The Untimely Death of Theodore Roosevelt

Meredith Sechrist
History 10 Honors Period 2
Mr. Greene
17 January 2014
The Untimely Death of Theodore Roosevelt
October 14, 1912 was when it happened. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin during his campaign speech, someone within the perimeter fired at the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. The scene underwent a thorough investigation the moment the crowd was out of reach, and investigators recovered a plethora of items that could possibly be linked to the death that followed not two days after this tragedy. The evidence included a large man’s jacket, which, while emptying the pockets, revealed also an elephant button, foreign coins, a picture of a catlike silhouette, a map of Chicago, a blank postcard from Lake Mohonk Mountain House, a picture of the ex-president taken in 1905, a receipt for a train ticket from Washington D.C., and most importantly, a note that read, “Thanks, my friends, I know we’re going to do it.” After many interrogations and hours spent trying to solve this murder mystery, the police investigators were led to believe it was not one person to blame for the loss, but four people. It was a conspiracy to kill an ex-president. The suspects in question are banker John Pierpont Morgan, President William Howard Taft, and anarchist Emma Goldman. These people are believed to be responsible because they all had different motives to want Roosevelt dead and out of the picture. Also their combined skills, connections, and recourses would only help them, if they worked together, to achieve this ultimate goal of ridding the nation of Theodore Roosevelt.
Once Roosevelt was in office he immediately went after what he believed to be the biggest problem, which was having too much power in the hands of corporate America. With John Pierpont (J.P.) Morgan being the most powerful financier in the country, Roosevelt decided to take him head-on by suing the Tycoon’s northern security corporation to halt the monopolization of the western railways. After going all the way to the Supreme Court, they ruled in favor of the government and shut down Morgan’s monopoly. This infuriated him and sparked Roosevelt’s reputation of being a “trust-buster”. The shutting down of Morgan’s monopoly was humiliating for him personally and more than enough of a reason to want Roosevelt gone. In addition, there are many clues that were found on site in Milwaukee that could have a connection to Morgan. For example, he could definitely have a blank postcard from Lake Mohonk Mountain House, because he was so wealthy. Also, he was a republican, which would give reason for him to have a pin with an elephant on it in his large jacket. Being such a successful banker and financier most of his career, it would not be difficult to come across coins every now and then that came from overseas. Throughout his life, Morgan made several trips to and from London, which would also tie him to the foreign coins that were recovered from the jacket that was left at the meeting held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Being an anarchist alone makes Emma Goldman a prime suspect in the investigation of the murder of Theodore Roosevelt. She resented him for many reasons, one of them spiraling off of his comment of calling her a "madwoman... a mental as well as a moral pervert". In addition to that offensive comment, he wanted to rid the nation of anarchists, which is a thing she knew as a child growing up in Russia. Being from a different country definitely ties her as well to the foreign coins, as well as her travels to France and Canada. Being a foreigner would also justify the map of Chicago that was found in the jacket.
Succeeding Roosevelt as president was William Howard Taft, the 27th president of the United States. Contrary to what you would think of a president, it is very likely that Taft was a co-conspirator in the murder of Theodore Roosevelt. During the 1912 election, Roosevelt started off as backing up Taft and helping him out, however, after his extended trip to Africa, he came back with indifferent feelings toward the way the election was going and did not want Taft to be in charge any longer. He decided to go to a third party, the progressives, nicknamed the “Bull Moose Party”, and run against him. Eventually, Taft gave up as a candidate, saying that “there are so many people in the country who don’t like me.” Then, to make matters worse, Vice President James Sherman died in office that October, leaving him without a running mate. This election is enough to drive any man over the edge, especially one who had the election in the bag until Roosevelt turned his back on him. In addition to the motive of costing him the election, we can tie William Taft to several of the pieces of evidence that were left behind on October 14, 1912. For example, Taft was a rather large man, both heavy-set and tall, which would explain the large man’s jacket, along with its contents of the train ticket from Washington, D.C., the picture of Roosevelt at a Rough Rider Convention from 1905, the elephant pin, and the closing note that were found inside of the jacket. It would be reasonable to say he would have the train ticket because he was the current president and resided in Washington, D.C., so to say if he traveled anywhere at all he would possess a ticket. He would have had the ability to retain the picture from the Rough Rider Convention because of their prior friendship, along with the pin with the elephant on it that shows his dedication to the Republican Party. It is believed that he was the “leader” of the group, the one who had the most resent toward his former friend and ignited the flame and brought everyone together, and also who wrote the note that stated, “Thanks, my friends, I know we’re going to do it”.
All of these people are more than capable of working together to rid themselves of a man whom they despise. If you combine Goldman’s anarchism with Taft’s ambition and Morgan’s wealth, it would make the murder fairly simple. It can be concluded that Taft is the leader of the conspiracy, who wanted a job done but could not do it himself, which led him to call in reinforcements of others who also resented Theodore Roosevelt. Once they agreed with little hesitation, it was a simple task. While we do not know who actually pulled the trigger during his speech, it can be confirmed that John Pierpont Morgan, Emma Goldman, and William Howard Taft were in fact the co-conspirators responsible for the assassination of former president Theodore Roosevelt.