John Schrank

Life in the United States During his early years in America, Schrank was known as John Flamming, having anglicized his original first name Johann to the English equivalent and taken on the last name of his foster parents, with whom he lived in a tenement in the Kleindeutschland neighborhood in Lower East Side. He learned English at night classes for the next four years, gaining a keen interest in history and American politics through the newspapers and other literature he read for his courses and began writing poetry in both German and English at 15. Schrank worked at his aunt and uncle's tavern starting at the age of twelve, first as a bus boy and later as a bartender. Schrank became a lapsed Catholic, partially because his foster parents did not attend church, writing "I am a Roman Catholic. I love my religion but I hate my church as long as the Roman parish is not independent from Rome, as long as Catholic priests are prevented from getting married, as long as Rome is still more engaged in politics and accumulation of money contrary to the teachings of the Lord."

According to family and friends, Schrank developed a great admiration for American ideals and the Founding Fathers, naming historical figures such as George Washington, James Madison, Tadeusz Kościuszko, and Abraham Lincoln as his personal heroes, and kept tags and documents from his immigration process as mementos. He was described as "mild-mannered, reserved but cheerful, with a wry sense of humor" and well-liked by his neighbors, but also quiet, shy, and withdrawn, and, by his own account, never formed friendships. as they had space for him after Emily's brother Edward moved to Baltimore for work. Schrank and Emily, who was nine years his junior, were close friends, having known each other since childhood; according to some sources, both from the 1920s and contemporary, Schrank had told them that the two were a romantic couple. Emily died at the age of 19 in a fire on the PS General Slocum on June 15, 1904, after which Schrank identified Ziegler's body to pathologist William O'Gorman, though his name was misspelled as "John Schrenck" in news reports, variously calling her his girlfriend or fiancée. Edward Ziegler denied that Schrank was ever engaged and said that his sister was only casually acquainted with Schrank as roommates. Regardless of their relationship, her death greatly affected Schrank, who referred to it as "the greatest tragedy of [his] life" and later said, "I never had a friend in my life, except for one girl who was killed in a steamship accident." Schrank, as the sole grantee in both of their wills, inherited several properties in New York. He sold those properties for US$25,000 and moved to Brooklyn to be closer to the graves of his foster parents in The Evergreens Cemetery, where he became a frequent visitor. Following his uncle's death, Schrank kept no known social contacts and became forlorn and depressed. He was described as a disconnected and awkward man who did not associate with other people. Around that time Schrank began drinking heavily, his daily intake averaging five pints of beer, and also took up smoking cigars, sometimes as many as six in a day. His last known residence in New York City was at Homestead Hotel. In this dream, Schrank said he saw McKinley's body rise from the casket during his funeral to say "Avenge my death!", pointing at a corner where a "form clad in Monkish garb" stood; Schrank recognized the form in the corner as Theodore Roosevelt. He did not find significance in the dream until Roosevelt announced his bid for the presidential candidacy in February 1912. Schrank, who followed the developments of the 1912 presidential elections with great interest through newspapers, was opposed to Roosevelt and believed seeking a third term violated Schrank's interpretation of the Declaration of Independence and George Washington's Farewell Address, in what he termed "The Unwritten Laws". He claimed that Roosevelt was attempting to dismantle the U.S. Constitution to give himself the power to replace the democratic system with a dictatorship and that Roosevelt, as McKinley's vice president, had orchestrated McKinley's murder to secure the president's office for himself. Schrank also believed that Roosevelt was being backed by "foreign powers" with plans to annex the Panama Canal, which he considered a violation of the Monroe Doctrine that would result in another civil war breaking out. Schrank concluded that his 1901 dream was a vision sent by God and that it was his mission to prevent this from happening, even if it meant killing Roosevelt, seeing the Decalogue commandment "thou shalt not kill" as overridden in such a case, as he would be acting as an instrument of God. Following his trial, doctors diagnosed Schrank with paranoid schizophrenia.

Assassination attempt

Preparation and travel After his second hallucination, Schrank purchased a $14 .38 caliber Colt revolver and began stalking Roosevelt. He first followed Roosevelt to New Orleans by steamship. He followed Roosevelt for 24 days, and found that at each place there were complications that prevented him from getting access to Roosevelt. The bartender, Paul Thume, said that Schrank bought each of the musicians in the band a drink. Witnesses at Rollfink's said that Schrank was quiet and pleasant. Right before he left, he bought another round of drinks.

At approximately 8:00pm Schrank crossed the street and blended in with the crowd to wait for Roosevelt to emerge. After the speech Roosevelt was taken to a hospital emergency room in Milwaukee where he had x-rays taken. The Milwaukee Sentinel published a special edition the day after the shooting with the headline "Insane Man Shoots Roosevelt". Schrank insisted after his arrest that he was not insane. He said that God had selected him to receive visions and that he was motivated to prevent Roosevelt from becoming a king. Due to the ongoing first Red Scare, Schrank was first suspected to have anarchist leanings by both the press and police, He denied having any political leanings or affiliation to either the Democratic or Republican parties during interrogation. After he had been in jail for a week, the sheriff ordered Schrank to bathe regularly; there were complaints about his offensive body odor and reports that he did not like to bathe. Because of the smell, the sheriff also ordered Schrank's clothes destroyed. Instead of accepting the plea, the judge decided to appoint a panel which was referred to as a "Sanity Commission" to determine whether Schrank was mentally fit. The panel consisted of Dr. F. C. Studley, Dr. W. F. Becker, Dr. Richard Dewey, Dr. W. F. Wegge, and Dr. D. W. Harrington. Schrank was sent back to the jail and the court made plans to have a second preliminary hearing at 2:00pm. The court assigned James G. Flanders to be Schrank's attorney. At 2:00pm that day the panel of physicians were told that they were to determine whether Schrank was "insane at the present time" or not.

On November 14, 1912, the Sanity Commission began its evaluation of Schrank. They said he was right-handed, tall without shoes and he weighed wearing his clothing. He had blonde hair and his eyes were described as bluish-gray. They noted that his jailer described him as a quiet, fastidious and cheerful man. Here is the end of their report dated November 22, 1912: Our conclusions are as follows: First—John Schrank is suffering from insane delusions, grandiose in character, and of the systematized variety. Second—In our opinion he is insane at the present time. Third—On account of the connection existing between his delusions and the act with which he stands charged, we are of the opinion that he is unable to confer intelligently with counsel or to conduct his defense.

When Schrank appeared before Judge Backus on November 22, 1912, the judge made the following statement: The court now finds that the defendant John Schrank is insane, and therefore incapacitated to act for himself. It is Therefore Ordered and Adjudged, that the defendant John Schrank be committed to the Northern Hospital for the Insane, near Oshkosh, in the county of Winnebago, state of Wisconsin, until such time when he shall have recovered from such insanity, when he shall be returned to this court for further proceedings according to law. And it is Further Ordered, that all proceedings in this case be stayed indefinitely and until such recovery.

On November 25, 1912, Schrank was committed to the Northern Hospital for the Insane in Waupun, Wisconsin. In a December 16, 1912, letter from Theodore Roosevelt to journalist John St. Loe Strachey, Roosevelt wrote that Schrank was not a madman, but had a "disordered brain which most criminals, and a great many non criminals, have".

While incarcerated, Schrank was pleased that Theodore Roosevelt did not win a third term. When US President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term in the 1940 United States presidential election Schrank told a guard that if he were not incarcerated, he would interfere.

Death

Schrank died September 15, 1943, in the Central State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. His body was given to Milwaukee's Marquette University School of Medicine.

Gallery