Born in 1873, the fourth child of Polish immigrants, Leon Czolgosz became interested in socialism while working in a Cleveland wire mill. As he became more and more resentful of social injustice, he grew to hate the American system of government and to believe that all rulers were the enemies of the people. He became strongly attracted to the doctrines of anarchism, which hold that the perfection of humanity will not be attained until all government is abolished and each individual is left absolutely free. Czolgosz adopted the minority position within the anarchist movement: that violence and terrorism are acceptable means of bringing about this freedom.

Testimony at his trial and subsequent research have suggested that Czolgosz suffered from severe clinical depression. He quit his job in 1898, returned to his family's farm, and took to his bed for weeks at a time, becoming increasingly withdrawn...