President William McKinley, known as the "Tariff King" for championing high protective tariffs, was assassinated in 1901 by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist who viewed McKinley as a symbol of oppression, partly due to his pro-business, high-tariff policies. McKinley was shot on September 6, 1901, and died on September 14, 1901.
William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination on September 14, 1901, after leading the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War and raising protective tariffs to promote American industry.
President William McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz, a Polish-American anarchist who believed McKinley was a symbol of oppression and a corrupt leader against the working class. Czolgosz, influenced by anarchist ideologies, shot McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, in September 1901, feeling it was his duty to kill a leader to challenge the government and capitalism.
Four sitting U.S. presidents have been killed: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). Ronald Reagan (1981) is the only sitting president to have been wounded in an assassination attempt.
After 450 amendments, the Tariff Act of 1890 was passed and increased average duties across all imports from 38% to 49.5%. McKinley was known as the "Napoleon of Protection", and rates were raised on some goods and lowered on others, always in an attempt to protect American manufacturing interests.
During his second term as President of the United States, Donald Trump enacted a series of steep tariffs affecting nearly all goods imported into the country. From January to April 2025, the overall average effective US tariff rate rose from 2.5% to an estimated 27%—the highest level in over a century.
President Gerald R. Ford is the only U.S. President to survive two separate assassination attempts, both occurring in California in September 1975, within just 17 days of each other, carried out by Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme (who misfired) and Sara Jane Moore (whose shot was thwarted by a bystander).
President William Henry Harrison died on April 4, 1841, just one month after his Inauguration. Historians have long believed that Harrison died from pneumonia, but recent scholarship has suggested that he succumbed to enteric or typhoid fever.
Eight U.S. Presidents died in office, four by assassination and four from natural causes. Presidents who died of natural causes include William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Certificate and record of death of William McKinley: I hereby certify that he died on the 14th day of September, 1901, about 2:15 o'clock A.M., and that to the best of my knowledge and belief the cause of death was as hereunder written: Cause, gangrene of both walls of stomach and pancreas following gunshot wound.
In 1980, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act changed the park's name to Denali National Park and Preserve. The official name of the mountain remained Mount McKinley until 2015, when President Barack Obama and Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell restored the name Denali to the mountain.
President Garfield died on September 19, 1881. The autopsy confirmed Bliss' ignorance and that it was sepsis from multiple abscesses, not the bullet, that caused the President's death. Immediately before his hanging, Charles Guiteau even remarked, “Yes, I shot him, but his doctors killed him.”
President Zachary Taylor (the 12th U.S. President) died in 1850 after eating cherries and milk on a hot July 4th, which, combined with contaminated ice water and the unhygienic conditions of Washington D.C., likely led to a fatal case of gastroenteritis or cholera, not just the fruit and dairy themselves. He became violently ill and died five days later from what was diagnosed as cholera morbus, though later analyses suggest bacteria in the food or water was the culprit.
While of questionable historicity, the third is the best-known; if it did occur, this would make Grant the only U.S. president to have been arrested while in office.
Pedro Lascuráin was president of Mexico for only 45 minutes on February 19, 1913, the shortest presidency in world history, serving as a pawn in a coup to allow General Victoriano Huerta to legally take power by first appointing him as his Minister of Foreign Affairs, fulfilling the succession line before resigning.
Andrew Johnson was purportedly inebriated when he made his inaugural address as vice president of the United States on March 4, 1865.
Several U.S. Presidents did not use a Bible for their oath, including John Quincy Adams (used a law book), Theodore Roosevelt (used no book at his first swearing-in), and Lyndon B. Johnson (used a Catholic missal), with Calvin Coolidge also noting he didn't use one, adhering to Vermont tradition. The Constitution doesn't require a Bible, allowing for these variations, often signifying a belief in secularism or responding to unique circumstances.
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913 – December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977.
Guiteau shot Garfield twice from behind; one bullet grazed Garfield; the other entered his back. Garfield was carried back to the White House, where he underwent medical treatment for over two months. His condition fluctuated, though generally worsened over time as he began to suffer from sepsis and infection.
Sara Jane Moore (née Kahn; February 15, 1930 – September 24, 2025) was an American accountant and FBI informant who attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford in 1975.
Yes, most economic analyses suggest President Trump's tariffs are hurting the U.S. economy, increasing costs for consumers and businesses, causing layoffs, reducing investment, and creating economic uncertainty, although some sectors see limited gains while facing retaliation, leading to overall negative impacts like higher prices and reduced trade. While the tariffs aim to protect domestic industry, they act as a tax, raising prices and reducing available goods, with studies pointing to job losses in manufacturing and decreased business confidence.
If the individual tax cuts expire, taxpayers in all income groups would face higher and more complicated taxes. Machinery and equipment expensing is a key provision that, if allowed to expire, would especially harm capital-intensive industries like manufacturing.
After a lengthy struggle, the Bank was dismantled. In 1835, Jackson became the only U.S. president to pay off the national debt. After leaving office, he supported the presidencies of Martin Van Buren and James K. Polk, as well as the annexation of Texas. Opinions about Jackson are often polarized.