<P> President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by an anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo on September 6, 1901 . McKinley died in the city eight days later and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in at the Wilcox Mansion . The Great Depression of 1929--39 saw severe unemployment, especially among working - class men . The New Deal relief programs operated full force . The city became a stronghold of labor unions and the Democratic Party . </P> <P> During World War II, Buffalo saw the return of prosperity and full employment due to its position as a manufacturing center . As one of the most populous cities of the 1950s, Buffalo's economy revolved almost entirely on its manufacturing base . Major companies such as Republic Steel and Lackawanna Steel employed tens of thousands of Buffalonians . Integrated national shipping routes would use the Soo Locks near Lake Superior and a vast network of railroads and yards that crossed the city . </P> <P> Lobbying by local businesses and interest groups against the St. Lawrence Seaway began in the 1920s, long before its construction in 1957, which cut the city off from valuable trade routes . Its approval was reinforced by legislation shortly before its construction . Shipbuilding in Buffalo, such as that of the American Ship Building Company, shut down in 1962, ending an industry that had been a sector of the city's economy since 1812, and a direct result of reduced waterfront activity . With deindustrialization, and the nationwide trend of suburbanization; the city's economy began to deteriorate . Like much of the Rust Belt, Buffalo, home to more than half a million people in the 1950s, has seen its population decline as heavy industries shut down and people left for the suburbs or other cities . </P> <P> Like other Rust Belt cities such as Pittsburgh and Cleveland, Buffalo has attempted to revitalize its beleaguered economy and crumbling infrastructure . The trend of back offices opening in the area began in the 1980s . </P>

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