 Roosevelt being administered the oath of office aspresident afterPresident McKinley's death, September 14, 1901. | |
| Date | September 14, 1901; 124 years ago (1901-09-14) |
|---|---|
| Location | Ansley Wilcox House,Buffalo, New York |
| Participants | Theodore Roosevelt 26th president of the United States — Assuming office John R. Hazel Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of New York — Administering oath |
Thefirst inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt as the 26thpresident of the United States, took place on Saturday, September 14, 1901, at theAnsley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue inBuffalo, New York, following thedeath of PresidentWilliam McKinley earlier that day. Theinauguration – the fifth non-scheduled, extraordinary inauguration to ever take place and the first in the 20th century – marked the commencement of the first term (a partial term of 3 years, 171 days) ofTheodore Roosevelt as president.John R. Hazel, U.S. District Judge for theWestern District ofNew York, administered thepresidential oath of office.[1] Aged 42 years and 322 days, Roosevelt was and currently is theyoungest person to become president.
On September 6, Vice President Roosevelt had been at a luncheon of the Vermont Fish and Game League onLake Champlain when he learned the news that McKinley had been shot. He rushed to Buffalo, but after being assured the president would recover, he went on a planned family camping and hiking trip toMount Marcy in theAdirondacks. A week after the shooting, on the mountains, a runner notified him McKinley was on his death bed. Roosevelt pondered with his wife,Edith, how best to respond, not wanting to show up in Buffalo and wait on McKinley's death. Roosevelt wasrushed by a series of stagecoaches toNorth Creek train station. At the station, Roosevelt was handed a telegram that said President McKinley died at 2:15 (September 14) that morning. The new president continued by train fromNorth Creek to Buffalo. He arrived in Buffalo later that morning, accepting an invitation to stay at the home ofAnsley Wilcox, a prominent lawyer and friend since the early 1880s when they had both worked closely with then-New York GovernorGrover Cleveland on civil service reform.
At 3:00 PM on the afternoon of September 14, several members ofPresident McKinley's cabinet arrived at the Wilcox house (now known as theTheodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site). They wereUnited States Secretary of WarElihu Root,Secretary of the NavyJohn D. Long,Attorney GeneralPhilander C. Knox,Secretary of the InteriorEthan Hitchcock,Postmaster GeneralCharles Emory Smith, andSecretary of AgricultureJames Wilson. With them were Judge Hazel, JudgeAlbert Haight of theNew York Court of Appeals, andUnited States Senator fromNew YorkChauncey Depew, among others. Roosevelt met with them informally in the Library and, at the last moment, the newspaper men were all let in, but were prohibited from taking any photographs.[a] Then, when asked whether he was ready to take the oath, he answered, "I will take the oath. And in this hour of deep and terrible national bereavement, I wish to state that it shall be my aim to continue, absolutely without variance, the policy of President McKinley, for the peace and honor of our beloved country." After his response, Judge Hazel administered the oath.[2]
Expressing the fears of many old-lineRepublicans,Mark Hanna lamented "that damned cowboy is president now."[3]
Media related toTheodore Roosevelt 1901 presidential inauguration at Wikimedia Commons