The former president with a larger-than-life personality—out of office for four years and with a long list of enemies—campaigns for another term and has a close call with a would-be assassin.
The former president, despite visible bleeding, not only survives the attempt on his life, but exhibits a strong show of strength, rallying his supporters. But the inflammatory rhetoric aimed at the candidate was even blamed for inspiring “vicious minds” to engage in political violence.
It was just after 8 p.m. on Oct. 14, 1912, when former President Teddy Roosevelt—seeking a nonconsecutive third term—was exiting the Gilpatrick Hotel to go deliver a speech at the Milwaukee Auditorium. Then, a former saloonkeeper, John Schrank, pulled a Colt .38 revolver just about five feet away and shot Roosevelt in the chest. The bullet was blunted by a folded-up 50-page speech and a…
