The President and the Assassin by Scott Miller (Review)
As I began The President and the Assassin, it was striking how similar Scott Miller’s book feels in nature to Candace Millard’s, Destiny of the Republic, the story of James Garfield’s assassination. Both books were published in 2011, so the authors would have been writing at the same time. Yet it almost seems like the books could have been written by the same author.
Much like Destiny of the Republic, Miller moves back and forth from the president—William McKinley—to the assassin, Leon Czolgosz. For both books, the style worked. But I enjoyed Destiny of the Republic a bit more than The President and the Assassin. I found Garfield more interesting than McKinley, but The President and the Assassin also seemed less suspenseful, despite knowing the conclusion of both men’s lives.
Although it finished second to Destiny in my opinion, I still found The President and the Assassin to be a worthwhile book. Miller skillfully described the transformative blur of the Second Industrial Revolution that modernized the American economy and thrust it into first-tier status among other nations. He gave helpful insight into the rapidity of America’s growth and the complications that accompanied it. Miller’s insight into the influence of anarchism offered a depth of information I did not previously understand.
The anarchy angle and its continued role in WWI made me think that a different title would have served Miller (and his readers) quite well. You could make an argument that McKinley’s assassination was a bellwether to WWI, and the title could have better reflected the rising influence of the anarchism and its pervasiveness. As it was, the history of anarchism was a surprise in the book and one that Miller handled with aplomb. The President and the Assassin was a quick read that let me add a new president to my list of biographies. While the book only gave a short look at McKinley’s life, it was a worthwhile read for those who find the era interesting.
Here are some other insights I learned (or relearned) from The President and the Assassin:
McKinley originally ran against William Jennings Bryan, the Democrat from Nebraska who wanted the U.S. Treasury to be backed by both gold and silver. The prospect of adding a silver backing and the fear of Wall Street prompted a massive push of political donations by corporate interests from both parties. McKinley knew he was not the orator that Bryan was, so he stayed in Niles, Ohio and let others campaign for him. This campaign included the first mass mailing with an estimate that the output by McKinley’s camp in the 1896 race equaled the total of all mass mailings in the previous elections combined. Mark Hanna, who headed McKinley’s campaign, produced booklets, pamphlets, posters, and prewritten-newspaper stories, which he sent to far flung-towns across the country.
Scott referenced The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660–1783, a book by Alfred Thayer Mahan that addresses the role of naval warfare in the rise of nations. Mahan’s book was one of great significance, and the book I read some years ago, From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776, similarly lauded the book as a driver behind U.S. expansion in the 1800s. It also contributed to Germany’s invasion of Belgium as a trigger to WWI.
William Goodwin, an early anarchism proponent, argued that all cooperation is to some degree evil, and the philosophy played a great role in the anarchy movement. Goodwin believed that all government is oppressive and should be abolished to be replaced by individual man’s reason. In my estimation, his belief that every man is rational seems wildly unlikely.
Miller’s analysis of overproduction by America’s new mass-production capacity was a concise summary of American expansionism and the underpinnings of globalism. This issue culminated with the debate over what to do with Hawaii and whether it would help with U.S. exports to Asia and particularly China. It’s interesting to think about these issues taking place in the 1800s.
Miller added a great deal of meat to the skeleton that Barbara Tuchman built in Proud Tower with her chapter on the anarchists who helped initiate World War I. Miller added more insight to the movement, particularly its effects in the United States. He explored the foundations of terrorism as an intentional tool to usher in revolution.
It was interesting to revisit Emilio Aguinaldo and his role in the Philippines, a subject I primarily learned about in From Colony to Superpower and Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin. The U.S. and the Philippines are a complex part of United States history and a distinct turn from the country’s history of opposition to maintaining colonies. During the Spanish-American War, Aguinaldo and his supporters fought alongside Americans with an expectation of independence. Yet Aguinaldo was disappointed to find that independence was not to come until some time later. Aguinaldo’s disappointment is a stark contrast to the pride William Howard Taft felt from his time as governor of the Philippines. Their perspectives show the contrast between how two people can intimately view the same event with very different responses.
The President and the Assassin showed the process of the United States growing as world power. As territories expanded greatly during Spanish-American War, McKinley “learned one of the fundamental tenets of international relations: one seemingly innocent step abroad often seems to necessitate another and another.”
I had no recollection that Herbert Hoover was caught up in the Boxer Rebellion while on his honeymoon in China. I suspect that was a story they retold for many years to come.
After Leon Czolgosz shot President McKinley, it is jarring how many individuals called for mob violence toward anyone associated with the anarchists. It is a stark reminder how close the line is between civilization and barbarism.
As a whole, The President and the Assassin is an enjoyable read that is an easy introduction to William McKinley. It is, however, a brief biography that does not offer the breadth and depth of a full presidential biography, nor is that the type of book that Miller attempted to write. But after a lengthy biography of George H.W. Bush and an in-depth history of Christianity, The President and the Assassin was a light and accessible book that I enjoyed and recommend for anyone who enjoys history.
