Encyclopedia, Difference between revisions of "William McKinley" - New World
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| nationality=american | | nationality=american | ||
| image name=mckinley.jpg | | image name=mckinley.jpg | ||
− | | order=25th | + | | order=25th President of the United States |
| date1=March 4, 1897 | | date1=March 4, 1897 | ||
| date2=September 14, 1901 | | date2=September 14, 1901 | ||
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| place of death=Buffalo, New York | | place of death=Buffalo, New York | ||
| wife=Ida Saxton McKinley | | wife=Ida Saxton McKinley | ||
− | | party= | + | | party=Republican |
| vicepresident=Garret A. Hobart (1897-1899),<br>''none'' (1899-1901),<br>[[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1901) | | vicepresident=Garret A. Hobart (1897-1899),<br>''none'' (1899-1901),<br>[[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1901) | ||
| religion=Methodist | | religion=Methodist | ||
| signature=William McKinley signature.gif | | signature=William McKinley signature.gif | ||
|}} | |}} | ||
− | '''William McKinley''' (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th [[President of the United States]]. He was the third [[United States]] president to be assassinated and the fifth to die in office. He was killed while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, [[New York]]. He supported the [[Spanish-American War]], the purpose of which was to gain control of [[Cuba]]. After the war the United States annexed the [[Philippines]] and [[Puerto Rico]], as well as [[Hawaii]]. McKinley supported high tariffs as a formula for prosperity, and he helped rebuild the | + | '''William McKinley''' (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th [[President of the United States]]. He was the third [[United States]] president to be assassinated and the fifth to die in office. He was killed while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, [[New York]]. He supported the [[Spanish-American War]], the purpose of which was to gain control of [[Cuba]]. After the war the United States annexed the [[Philippines]] and [[Puerto Rico]], as well as [[Hawaii]]. McKinley supported high tariffs as a formula for prosperity, and he helped rebuild the Republican party in 1896 by introducing new campaign techniques. He presided over a return to prosperity after the Panic of 1893 and subsequent depression. He was succeeded by his Vice President, [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. |
==Early Life== | ==Early Life== | ||
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In June of 1861, McKinley enlisted as a private in the 23d Ohio Volunteers Union Army. McKinley served at the battles Antietam and in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, leaving the army with the brevet rank of major, a title that he retained throughout his political career. One of his commanders was Rutherford Hayes, who rated McKinley's soldiering highly. | In June of 1861, McKinley enlisted as a private in the 23d Ohio Volunteers Union Army. McKinley served at the battles Antietam and in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, leaving the army with the brevet rank of major, a title that he retained throughout his political career. One of his commanders was Rutherford Hayes, who rated McKinley's soldiering highly. | ||
− | Following the war, McKinley attended Albany Law School in Albany, [[New York]] and was admitted to the | + | Following the war, McKinley attended Albany Law School in Albany, [[New York]] and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He settled in Canton, Ohio to practice law and participate in politics. He became the prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio, from 1869 to 1871. He was moderately successful as a lawyer, but became one of Canton’s most popular citizens. He worked successfully on the campaign of [[Rutherford B. Hayes]], his former commanding officer. In 1869, Republican McKinley was elected the prosecuting attorney by the largely Democratic Stark County. During this time, he met his future wife, Ida Saxton, daughter of a wealthy Canton businessman and banker. |
=== Political Career === | === Political Career === | ||
McKinley ran for Congress as a Republican in 1876 and for the next 14 years, with one short interruption, sat in the House of Representatives. As a legislator he was identified with protective tariffs. McKinley believed that high tariffs benefited all segments of society. After losing the election for Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1889, he became chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and architect of the McKinley Tariff of 1890. | McKinley ran for Congress as a Republican in 1876 and for the next 14 years, with one short interruption, sat in the House of Representatives. As a legislator he was identified with protective tariffs. McKinley believed that high tariffs benefited all segments of society. After losing the election for Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1889, he became chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and architect of the McKinley Tariff of 1890. | ||
− | McKinley lost his House seat in the | + | McKinley lost his House seat in the Democratic sweep of 1890. He was elected governor of [[Ohio]] in 1891 and served two terms. He left office as a front-runner for the 1896 Republican presidential nomination. With Mark Hanna, a Cleveland business executive and close friend, to mobilize support on his behalf, McKinley achieved an easy first-ballot victory. When the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan on a free silver platform, the McKinley forces pressed for maintenance of the less inflationary [[gold]] standard, endorsed high protective tariffs, and stressed social harmony amid the economic unrest of the 1890s. Seldom traveling, McKinley waged a "front porch" campaign from his home in Canton. Hanna urged large business companies to rally in support of McKinley and they contributed an unprecedented sum of $3.5 million to the Republican campaign. The country was flooded with McKinley pamphlets and posters and factory managers warned their workers that a victory for Bryan would mean a return to an economic depression and loss of their jobs. Sweeping all the large industrial states, McKinley won the election by 271 electoral votes to Bryan’s 176. |
==Presidency 1897-1901== | ==Presidency 1897-1901== | ||
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!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"| | !bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"| | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | |align="left"| | + | |align="left"|President||align="left" |'''William McKinley'''||align="left"|1897–1901 |
|- | |- | ||
|align="left"|Vice President||align="left"|'''Garret A. Hobart'''||align="left"|1897–1899 | |align="left"|Vice President||align="left"|'''Garret A. Hobart'''||align="left"|1897–1899 | ||
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McKinley was shot twice by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at 4:07 p.m. on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. | McKinley was shot twice by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at 4:07 p.m. on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. | ||
− | The newly-developed [[X-ray machine]] was displayed at the fair, but no one thought to use it on McKinley to search for the bullets, which might have saved his life. One of the bullets was never found. Further irony is that the operating room at the exposition's emergency | + | The newly-developed [[X-ray machine]] was displayed at the fair, but no one thought to use it on McKinley to search for the bullets, which might have saved his life. One of the bullets was never found. Further irony is that the operating room at the exposition's emergency hospital did not have any electric lighting, even though the exteriors of many of the buildings at the extravagant exposition were covered with thousands of light bulbs. Doctors used a metal pan to reflect sunlight onto the operating table where McKinley's wounds were treated. |
McKinley's doctors believed he would recover, and the President convalesced for more than a week at the home of the exposition's director. But McKinley eventually went into septic shock and died from his wounds at 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, in Buffalo. He was buried in his hometown, Canton, Ohio. | McKinley's doctors believed he would recover, and the President convalesced for more than a week at the home of the exposition's director. But McKinley eventually went into septic shock and died from his wounds at 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, in Buffalo. He was buried in his hometown, Canton, Ohio. |
Revision as of 14:07, 11 August 2006
Term of office | March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901 |
Preceded by | Grover Cleveland |
Succeeded by | Theodore Roosevelt |
Date of birth | January 29, 1843 |
Place of birth | Niles, Ohio |
Date of death | September 14, 1901 |
Place of death | Buffalo, New York |
Spouse | Ida Saxton McKinley |
Political party | Republican |
William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States. He was the third United States president to be assassinated and the fifth to die in office. He was killed while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He supported the Spanish-American War, the purpose of which was to gain control of Cuba. After the war the United States annexed the Philippines and Puerto Rico, as well as Hawaii. McKinley supported high tariffs as a formula for prosperity, and he helped rebuild the Republican party in 1896 by introducing new campaign techniques. He presided over a return to prosperity after the Panic of 1893 and subsequent depression. He was succeeded by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt.
Early Life
McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio. When he was ten years old his family moved to Poland, Ohio a few miles away. McKinley attended public schools in Poland and in 1852 he enrolled in Poland Seminary, a private school, and he studied there for eight years. He showed great skills in oratory from an early age and became president of the Everett Literary and Debating Society. His mother held a great influence over young McKinley and he was greatly attached to her. She had hopes that he would enter the Methodist ministry and he accepted without question her strict moral standards. At the age of 17, McKinley enrolled in Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, but dropped out shortly afterward due to illness.
In June of 1861, McKinley enlisted as a private in the 23d Ohio Volunteers Union Army. McKinley served at the battles Antietam and in the Shenandoah Valley campaign, leaving the army with the brevet rank of major, a title that he retained throughout his political career. One of his commanders was Rutherford Hayes, who rated McKinley's soldiering highly.
Following the war, McKinley attended Albany Law School in Albany, New York and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He settled in Canton, Ohio to practice law and participate in politics. He became the prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio, from 1869 to 1871. He was moderately successful as a lawyer, but became one of Canton’s most popular citizens. He worked successfully on the campaign of Rutherford B. Hayes, his former commanding officer. In 1869, Republican McKinley was elected the prosecuting attorney by the largely Democratic Stark County. During this time, he met his future wife, Ida Saxton, daughter of a wealthy Canton businessman and banker.
Political Career
McKinley ran for Congress as a Republican in 1876 and for the next 14 years, with one short interruption, sat in the House of Representatives. As a legislator he was identified with protective tariffs. McKinley believed that high tariffs benefited all segments of society. After losing the election for Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1889, he became chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and architect of the McKinley Tariff of 1890.
McKinley lost his House seat in the Democratic sweep of 1890. He was elected governor of Ohio in 1891 and served two terms. He left office as a front-runner for the 1896 Republican presidential nomination. With Mark Hanna, a Cleveland business executive and close friend, to mobilize support on his behalf, McKinley achieved an easy first-ballot victory. When the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan on a free silver platform, the McKinley forces pressed for maintenance of the less inflationary gold standard, endorsed high protective tariffs, and stressed social harmony amid the economic unrest of the 1890s. Seldom traveling, McKinley waged a "front porch" campaign from his home in Canton. Hanna urged large business companies to rally in support of McKinley and they contributed an unprecedented sum of $3.5 million to the Republican campaign. The country was flooded with McKinley pamphlets and posters and factory managers warned their workers that a victory for Bryan would mean a return to an economic depression and loss of their jobs. Sweeping all the large industrial states, McKinley won the election by 271 electoral votes to Bryan’s 176.
Presidency 1897-1901
Policy
William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in the United States Presidential election of 1896, in what is considered the forerunner of modern political campaigning. Republican strategist Mark Hanna raised an unprecedented sum for the campaign and made extensive use of the media in managing the McKinley victory. McKinley promised that he would promote industry and banking and guarantee prosperity for every group in a pluralistic nation.
Mckinley's presidency dealt mainly with foreign policy starting with the Spanish-American War. By the late nineteenth century Spain was left with only a few scattered possessions in the Pacific Ocean, Africa, and the West Indies. Much of the empire had gained its independence and a number of the areas still under Spanish control were clamoring to do so. Guerrilla forces were operating in the Philippine Islands, and had been present in Cuba since before the 1868-1878 Ten Years' War decades. The Spanish government did not have the financial resources or the personnel to deal with these revolts and resorted to forcibly emptying the countryside and the filling of the cities with concentration camps in Cuba to separate the rebels from their rural base of support. President McKinley urged Spain to withdraw from the island but his urgings were met with refusal. Spain could not back down without creating a crisis at home. Civil War loomed within Spain and surrender of Cuba and yielding to American demands would have been politically disastrous.
The war began primarily due to the destruction by an explosion of the USS Maine on Feb. 15, 1898, in Havana harbor. The USS Maine was a second-class pre-dreadnought battleship and was sometimes referred to as an armored cruiser. The exact cause of the explosion is still debated, but is thought by most to have been machinery failure. At the time it was thought to be a mine.
Spanish intransigence also was a leading cause for war. Fueled by the reports of inhumanity of the Spanish, a majority of Americans became convinced that an intervention was becoming necessary. Thus, on April 11, McKinley went before Congress to ask for authority to send American troops to Cuba for the purpose of ending the civil war there. On April 19, Congress passed joint resolutions proclaiming Cuba "free and independent" and disclaiming any intentions in Cuba, demanded Spanish withdrawal, and authorized the President to use as much military force as he thought necessary to help Cuban patriots gain freedom from Spain. In response, Spain broke off diplomatic relations with the United States. On April 25, Congress declared that a state of war between the United States and Spain had existed since April 21st. Congress later passed a resolution backdating the declaration of war to April 20th.
Hostilities were halted on August 12. The formal peace treaty, the Treaty of Paris, was signed in Paris on December 10, 1898 and was ratified by the United States Senate on February 6, 1899. It came into force on April 11, 1899. Cubans participated only as observers.
The United States gained almost all of Spain's colonies, including the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Cuba was granted independence.
In 1900, McKinley again campaigned against Bryan. Although McKinley did not personally campaign, he received the largest popular majority ever given a presidential candidate up to that time. He led in electoral votes 292 to 155.
Significant events during presidency
- Dingley Tariff (1897)
- Maximum Freight Case (1897)
- Annexation of Hawaii (1898)
- Spanish-American War (1898)
- Philippine-American War (1899-1913)
- Boxer Rebellion (1900)
- Gold Standard Act (1900)
Administration and Cabinet
OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
President | William McKinley | 1897–1901 |
Vice President | Garret A. Hobart | 1897–1899 |
Theodore Roosevelt | 1901 | |
Secretary of State | John Sherman | 1897–1898 |
William R. Day | 1898 | |
John Hay | 1898–1901 | |
Secretary of the Treasury | Lyman J. Gage | 1897–1901 |
Secretary of War | Russell A. Alger | 1897–1899 |
Elihu Root | 1899–1901 | |
Attorney General | Joseph McKenna | 1897–1898 |
John W. Griggs | 1898–1901 | |
Philander C. Knox | 1901 | |
Postmaster General | James A. Gary | 1897–1898 |
Charles E. Smith | 1898–1901 | |
Secretary of the Navy | John D. Long | 1897–1901 |
Secretary of the Interior | Cornelius N. Bliss | 1897–1899 |
Ethan A. Hitchcock | 1899–1901 | |
Secretary of Agriculture | James Wilson | 1897–1901 |
Supreme Court appointments
McKinley appointed only one justice to the Supreme Court of the United States, Joseph McKenna in 1898.
States admitted to the union
None
Assassination
McKinley was shot twice by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at 4:07 p.m. on September 6, 1901, at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
The newly-developed X-ray machine was displayed at the fair, but no one thought to use it on McKinley to search for the bullets, which might have saved his life. One of the bullets was never found. Further irony is that the operating room at the exposition's emergency hospital did not have any electric lighting, even though the exteriors of many of the buildings at the extravagant exposition were covered with thousands of light bulbs. Doctors used a metal pan to reflect sunlight onto the operating table where McKinley's wounds were treated.
McKinley's doctors believed he would recover, and the President convalesced for more than a week at the home of the exposition's director. But McKinley eventually went into septic shock and died from his wounds at 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, in Buffalo. He was buried in his hometown, Canton, Ohio.
Monuments and memorials
- The statue of McKinley in Muskegon, Michigan, is believed to be the first raised in his honor in the country, put in place on May 23, 1902. [1] It was sculpted by Charles Henry Niehaus.
- McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, Canton, Ohio
- McKinley Memorial Mausoleum, Canton, Ohio, his final resting place
- McKinley Memorial, Niles, Ohio, commemorates McKinley's birthplace
- McKinley Monument, Buffalo, New York
- McKinley Statue, Adams, Massachusetts
- McKinley County, New Mexico is named in his honor.
- Mount McKinley, Alaska is named after him.
- McKinley Statue, Arcata, California
- McKinleyville, California
- McKinley Statue, Walden, New York
- McKinley Monument, Antietam Battlefield, Maryland
- McKinley Statue, Lucas County Courthouse Toledo, Ohio
- McKinley Monument, Columbus, Ohio on the grounds of the Statehouse McKinley worked in as Ohio's Governor.
Trivia
- McKinley was supposedly the inspiration for the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz.
- McKinley's portrait appeared on the U.S. $500 bill from 1928 to 1946.
- McKinley had a pet parrot named "Washington Post".
- At his inauguration, the only item of jewelry McKinley wore was his Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity badge.
- McKinley was the first President to use the telephone for campaign purposes.
- McKinley and Harry S. Truman are the only 20th century U.S. Presidents who never completed a college degree.
Disputed quotation
In 1903 after McKinley died an elderly supporter named James F. Rusling recalled that in 1899 McKinley had said to a religious delegation:
"The truth is I didn't want the Philippines, and when they came to us as a gift from the gods, I did not know what to do with them.... I sought counsel from all sides - Democrats as well as Republicans - but got little help. I thought first we would take only Manila; then Luzon; then other islands, perhaps, also. I walked the floor of the White House night after night until midnight; and I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night." "And one night late it came to me this way - I don't know how it was, but it came: (1) That we could not give them back to Spain - that would be cowardly and dishonorable; (2) that we could not turn them over to France or Germany - our commercial rivals in the Orient - that would be bad business and discreditable; (3) that we could not leave them to themselves - they were unfit for self-government - and they would soon have anarchy and misrule over there worse than Spain's was; and (4) that there was nothing left for us to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed and went to sleep and slept soundly."
The question is whether McKinley said any such thing as is italicized in point #4, especially regarding "Christianize" the natives, or whether Rusling added it. McKinley was a religious person but never said God told him to do anything. McKinley never used the term Christianize (and indeed it was rare in 1898). McKinley operated a highly effective publicity bureau in the White House and he gave hundreds of interviews to reporters, and hundreds of public speeches to promote his Philippines policy. Yet no authentic speech or newspaper report contains anything like the purported words or sentiment. The man who remembered it—a Civil War veteran—had written a book on the war that was full of exaggeration. The supposed highly specific quote from memory years after the event is unlikely enough—especially when the quote uses words like "Christianize" that were never used by McKinley. The conclusion of historians such as Lewis Gould is that it is remotely possible but highly unlikely McKinley said the last part.
For a discussion of this question, see Gould 1980, pp. 140-142.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Faulkner, Harold U. Politics, Reform, and Expansion, 1890-1900 New York: Harper, 1959, general history of decade
- Glad, Paul W. McKinley, Bryan, and the People Chicago : I.R. Dee, Publisher, 1991 ISBN 0929587499 brief history of 1896 election
- Gould, Lewis L. The Presidency of William McKinley Lawrence : Regents Press of Kansas, c1980 ISBN 0700602062 standard history of his term
- Jensen, Richard The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896 Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1971 ISBN 0226398250, analysis of McKinley's campaigns in Ohio and 1896
- Jones, Stanley L. The Presidential Election of 1896' Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1964
- Leech, Margaret In the Days of McKinley Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, 1975, c1959 ISBN 0837182433
- Morgan, H. Wayne William McKinley and His America Kent, Ohio : Kent State University Press, c2003 ISBN 0873387651 the standard biography
- Offner, John L. An Unwanted War: The Diplomacy of the United States and Spain over Cuba, 1895-1898 Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c1992 ISBN 0807843806
External links
- Works by William McKinley. Project Gutenberg
- Audio clips of McKinley's speeches
- First Inaugural Address
- Second Inaugural Address
- IPL POTUS — William McKinley
- Biography of William McKinley
- Encyclopedia Americana: William McKinley
- William McKinley Presidential Library and Memorial
- First State of the Union Address
- Second State of the Union Address
- Third State of the Union Address
- Fourth State of the Union Address
- White House biography
- The Assassination of President William McKinley, 1901 - an account of the killing.
- A Loose Bandage (Beck Reilly) is an alternative 20th century following the failed assassination of William McKinley.
- Assassination Site
- Library of Congress films of McKinley
Preceded by: Laurin D. Woodworth |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th congressional district 1877 - 1879 |
Succeeded by: James Monroe |
Preceded by: Lorenzo Danford |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 16th congressional district 1879 - 1881 |
Succeeded by: Jonathan T. Updegraff |
Preceded by: James Monroe |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 17th congressional district 1881 - 1883 |
Succeeded by: Joseph D. Taylor |
Preceded by: Addison S. McClure |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 18th congressional district 1883 - 1884 |
Succeeded by: Jonathan H. Wallace |
Preceded by: David R. Page |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 20th congressional district 1885 - 1887 |
Succeeded by: George W. Crouse |
Preceded by: Isaac H. Taylor |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 18th congressional district 1887 - 1891 |
Succeeded by: Joseph D. Taylor |
Preceded by: Roger Q. Mills |
Chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means 1889 – 1891 |
Succeeded by: William M. Springer |
Preceded by: James E. Campbell |
Governor of Ohio 11 January 1892 - 13 January 1896 |
Succeeded by: Asa S. Bushnell |
Preceded by: Benjamin Harrison |
Republican Party presidential candidate 1896 (won), 1900 (won) |
Succeeded by: Theodore Roosevelt |
Preceded by: Grover Cleveland |
President of the United States 4 March 1897 – 14 September 1901 |
Succeeded by: Theodore Roosevelt |
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