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I learned his name, but it wasn't important enough for me to remember to be honest. It seems that he was certainly severely mentally ill as well. What I remember more (and what I learned about in school) was that Abraham Lincoln's son was present - that thought has always stuck with me.
McKinley was assassinated by a 2nd generation Polish-American named Leon with a last name that I could never hope to spell without looking it up. More importantly, he was inspired by the assassination of King Umberto I of Italy (woe is me, most college graduates probably don't know about that!) and was hoping to elevate the anarchist movement in the US after being upset by the incredibly poor treatment of workers, largely poor immigrants, around the turn of the century. He was put to death in an electric chair about 2 months later.
I looked it up, and I'd have to do so again to get the spelling down. Thomas Edison is said to have filmed the electrocution. That's a fascinating tidbit.
...and as far as McKinley is concerned, I don't remember his name, but I remember he shot McKinley a few times, and the man was insane, claimed he was Jesus or something?
I'm enjoying the fact that this thread is gradually morphing from a rant into a history thread. So much stuff is thrown at high school students that they struggle to connect from a lack of life experience. Middle age is a time when things seem to come together for those who are interested enough to keep learning. I'm thinking it might be time for me to pick up a biography of McKinley.
I'm enjoying the fact that this thread is gradually morphing from a rant into a history thread. So much stuff is thrown at high school students that they struggle to connect from a lack of life experience. Middle age is a time when things seem to come together for those who are interested enough to keep learning. I'm thinking it might be time for me to pick up a biography of McKinley.
first off, no one is throwing anything at high school students, I was referring to college students, and how little they know, b/c of our inept teaching skills today, and that isn't any reflection on teachers, b/c I know they must follow school policy.
And yes, our college students come out of college and don't know much about American History...
I was 21 working in West Virginia and my boss said he liked Ronald but did not vote for him saying he could not understand why people do the things that they do...we listened to the radio all day to see if Ronald would pull thru or if he went like JFK.Poor James Brady R.I.P.
I'm enjoying the fact that this thread is gradually morphing from a rant into a history thread. So much stuff is thrown at high school students that they struggle to connect from a lack of life experience. Middle age is a time when things seem to come together for those who are interested enough to keep learning. I'm thinking it might be time for me to pick up a biography of McKinley.
I'm far from middle age. Even in high school, I read about history for fun and my knowledge of history informs my political understanding today.
But trivia is just that - trivia. Knowing Hinckley's name might win me some money off a drink tab during bar trivia, but it's not actually important, nor does it indicate any level of education or understanding.
Unless one is a history major in college, it's not a significant part of a student's course of study. Universities may require a history class or two as part of Gen Ed requirements, but otherwise, that's about it. I took two classes prior to entering my degree-specific coursework: European history and state history. Of them, I found the state history course more enjoyable, and I definitely retained more information from it. I still have the textbooks and refer to them frequently in my family history research. Nothing will firm up your knowledge of history more than studying your family's genealogy.
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Thomas Edison is said to have filmed the electrocution. That's a fascinating tidbit.
