McKinley, William (1843-1901), helped shape the modern presidency and set the United States on a path toward world leadership. During his two administrations, the nation emerged from a depression. American soldiers and sailors won the Spanish-American War (1898). The United States took possession of Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and part of American Samoa. Victory at war and control of new lands made the United States a world power, and thus also increased the power of the presidency.
McKinley led the Republican Party during the 1890’s. He supported his party’s belief in protective tariffs, taxes on imports to protect American industries from foreign competition. He and his party also promoted the growth of big business in the United States. McKinley succeeded President Grover Cleveland and twice defeated the well-known statesman William Jennings Bryan for the presidency. An assassin shot and killed McKinley about six months after the start of his second term, and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became president. McKinley was the third president to be assassinated. The first two were Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield.
Following the hard times of the mid-1890’s, McKinley’s two administrations were filled with national optimism and confidence. The motion picture, the automobile, and the telephone were becoming part of everyday life. Businesses were growing, but social problems remained. Blacks faced segregation, violence, and lynchings in the South. Industrial workers labored an average of 59 hours a week. And women had full voting rights in only four states—Colorado, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. There were already stirrings of a spirit of reform that would sweep through the United States after 1901.
History has not been kind to McKinley. Historians and political scientists have often underestimated his achievements as president. They have seen McKinley as a colorless, cautious president compared with more exciting leaders, such as Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. In fact, McKinley’s presidency was a time of great change for the nation, and he did much to shape that change. He strengthened the powers of his office and expanded the nation’s role in world affairs.
Early life
Childhood.
William McKinley was born on Jan. 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio, a rural town with a population of about 300. His parents, William, Sr., and Nancy McKinley, owned an iron foundry. His grandfather James McKinley had moved to Ohio in the early 1800’s to manage an iron foundry in Columbiana County.
Education.
William, the seventh of nine children, attended school in Niles. When William was 9 years old, the family moved to Poland, Ohio, near Youngstown, in search of better schools. The boy entered a private school, the Poland Seminary. McKinley’s father stayed in Niles to run his iron foundry, spending much time away from the family. At the age of 10, McKinley joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. When he was 17, he entered Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. But he soon became ill and dropped out.
Bravery under fire.
When the Civil War began in 1861, McKinley was the first man in the town of Poland to volunteer to fight. He joined the 23rd Ohio Infantry commanded by future U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes. At the Battle of Antietam in 1862, McKinley brought food to his regiment while it was under intense enemy assault. This bravery under fire helped earn him a promotion to second lieutenant. He ended the war with the rank of brevet (honorary) major. Later, during his political career, he was known as Major McKinley.
After the war ended in 1865, McKinley studied law. He worked for a county judge in Youngstown for about 18 months. In 1866, he entered law school in Albany, New York. In 1867, he began practicing law in Canton, Ohio.
Political and public activities
Entry into politics.
McKinley was a gifted public speaker and a naturally popular figure in the community. He began his political career in 1869, when he was elected prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio. McKinley narrowly lost reelection in 1871.
McKinley’s family.
On Jan. 25, 1871, McKinley married Ida Saxton (June 8, 1847-May 26, 1907), whose grandfather had founded the first newspaper in Canton. The McKinleys had two daughters. In 1873, the younger one died when she was 4 months old. That same year, Mrs. McKinley’s mother died. Two years later, the McKinleys’ other daughter, Katherine (1871-1875), died. The grief and shock caused by these deaths left Ida an invalid. Later, she developed epilepsy.
Congressman.
McKinley won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1876. He served seven terms, from 1877 to 1891, except for about nine months in 1884-1885. In 1884, the House ruled that McKinley’s opponent, lawyer Jonathan H. Wallace, had actually received the most votes in the 1882 election. Wallace took McKinley’s seat for the rest of the term, but McKinley returned to Congress in 1885 with a clear victory in the 1884 election.
In Congress during the late 1870’s, McKinley voted for free silver. Free silver was a plan to increase the country’s supply of money by allowing the treasury to mint silver coins in addition to gold coins. See Free silver .
McKinley also gained fame as a strong supporter in Congress of the protective tariff. The protective tariff is a policy, he said, that believes “in American work for American workmen, that believes in American wages for American laborers, that believes in American homes for American citizens.” The McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 raised taxes on imports to a record high and supported trade agreements with Latin-American countries.
Governor.
In 1890, McKinley lost his bid for an eighth term in Congress. This loss came in part because the McKinley Tariff had greatly increased consumer prices and so became unpopular. In addition, the Democrats had gerrymandered (unfairly redrawn the boundaries of) his district. In 1891, however, voters elected McKinley governor of Ohio. McKinley improved the state’s canals, roads, and public institutions. He also established a state board to settle labor disputes.
As McKinley’s national reputation grew, people began to consider him for the presidency. In addition, McKinley had become friends with Cleveland businessman and millionaire Mark Hanna. Legend describes Hanna as leading McKinley to political power and success. But in fact, McKinley used Hanna to meet his own political goals. In 1892, Hanna opened an unofficial McKinley-for-President headquarters at the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota. McKinley received a flurry of support for the nomination. In balloting at the convention, he accumulated 182 votes but lost to President Benjamin Harrison, who got 535 votes.
Crisis and triumph.
In 1893, McKinley faced a personal crisis that almost sidetracked his political career. He had co-signed bank notes totaling more than $100,000 to help a friend start a business manufacturing tin plate. But the business failed, and McKinley was expected to repay the bank loans. McKinley did not have the money. His friends, led by Hanna, raised enough funds to pay the obligation. The public sympathized with McKinley and reelected him governor in 1893.
As the 1896 presidential election approached, people again supported McKinley for president. His popularity within the party and an absence of strong rivals led to his nomination at the Republican National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri. The Republicans chose Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey to run as vice president.
The Democrats nominated the great orator William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska as McKinley’s opponent. Bryan chose Arthur Sewall, a wealthy Maine shipbuilder, as his running mate.
The front-porch campaign.
McKinley stayed in Canton during the campaign and spoke to visiting delegations from his front porch. More than 750,000 people visited Canton to hear him speak. Newspapers nationwide reprinted his speeches. As McKinley’s campaign manager, Hanna helped raise some $31/2 million in campaign funds from banks and other businesses.
McKinley had wanted to stress the protective tariff as the campaign theme. But Bryan electrified the Democratic National Convention with his “cross of gold” speech in favor of free silver. Bryan’s appeal for an unlimited number of silver coins made currency the main issue. McKinley no longer supported free silver as he did in Congress. Instead, he called for the United States to maintain the gold standard, a system in which the dollar was defined as worth a certain quantity of gold. He also proposed higher tariffs. McKinley told voters that free silver would increase consumer prices, but that high tariffs would promote national prosperity. In the November election, McKinley won with more than 7 million of the nearly 14 million votes.
McKinley’s first administration (1897-1901)
McKinley took office on March 4, 1897. His first priority was to increase the protective tariff. He called Congress into special session, and the Dingley Tariff of 1897 was passed. This act raised taxes on imports to record highs. Three years later, Congress passed the Gold Standard Act of 1900. This act made only gold—not silver—exchangeable for money in the United States.
McKinley developed new policies toward the press that laid the basis for modern techniques of informing the public about the president. McKinley’s secretary, George B. Cortelyou, adopted new procedures for distributing press releases and conducting presidential travel. Also, McKinley made himself accessible to the press corps and provided space in the White House where reporters could work.
The Spanish-American War (1898).
In 1895, Cubans began a rebellion against Spain, which had ruled Cuba for almost 400 years. After McKinley took office in 1897, he pressed Spain to negotiate with the rebels. The new president had wanted to remain neutral in the affair. However, McKinley said that the United States would go to war if necessary to protect U.S. interests.
On Feb. 15, 1898, the battleship U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana harbor in Cuba. Today, historians generally believe the explosion was an accident. But at the time, the public blamed Spain. Many politicians, newspaper publishers, and those in favor of expanding U.S. territorial control urged McKinley to help Cuba. McKinley hoped the Spaniards would peacefully leave the island. But no Spanish politician could accept the loss of Cuba and remain in power.
Greatly pressured by public opinion, McKinley asked Congress for authority to take action. On April 25, the United States declared war on Spain. U.S. Army and Navy troops overpowered Spanish forces. Key battles took place in the Philippines and off the coast of Cuba. In July, the Spanish forces in Cuba surrendered. In August, an armistice ended the fighting. On December 10, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris. Under this agreement, Spain surrendered Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. It also gave the United States the Philippines for $20 million. See Spanish-American War .
America becomes a world power.
The war with Spain lasted only 113 days, but it had far-reaching effects. As a result of the conflict, the United States took over most of Spain’s overseas territories, leaving it with only a few outposts in northern Africa. Also in 1898, the United States took possession of what had been the Republic of Hawaii. In 1899, the United States signed a treaty with Germany and the United Kingdom, gaining what is now part of American Samoa. Because of its new possessions in the Pacific Ocean, the United States became more involved in Asian politics.
In February 1899, a Filipino patriot named Emilio Aguinaldo led a revolt against American control of the Philippines. The rebels waged guerrilla warfare, which involved small-scale hit-and-run attacks, for over three years. To defeat the guerrillas, U.S. soldiers used cruel tactics, including the killing of civilians. As a result, many Americans turned against U.S. imperialism (controlling territories for political or economic gain).
The United States also used military force in China. In 1899, McKinley’s secretary of state, John M. Hay, issued what became known as the Open-Door Policy. This policy sought to give all nations equal access to the profitable trade in China. Since the 1890’s, a secret Chinese society known as the Boxers had opposed Western and Japanese influence in China. In 1900, the Boxers began an uprising called the Boxer Rebellion to drive out the foreigners. McKinley sent 5,000 U.S. troops to help Germany, Japan, Russia, and other nations crush the rebellion and rescue Europeans and Americans held in Beijing. By thus using his authority as commander in chief, McKinley helped strengthen the presidency. See Boxer Rebellion ; Open-Door Policy .
Life in the White House
remained simple during McKinley’s two administrations. Because of her illness, Mrs. McKinley was not socially active. Her relatives and the president’s nieces often served as official hostesses. The president reserved a room to greet his many visitors. Mrs. McKinley usually sat beside the president as he stood in a receiving line.
“President of the whole people.”
In 1900, the Republicans again nominated McKinley for president. They selected Theodore Roosevelt, a hero of the Spanish-American War and governor of New York, to run for vice president. Bryan again became the Democratic candidate. His running mate, Adlai E. Stevenson, had been vice president under Grover Cleveland from 1893 to 1897.
During the presidential campaign, Bryan attacked McKinley on the issues of imperialism, free silver, and the growth of big business and illegal monopolies called trusts. But the major campaign issue became prosperity. McKinley said, “We have prosperity at home and prestige abroad.” McKinley and Roosevelt won a sweeping victory. Afterward, McKinley said: “I can no longer be called the president of a party; I am now the president of the whole people.”
McKinley’s second administration (1901)
During McKinley’s short second term, the United States extended the policies that McKinley had already established. In March 1901, the country enacted the Platt Amendment, which later became part of Cuba’s Constitution. This amendment gave the United States the right to intervene if Cuba’s affairs became unsettled. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court of the United States decided the Insular Cases, which found that the United States could control territories without granting their people citizenship. In July, McKinley set up a civilian government in the Philippines.
Revised policies.
By 1901, McKinley no longer fully supported the growth of big business. He told aides that government would have to address the problem of industrial consolidation, in which companies in the same industry combined to form a single company. Business owners in the United States had formed huge trusts and other monopolies that hurt competition and kept prices high for consumers.
Also by 1901, McKinley had modified his views on tariffs. He no longer supported protective tariffs to help businesses. Instead, he favored freer commerce through reciprocal trade agreements, arrangements with other countries to reduce tariffs on each other’s exports. McKinley introduced this policy at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, on Sept. 5, 1901. He said, “By sensible trade relations which will not interrupt our home production, we shall extend the outlets for our increasing surplus” of products. He concluded, “The period of exclusiveness is past.”
Assassination.
On September 6, the day after McKinley’s trade speech, the president held a reception in the exhibition’s Temple of Music. Among the crowd of people attending was Leon F. Czolgosz, an anarchist (person who opposes regulations and government). A handkerchief covered a revolver that Czolgosz carried in his right hand. When McKinley approached him to shake hands, Czolgosz fired two bullets at the president. One bullet ricocheted off McKinley’s button, but the other pierced the president’s stomach. McKinley was rushed to a hospital for surgery. He lived for eight days before gangrene and infection overwhelmed him. McKinley died the morning of Sept. 14, 1901, just over six months after beginning his second term as president. Czolgosz was later convicted of murder and electrocuted.
Loading the player...Funeral of William McKinley
Roosevelt rushed from a vacation in the Adirondack Mountains when he learned McKinley was near death. But by the time Roosevelt reached Buffalo on September 14, McKinley had died. Roosevelt took the oath of office that same day and became president. Mrs. McKinley died in 1907 in Canton. She and her husband are buried there at the McKinley National Memorial.
