troubles A Wonderful Invention Death of Washington The U.S. Buys Land War With African Pirates Death of Somers The First Steamboat The Gerrymander The War of 1812 "Don't Give Up the Ship" The Star-Spangled Banner Clinton's "Big Ditch" More Land Bought Jackson Stories Jackson's Presidency New Inventions Whitman's Ride The Mormons The First Telegraph The Mexican War The Slavery Quarrel Daniel Webster's Youth Webster's Speeches Early Times in California Discovery of El Dorado Rush to California The Underground Railroad The First World's Fair John Brown's Raid Lincoln's Youth The First Shot The Call to Arms The President's Decision Admiral Farragut The Monitor and Merrimac The Penninsular Campaign Barbara Frietchie Lincoln's Vow The Battle of Gettysburg The Taking of Vicksburg Riots, Raids, and Battles The Burning of Atlanta The March to the Sea Sheridan's Ride The Doings of the Fleet Lee's Surrender Decoration Day Lincoln Stories Lincoln's Rebukes A President's Son A Noble Southerner Hard Times in the South The Atlantic Cable Best Way to Settle Quarrels Our One Hundredth Birthday Gold for Greenbacks A Clever Engineer Death of Garfield The Celebration at Yorktown The Great Statue A Terrible Flood Lynch Law The Great White City The Explosion of the Maine The Battle of Manila Hobson's Brave Deed Surrender of Santiago The Hawaiian Islands The Annexation of Hawaii The Philippine War Assassination of McKinley The Panama Canal Roosevelt's Administration Two Presidents German Views The World War Since the World War

Story of the Great Republic - Helene Guerber




The Assassination of Mckinley

Near the end of the nineteenth century (1900), a new census of the United States showed that there were about 76,000,000 Americans within our boundaries, and that during the last ten years of the century, more than 3,500,000 immigrants had arrived; that is to say, more people than Washington had been called upon to govern when our republic began. These newcomers found a prosperous country doing big business. Some American firms have a working capital of over a billion dollars.

In 1900, an organization of Chinese, called Boxers, besieged the foreign ministers in Peking. American soldiers, sent from the Philippines, helped rescue the ministers. Our government joined others in exacting a large indemnity from China to make good the expenses of the rescue.

The year 1901 was marked by the founding of the Rockefeller Institute, where learned men try to find new ways to fight disease, so as to make the world a better place in which to live. In the same year, to show what North and South America could offer to the world, a Pan-American (or All-American) Exposition was held at Buffalo. It was visited by people from all parts of the globe. There, the wonderful electrical discoveries of Edison and others made the Fair look like fairyland. While visiting this Exposition, and shaking hands at a public reception, McKinley, who had just begun his second term as President, was shot. He died a week later, leaving his place to Roosevelt, the Vice President.

Theodore Roosevelt, our twenty-sixth President, the youngest man ever called to occupy the post of Chief Executive, had already shown courage and ability by doing good work as president of the police board of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, colonel of the "Rough Riders" in the Spanish-American War, and as Governor of the state of New York. In all these offices Roosevelt's wonderful energy and enthusiasm enabled him to reform many abuses and to start new plans.

Reformers and innovators always have enemies as well as admirers, and Roosevelt had his full share of both. Because of his frank, fearless ways he was so popular that his enemies early foresaw that he might some day become President of the United States and interfere with their plans. As no Vice President in recent times had been elected to the presidency, these schemers made Roosevelt accept the vice presidency, thinking thereby to deprive him of all chance of the higher post. You can therefore imagine their feelings when owing to McKinley's assassination—Roosevelt became President, six months after they thought that they had ruined his political chances.

Roosevelt

THEODORE ROOSEVELT


Roosevelt's fine education, lofty ideals, high principles, untiring energy, and enthusiasm made him one of our most popular Presidents. He was intensely patriotic, and in his messages, speeches, and books he insisted that every American should love his country and do his full duty as a citizen.

Roosevelt retained McKinley's Cabinet and, announcing that he meant to follow in his predecessor's footsteps, he began at once to tackle the many tasks that confronted him. He appointed Taft governor of the Philippine Islands when military rule stopped there in 1901. He also settled a serious miners' strike that threatened to deprive our citizens of the necessary coal for cooking, heating, manufacturing, and transportation. Our increased trade with China made us especially interested in that country, and when several European countries attempted to seize Chinese territory, Roosevelt's Secretary of State persuaded China to sign what is known as the "Open Door Treaty." This treaty gives all nations equal rights in trade with China.