William McKinley

Overview:
25th president. Last civil war veteran to be president. Lead the nation in the SpanishAmerican war.
3rd president to be assassinated
Early Life:
Born William McKinley Jr. Niles Ohio. Father William McKinley Sr. Mother Nancy
Allison McKinley. 7th of 8 children. Enrolled in Allegheny College 1860 when
Civil war:
1861 joined the union side as a private. Left after the civil war as a Brevet Major. His
commanding officer was Rutherford B. Hayes, who would become the 19 th president.
Hayes praised McKinley for his valor. McKinley was his political protg.
After the war:
1866-67 attended Albany Law School. Opened a law firm and operated it until he
was elected prosecutor of stark county in 1869 (age 26). In 1871 he married Ida
Saxton at the First Presbyterian Church in Canton, Ohio. He was defeated in his reelection bid for county prosecutor and returned to private practice. This is also when
his first daughter, Katie McKinley, was born.
Children:
Hed have two daughters, both of whom ended up dying. The first to go was Ida
McKinley, born 1873. She died only four months after birth due to a difficult birth.
The first-born daughter, Katherine Katie McKinley (born 1871), died in 1875 from
typhoid fever.
House of Representatives:
McKinley served in the house of representatives from 1877-1891. He was appointed
the powerful Ways and Means Committee. The Ways and Means Committee is the
oldest committee in US congress. Its the chief tax-writing committee in the house
of representatives. Eight Presidents and eight Vice Presidents have served on Ways
and Means, as have 21 Speakers of the House of Representatives, and four Justices
of the Supreme Court. He was in the house 14 years.
He was a big promoter of tariffs. Republican expert on tariffs. The tariff of 1890 was
given his name. It raised the tariffs on most imports by almost 50%. It was very
unpopular with the public; so unpopular that in the 1890 elections republican house
seats went from 166 to 88 (from the majority to the minority) and the democrats

took control of the presidency in 1892 with Grover Cleveland. The new congress
passed the Wilson-Gorman Tariff in 1894 which lowered average U.S. tariffs. During
this time, he served as governor of Ohio, 1892-96.
Presidency:
Elected 1896. Defeated William Jennings Bryan in the general election. (51%-47%)
His presidency was marked by three major events. The Spanish-American war, his
intervention during the Boxer Rebellion, and the passing of the Gold Standard act.
Spanish-American War:
The Spanish American war was primarily being pushed by journalists such as Joseph
Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, who used a journalism style known as yellow
journalism. Yellow journalism is marked by a lack of research into a topic, sometimes
even lies, and sensationalism. The USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor. Despite
no one being sure how the Maine exploded, the finger was immediately pointed at
Spain. The yellow journalist capitalized on the explosion, Remember the Maine, to
hell with Spain!
To this day no one is sure how the Maine exploded. Some historians and researchers
believe the Spaniards really did blow up the Maine with an underwater mine. Others
believe it was coal bunker fire explosion. In Cuba, its popular to believe that the
ship was purposefully exploded by the US military in order to entice the American
people into war. Theres a monument in Havana dedicated to the military officers
who died. The monument describes the Maine's sailors as "victims sacrificed to the
imperialist greed in its fervor to seize control of Cuba."
Whatever the cause, America was off to war. It was handily won in just 10 weeks;
the Spanish were still using wooden ships and couldnt compete with Americas
steel navy.
Boxer Rebellion:
The Boxer Rebellion was a violent uprising in China. The sentiments of the
movement were anti-foreign, anti-Christian, and anti-imperialism. The Chinese
people were worried of losing their culture to foreign nations. They were especially
opposed to the Christian missionaries who were converting their people from their
traditional religions.
McKinley sent 5,000 troops to help quell the rebellion and defend American
missionaries. However, he did this without consenting congress, let alone getting a
declaration of war. Historian Walter LaFeber has argued that President William
McKinley's decision to send 5,000 American troops to quell the rebellion marks "the
origins of modern presidential war powers.

Assassination:
His assassin was Leon Czolgosz, who shot him twice in the chest 4:07 PM in Buffalo,
New York during the Pan-American Exposition. Leon Czolgosz was an Anarchist who
recently heard a speech by Anarchist Emma Goldman. McKinleys last words were,
Its Gods way. His will, not ours, be done. He was 58. He now resides in the
McKinley National Memorial, with his wife Ida and their two daughters.