Theodore Roosevelt Conspiracy Research Paper

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On October 14, 1912, in Milwaukee, WI, Progressive Party Candidate Theodore Roosevelt stood up in his open car, to acknowledge the crowd that was about to hear his campaign speech, and was shot. The bullet entered the right side of his chest and lodged in a rib. Unable to deliver the speech, Roosevelt was rushed to the Milwaukee Hospital where he died a day and a half later. After being called to the scene of the crime, the Milwaukee chief of police canvassed the area and discovered a garbage pail, a man’s jacket (large) with a note inside that read, “Thanks, my friends, I know we are going to do it”, some foreign coins, a picture of a catlike silhouette, a button with an elephant on it, a map of Chicago, a blank poster from Lake Mohonk Mountain…show more content…
These individuals each have their own reason for disliking Roosevelt, whether it is because of his political policies, personal events, or simply because he was part of the government. Taft most likely formulated the idea of a conspiracy because Roosevelt split the Republican Party during the election campaign of 1912, a campaign that Taft was supposed to win. Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman are well-known anarchists and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), a socialist union which views violence as an effective way to make change and was founded by Big Bill Haywood in 1905. Mingo Sanders and Benjamin Tillman are men whose personal lives were negatively impacted by Roosevelt. They are also known to be comfortable with violence (Sanders was a soldier and Tillman performed many acts of…show more content…
The note, “Thanks, my friends, I know we’re going to do it” points towards a conspiracy. The large man’s jacket most likely belonged to Big Bill or Taft, the foreign coins could belong to Berkman and Goldman (who were originally from Lithuania), Sanders (who left the country in 1898, during the Spanish-American War where he served in Cuba and the Philippines), or Taft (who visited Rome in 1902). The catlike silhouette is the symbol for the IWW and anarchy, pointing to Berkman, Goldman, and Haywood, and the button with the image of the elephant represents the Republican Party, pointing to Sanders and Taft. The map of Chicago could belong to Goldman (who lived in Chicago), Haywood (who went to Chicago in 1904 to give a speech at the IWW convention), Taft (who went to Chicago for the Republican Convention), and Tillman (who went to Chicago in 1896 for the Democratic National Convention). The blank postcard from Lake Mohonk Mountain could have belonged to Taft who vacationed there and the picture of Roosevelt at the Rough Rider Convention in 1905 could have belonged to Sanders, who became close to the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War, when he shared rations with them. The final piece of evidence, a receipt for a train ticket from Washington D.C., could have belonged to Haywood, Taft, and

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