History in 5 Minutes or less

A Campaign Like No Other

In the fall of 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was no stranger to political battles. Having previously served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909, he returned to the political arena, dissatisfied with his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft. Roosevelt broke away from the Republican Party and launched a third-party bid under the newly formed Progressive Party, popularly known as the “Bull Moose Party.”

The campaign was anything but quiet. Roosevelt’s whirlwind tour across the nation drew massive crowds as he preached reforms, trust-busting, and social justice. Yet, even for a man as battle-tested as Roosevelt, nothing could have fully prepared him for what awaited in Milwaukee.

The Assassination Attempt

On October 14, 1912, Roosevelt arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for a campaign event. As he exited the Hotel Gilpatrick and approached his open-air automobile, the crowd buzzed with excitement. Without warning, a figure emerged from the throng: John Flammang Schrank, an unemployed saloonkeeper from New York.

Schrank raised a .38-caliber Colt revolver and fired. The bullet struck Roosevelt squarely in the chest. Gasps erupted. A scuffle followed as Schrank was tackled by bystanders and Roosevelt’s aides.

But incredibly, Roosevelt did not fall.

The Steel Case, the Manuscript, and the Moose

Roosevelt, always prepared, had a steel eyeglass case and a folded 50-page manuscript of his speech in his breast pocket. The bullet passed through both and lodged in his chest muscle. The items had absorbed enough of the force to prevent a fatal shot.

Amid the chaos, Roosevelt assessed himself with cool precision. Noticing there was no blood coming from his mouth—a sign his lung hadn’t been punctured—he waved away aides urging him to go to the hospital.

“I will deliver this speech or die,” he insisted.

The Speech That Shocked the Nation

At the Milwaukee Auditorium, Roosevelt stepped onto the stage, his coat unbuttoned, revealing a bloodstained shirt. The audience gasped. He raised a hand to quiet them and began:

“Friends, I shall ask you to be as quiet as possible. I don’t know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot—but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.”

He then pulled out the bullet-pierced manuscript and the shattered eyeglass case, holding them up as proof.

For 90 minutes, Roosevelt delivered his speech. His voice trembled at times, but not with fear—only the strain of speaking through pain. He spoke of political duty, reform, and the American spirit, even inserting a dry joke:

“The bullet is in me now, so that I cannot make a very long speech, but I will do my best.”

The crowd listened in stunned silence. It was the most dramatic campaign speech in American history.

The Aftermath

After finishing, Roosevelt finally agreed to be taken to Johnston Emergency Hospital. Doctors confirmed what he had suspected: the bullet had lodged in his chest muscle but missed his lung. Due to the risks of surgery, it was decided to leave the bullet in place—Roosevelt would carry it for the rest of his life.

John Schrank was taken into custody. During interrogation, he claimed to have acted on divine instruction, saying the ghost of President McKinley had told him to avenge his assassination by stopping Roosevelt’s third-term campaign. He was later declared legally insane and committed to the Central State Mental Hospital in Waupun, Wisconsin, where he remained until his death in 1943.

A Legacy of Grit

Roosevelt’s stunning act of bravery dominated headlines. It didn’t win him the presidency—Woodrow Wilson ultimately prevailed in the 1912 election—but it elevated Roosevelt to near-mythic status. He became the embodiment of courage and defiance, a living symbol of rugged American individualism.

That day in Milwaukee wasn’t just about surviving an assassination attempt—it was about refusing to be silenced. In Roosevelt’s own words, spoken with a bullet in his chest:

“The Progressive cause is greater than any individual.”

Sources:
History.com – The day Teddy Roosevelt was shot

History.com – Shot in the chest, he kept on talking

UCSB American Presidency Project – Milwaukee Speech Transcript

Smithsonian Magazine – The Speech That Saved Teddy Roosevelt’s Life

Wisconsin Historical Society – Attempt on Roosevelt’s Life

TrLibrary – The Bullet and the Speech