William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States. He was elected twice, in 1896 and 1900, but served only part of his second term, as he was assassinated in 1901. He is remembered for presiding over a major period of expansion in U.S. territories through conquest, which included the annexation of Cuba, the Philippines, and Wake Island following the Spanish-American War, as well as the annexation of the future U.S. State of Hawaii. He was succeeded by his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt.
William McKinley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 25th President | |
| Vice President | Garret A. Hobart (1897-1899) Theodore Roosevelt (1901) |
| Preceded by | Grover Cleveland |
| Succeeded by | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Personal details | |
| Nationality | american |
| Political party | Republican |
- The name "Mckinley" redirects here. For other uses, see McKinley, including Mount McKinley.
Biography
Born in Niles, Ohio on Sunday January 29, 1843, William McKinley was the seventh of nine children. His parents, William and Nancy (Allison) McKinley were of Scots-Irish ancestry. He attended the public schools, Poland Academy, and Allegheny College, but McKinley fell ill and had to return home. While at Allegheny, McKinley joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
On June 23, 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army, as a private in the Twenty-third Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry.
McKinley saw combat in several battles — for delivering rations under enemy fire at Antietam he was promoted from commissary sergeant by his commander, another future U.S. President, Rutherford B. Hayes. McKinley was again promoted several times during the war, and eventually mustered out as Captain and brevet Major of the same regiment in September 1865.
Legal and early political career
Following the war, McKinley attended Albany Law School in Albany, New York, being admitted to the bar in 1867. He commenced practice in Canton, Ohio. He was prosecuting attorney of Stark County, Ohio, from 1869 to 1871, and was elected as a Republican to the Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth, and Forty-seventh U.S. Congress (March 4, 1877-March 3, 1883). He was chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Laws (Forty-seventh Congress). He presented his credentials as a Member-elect to the Forty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1883 until May 27, 1884, when he was succeeded by Jonathan H. Wallace, who successfully contested his election. McKinley was again elected to the Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-first Congresses (March 4, 1885-March 3, 1891). He was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means (Fifty-first Congress). In 1890, he authored the unpopular McKinley Tariff.
McKinley was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1890 to the Fifty-second Congress. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1884, 1888, and 1892. Standing for election with his running mate Andrew L. Harris, McKinley was elected Governor of Ohio in 1891, and re-elected in 1893, serving until January 13, 1896.
Presidency
William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan in the U.S. 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.
In 1898, McKinley launched the trust-busting era when he appointed several Senators (and his former Lt. Governor Andrew L. Harris) to the U.S. Industrial Commission. Later, the Industrial Commission's report to Theodore Roosevelt would lay the groundwork for Roosevelt's attacks on trusts and 'malefactors of great wealth'.
McKinley led the country into the Spanish-American War, bringing the former colonies of Spain in the Pacific (Guam and the Philippines) and the Caribbean Sea (Cuba and Puerto Rico) under American control. In addition, the territories of Hawaii and Wake Island were annexed during his first term. Despite some vocal domestic opposition, his administration ushered the U.S. into the "New Imperialism" of the era.
He was re-elected in 1900, again beating Bryan.
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 the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
Significant events during presidency
- Dingley Tariff (1897)
- Maximum Freight Case (1897)
- Spanish-American War (1898)
- Gold Standard Act (1900)
Assassination
McKinley was shot by Leon F. Czolgosz, a Republican turned Anarchist, on September 6, 1901, while attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He died of blood poisoning from his infected wounds at the house of John Milburn (currently, the student parking lot for Canisius High School is located on the site), at 2:15 a.m. on Saturday September 14, 1901. He was the third U.S. president to be assassinated. His body was interred in the McKinley Monument adjacent to West Lawn Cemetery in Canton, Ohio. President Theodore Roosevelt, Ohio Governor Andrew L. Harris and other speakers saluted the fallen President at the McKinley Memorial.
Trivia
- 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 badge.
- McKinley was the first president to use the telephone for campaign purposes.
- McKinley was the first president to ride in an automobile (the ambulance that took him to the hospital after he was shot).
Monuments and memorials
- McKinley Memorial, Niles, Ohio, commemorates McKinley's Birthplace
- McKinley Monument, Buffalo, New York
- McKinley County, New Mexico is named in his honor.
- Mount McKinley, Alaska is named after him.
- McKinley Statue, Arcata, California
- McKinleyville, California
Media
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See also
References
- Stephen J. Ducat. 2004. The Wimp Factor. Boston:Beacon Press. ISBN 0807043443. p. 75
External links
- Works by William McKinley at 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
- A Loose Bandage (Beck Reilly) is an alternative 20th century following the failed assassination of William McKinley.
