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On September 14, 1901, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as the 26th president of the United States in Buffalo, New York, at the home of Ansley Wilcox. Roosevelt’s predecessor, William McKinley, had been shot by an assassin at the Pan-American Exposition on September 6, dying at 2:15 a.m. on September 14. Wilcox’s home is now the site of the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site.
Currently, a collection of Buffalo newspapers regarding the shooting of President McKinley from September 7 to 25, 1901, as well as the scrapbook kept by Ansley Wilcox following the assassination attempt to Roosevelt’s inauguration in his library are available from the Inaugural’s collections.
Items from the Inaugural site’s collections were digitized and cataloged on-site and then transferred to the Theodore Roosevelt Center for inclusion in the digital library. As TR Center staff received materials from the Inaugural, the items were added to the digital library. See below to view items from this collection.
Digitization of items at the National Park sites was possible thanks to National Park Service Centennial Challenge Funding in partnership with Dickinson State University.
Small, round celluloid button with a dark blue stripe at the top and bottom. In the center are the initials “T. R.” on a white background with the trade mark of the Allied Printing Trade Council.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1912
Round, celluloid button with dark blue background and tan picture of a moose head. At the top is printed “Progressive.”
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1912
Unknown clipping featuring an image of Theodore Roosevelt speaking to a crowd of people at Sagamore Hill.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1914-1918
The author hopes Percy Siddall will enjoy the postcard. The postcard features a color image of the Wilcox House in Buffalo, New York, where Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office after the death of William McKinley. There is an oval portrait of Roosevelt in the top right corner.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1907-1915
Sheet music for “The Charge of the Roosevelt Rough Riders,” a patriotic march. The cover features an illustration of soldiers advancing in formation led by an officer on horseback.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1898
Cover of Collier’s 1901 presidential inauguration issue. The cover features an illustration of Vice President Roosevelt and President McKinley in the center of a shield with American flags and laurel wreaths.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1901
Sepia-tone photograph of Theodore Roosevelt with a closeup of his face.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1909-1919
White silk ribbon with Stevengraph style portrait of a younger Theodore Roosevelt wearing a suit and a replica of Roosevelt’s signature.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
Unknown
Full color political cartoon depicting President Roosevelt dressed in full rain gear standing at the helm of the “Ship of State.”
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1902-01-01
Black and white political cartoon depicting President Roosevelt as the Statue of Liberty and carrying a club.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1907-07-10
James Roscoe Day, chancellor of Syracuse University, stands with his arm around President Roosevelt. The caption states that Roosevelt has decided to accept a nomination for a third term from the Republican National Convention.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1908-06-10
Full color political cartoon depicting President Roosevelt in formal dress, wearing a “Roosevelt” campaign badge, with his arms spread in front of a factory scene. The left side of the cartoon depicts Democratic rule as ruining Pennsylvania’s economy. The right side of the cartoon shows a prosperous Pennsylvania under Republican policies.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1906-10-06
Full color political cartoon depicting President Roosevelt putting a lid on a boiling cauldron labeled “Cuba.” The logs fueling the fire are labeled “Insurrection” and “Revolution.” The lid that Roosevelt is holding is labeled “American Intervention” and includes a likeness of Secretary of War Taft.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1906-10-13
Full color political cartoon depicting President Roosevelt as a hunter. He is holding a smoking rifle in one hand and a dead wolf or coyote labeled “Hearstism” in the other. Another, larger, dead wolf or coyote labeled “Bryanism” is at his feet.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1906-12-01
Full color political cartoon depicting Theodore Roosevelt in Rough Rider uniform with a club labeled “Big Stick.” Nearby, William Jennings Bryan is depicted as a punching bag.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1910-08-06
President Roosevelt is pictured in a variety of atypical situations. Clockwise from upper left: taking pictures of a bear family, playing chess, breaking up a scuffle between two boys, turning his back on a mother with a large family, and sitting with Syracuse University Chancellor James Roscoe Day in a hammock.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1907-08-21
President Roosevelt takes a walk with a male companion. The page is broken into five numbered frames. Roosevelt is speaking in each frame and becoming more and more animated. As he does so, he rapidly outdistances his companion. In the last frames, Roosevelt says, “I tell you, sir, Congress is a weakling-g-g!” “They are all deliberate and unqualified falsifiers.” However, his walking companion is left far behind.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1907-04-17
The cover and two articles from an edition of The Saturday Evening Post dedicated to President Roosevelt and published the month of his 1905 inauguration. The cover has an illustrated profile portrait of Roosevelt. The articles are “After Four Years: A Square Deal for Every Man,” by Owen Wister and “Roosevelt’s Ranching Days,” by A. T. Packard.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1905-03-04
Circular, bronze medal with a raised profile of Theodore Roosevelt and embossed “Woman’s Roosevelt Memorial Association Service.” The medal was commissioned by the Women’s Roosevelt Memorial Association as a token of appreciation for people who helped fund the restoration of Roosevelt’s birthplace.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1920-1923
The unknown author will answer Mrs. C. Wintersteen’s letter this evening. The postcard features a colored illustration of Sagamore Hill, President Roosevelt’s home in Oyster Bay, New York.
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
1901-1906