First International Conference of American States And so, as Secretary of State, Blaine sent invitations to all the nations of the Hemisphere to come to Washington in November 1881 with the principal goal of considering and discussing methods to prevent war between the nations of the Hemisphere. But destiny intervened: President Garfield was assassinated on 19 September 1881 and the new President Chester A. Arthur, who was no friend of Blaine's, quickly removed him from the State Department. Shortly afterward, the Conference invitations were withdrawn on the grounds that the unsettled situation at home and abroad would make such an event impossible. Now a private citizen,
Presidents of the United States on U.S. postage stamps Jennings Bryan for the Presidency (1897–1901). McKinley was assassinated early in his second term while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901. Theodore Roosevelt (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919) was the 26th President of the United States. He served as president from September 14, 1901 – March 4, 1909. In 1901, President William McKinley was assassinated, and Roosevelt became president at the age of 42, taking office at the youngest age of any US President in history at that time. Roosevelt was a hero of the Spanish–American War and the Battle of San Juan Hill for which