The event was organized by the Pan-American
Exposition Company, formed in 1897. Buffalo, New York, was chosen as the place to hold the Exposition. The
city was within a day's journey by rail for over 40 million people. The
"Pan American" theme was carried throughout the event with the slogan
"commercial well being and good understanding among the American
Republics."
The advent of the alternating current power transmission system in the US allowed designers to light the exposition in Buffalo using power generated 25 miles away at Niagara Falls. The newly-developed X-ray machine was displayed at the fair. Lina Beecher, creator of the Flip Flap Railway, attempted to demonstrate one of his looping roller coasters at the fair, but the organizers of the event considered the ride to be too dangerous and refused to allow it on the grounds.
The exposition is most remembered because President William McKinley was shot by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, at the Temple of Music on September 6, 1901. The President
died 8 days later. President McKinley's speech at the exposition on the previous
day included the following words:
"Expositions are the timekeepers of progress. They record the
world's advancements. They stimulate the energy, enterprise, and intellect of
the people, and quicken human genius. They go into the home. They broaden and
brighten the daily life of the people. They open mighty storehouses of
information to the student...."
These three
souvenir buttons from the exposition are displayed side-by-side, possibly for
the first time in over 100 years. The
first one has the words, “Official Button,” printed along the upper edge.
The picture
of the bison obviously represents the city of buffalo. The symbolism of the
dust pan and brooms is a little more obscure.
The middle badge alludes to “IN-DUST-RY,” while the button on the right
proclaims, “NO DUST FOR US,” and “CLEAN SWEEP.”
Other souvenirs of the exposition were made in the shape of frying pans. One theory is that the pans somehow relate
to the “pan” in “Pan American.”
