Your TR Source
Horace Curzon Plunkett expresses his admiration for President Roosevelt’s patriotism, which he believes will please Roosevelt’s “friends and admirers the world over.” Plunkett also mentions that he is recovering from an operation by the same doctor who attended Roosevelt after “that lunatic” shot him in Milwaukee.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1917-04-03
Theodore Roosevelt describes to his son Kermit the attempt on his life in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by would-be assassin John Schrank. He explains why he decided to continue with his speech anyway. The letter is signed with Roosevelt’s name by his wife Edith.
1912-10-19
Theodore Roosevelt compliments John St. Loe Strachey on a recent editorial, but wishes to offer his own evaluation of John Flammang Schrank, the man who attempted to assassinate him. Schrank, Roosevelt says, was not a madman, but “was a man of the same disordered brain which most criminals, and a great many non criminals, have.” Roosevelt does not necessarily have any negative feeling towards Schrank, but instead focuses on the people who, “by their ceaseless and intemperate abuse, excited him to action, and against the mushy people who would excuse him and all other criminals once the crime has been committed.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-12-16
John Gurda gives a play-by-play look at the attempted assassination of Theodore Roosevelt on October 14, 1912, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Gurda explains why the Roosevelt campaign included a stop in Milwaukee, and he provides background on Roosevelt’s would be assassin, John Flammang Schrank. Gurda details the shooting, Roosevelt’s response, and his insistence on giving his scheduled speech. He concludes his essay by noting Schrank’s fate, confinement to an asylum for the rest of his life, and the boost to Roosevelt’s reputation for surviving the shooting.
A photograph of Gurda, an illustration of the attempted assassination, and a photograph of Roosevelt’s eyeglass case supplement the text.
Excerpt from Joseph Bucklin Bishop’s Theodore Roosevelt and His Time about the October 1912 assassination attempt on Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bucklin covers the shooting, Roosevelt’s speech, his hospitalization, and the motivations of the shooter, John Schrank.
A drawing of Roosevelt’s speech showing the hole made by the assassin’s bullet accompanies the excerpt.
Clarece Martin gives a fast-paced, detailed description of the assassination attempt on Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 14, 1912. She provides background on Roosevelt’s visit to Milwaukee, discusses the actions taken by his bodyguards during the shooting, and talks about Roosevelt delivering his speech despite his wound. Martin looks at the role played by Roosevelt’s wife, Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt, during his hospital stay and closes with Roosevelt’s return to the campaign trail at Madison Square Garden in New York City at the end of October.
A drawing of Roosevelt’s speech manuscript showing the hole made by the bullet accompanies the article.
This episode of the television program You Are There dramatizes the events of October 14, 1912, when John Flammang Schrank attempted to assassinate Theodore Roosevelt in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The program examines some elements of public opinion regarding Roosevelt’s decision to run for a third presidential term, in addition to mentioning several of Roosevelt’s main accomplishments and philosophies. The program was sponsored by the Prudential Life Insurance Company of America, and includes several advertisements for their services.
Theodore Roosevelt Association
1957
Front page of the New York Herald describing the attempted assassination of presidential candidate Theodore Roosevelt by John Schrank.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs
1912-10-15