Roosevelts Move into the White House

[moonjee06]

On September 6, 1901 an assassin's bullet tore into President William McKinley and eventually propelled Vice President Theodore Roosevelt to the presidency. McKinley was cut down while attending the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. TR was vacationing in New York's Adirondack Mountains when the news reached him. After a break neck ride to Albany, Roosevelt was taken by train to Buffalo and was present when McKinley succumbed to his wounds on September 14.

Just shy of his forty-third birthday, Roosevelt was the youngest president to move into the White House. He, his wife and six children brought an energetic enthusiasm and vibrancy previously unknown in the presidential mansion. Along with the family came a virtual menagerie of pets - including dogs, birds and a pony. The Roosevelt's soon completely occupied the place making it their home and stamping it with their own unique imprint. Leaving the White House in 1909, TR remarked: "I don't think any family has enjoyed the White House more than we have."