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  McKinley, William
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationRepublican  
<-  1900-01-01  
 
NameWilliam McKinley
Address800 McKinley Monument Dr NW
Canton, Ohio , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born January 29, 1843
DiedSeptember 14, 1901 (58 years)
ContributorJake
Last ModifedChronicler
Jan 29, 2022 03:24pm
Tags English - Assassinated - Freemason - Methodist -
InfoWilliam McKinley was a Republican politician who served as the 25th President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, McKinley had served in the U.S. House, where he rose to become the Republican floor leader, and then served as Governor of Ohio. He was the final Civil War veteran to serve as President.

Early Life
Born as William McKinley Jr. in Niles, Ohio in 1843, he briefly attended Allegheny College. He took a position teaching in a country school, but when the Civil War broke out, he enlisted as a private in the Union Army. In 1864, he was serving under General Phil Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, and he participated in battles along with Rutherford B. Hayes. McKinley rose to the rank of brevet major of volunteers by the war’s end. After studying law, McKinley opened a practice in Canton. He married Ida Saxton in 1871.

U.S. House of Representatives
McKinley represented northeast Ohio in the U.S. House from 1877 to 1891, with a single year break. He was first elected in 1876, the same year Hayes was elected President. As one of a limited number of members of Congress who had attended college, McKinley’s speeches represented a higher caliber than those of his contemporaries, as his speeches depended upon statistics and data to support his arguments. His re-election campaign of 1882 was closely fought, and although McKinley won, the Democratic-controlled U.S. House seated his opponent. Afterwards, Ohio redistricted twice in the 1880s but McKinley was able to win successive races from 1884 to 1888. Robert M. La Follette, Sr., who served with him, recalled that he generally “represented the newer view,” and “on the great new questions ... was generally on the side of the public and against private interests.” McKinley was a leading advocate of a high tariff, and the tariff passed in 1890 was named for him. A gerrymander of congressional districts resulted in McKinley’s defeat in the 1890 Democratic sweep.

Ohio Governor
In 1891, McKinley was elected Governor of Ohio, defeating Gov. James E. Campbell. His two terms (1892-1896) were generally overshadowed by national politics, as the office of the Ohio governor was relatively weak at that time. In 1891, when President Benjamin Harrison was unpopular even among Republicans, a movement began to nominate McKinley instead at the Republican National Convention. Harrison’s managers arranged for McKinley to serve as convention chairman, effectively eliminating McKinley from presidential contention and sparing him the embarrassment of losing in the 1892 Democratic landslide. Nevertheless, McKinley placed second in the presidential balloting of 1892 at the convention. The following year, a business associate of McKinley fell on hard times; McKinley had co-signed for some of the friend's failed loans, and banks approached McKinley for payment. When McKinley began to discuss his resignation to return to his law practice to earn the money to repay the loans, a group of Republicans opened a fund to assist McKinley. Republicans nationwide donated funds and covered the debts. When he ran for re-election in 1893, McKinley won by the largest margin since 1863.

Election of 1896
McKinley’s nomination for President by the Republican Party in 1896 was not a foregone conclusion. Mark Hanna, a Cleveland businessman who had assisted with McKinley’s financial problems in 1893, recognized the Governor’s potential as presidential timber. The Republicans looked forward to gains in the 1894 midterm but were astonished by their success. Hanna purchased a vacation house in Georgia and began to lobby Southern Republicans. McKinley specifically told Hanna not to make any deals – he wanted to break the tradition of having the presidential nominee chosen by party bosses and members of Congress. After leaving office as Governor, McKinley was able to reach out to former colleagues in Congress who were potential delegates. His supporters in various Northern states worked against party bosses and managed to get McKinley delegates sent to the Republican National Convention, which gave McKinley the nomination on the first ballot with 73% of the delegate vote.

McKinley’s presidential campaign was dominated by his "front porch campaign" while supporters worked in the various states. Republicans arranged for thousands of people to travel by train to Canton so they could attend McKinley’s porch speeches. The election of 1896 cemented the Republican resurgence of 1894; in a record turnout, McKinley won the largest popular vote spread in history.

President 1897-1901
Like Woodrow Wilson a decade later, McKinley’s broad domestic agenda was overshadowed by foreign policy. The discovery of large gold deposits in Alaska resolved the gold/silver controversy, and the nation was able to recover from the depression of the second Cleveland administration. When the armored cruiser U.S.S. Maine exploded in Cuba, many politicians called for war against Spain, in support of Cuban rebels seeking independence. McKinley was aware of rumors that the Maine explosion took place inside the ship rather than below it, and he dragged his feet on advocating for a declaration for war. Congress declared war anyway, leading to the Spanish-American War in which the United States won dramatic victories in the Caribbean and in the Pacific rim.

In the election of 1900, McKinley again faced William Jennings Bryan. Bryan focused his campaign on opposing US imperialism. Bryan campaigned feverishly around the nation, and eventually Hanna began to campaign in the Plains states to undermine Bryan’s support there. McKinley’s victory in 1900 was a shade wider than in 1896, even winning Bryan’s home state of Nebraska.

McKinley's second term, which had begun auspiciously, came to a tragic end. While attending the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition, he was shot by a deranged anarchist. McKinley died eight days later.


JOB APPROVAL POLLS
DateFirmApproveDisapproveDon't Know
06/13/2007-06/24/2007 Rasmussen Reports 42.00% ( 0.0) 24.00% ( 0.0) 35.00% ( 0.0)

BOOKS
Title Purchase Contributor

EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor

NEWS
Date Category Headline Article Contributor
Nov 20, 2006 09:00am General McKinley Memorial tries second penny campaign  Article Thomas Walker 

DISCUSSION
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Importance? 10.00000 Average

FAMILY
Wife Ida Saxton McKinley 00, 1871-Sep 14, 1901
Daughter Katherine "Katie" McKinley 1871-1875
Daughter Ida McKinley 1873-1873

INFORMATION LINKS
McKinley Assassination Ink  Discuss
President William McKinley Inaugural Address March 4, 1897  Discuss
President William McKinley Inaugural Address March 4, 1901  Discuss
William McKinley - First Annual Message (December 6, 1897)  Discuss
William McKinley - Fourth Annual Message (December 3, 1900)  Discuss
William McKinley - Second Annual Message (December 5, 1898)  Discuss
William McKinley - Third Annual Message (December 5, 1899)  Discuss
RACES
  01/14/1901 US President Won 65.32% (+30.65%)
  11/06/1900 US President National Vote Won 51.67% (+6.15%)
  09/03/1900 US President - UnRf National Convention Lost 0.05% (-83.65%)
  06/21/1900 US President - R Convention Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  01/11/1897 US President Won 60.63% (+21.25%)
  11/03/1896 US President National Vote Won 51.01% (+4.28%)
  06/18/1896 US President - R Convention Won 73.23% (+63.83%)
  11/02/1893 OH Governor Won 51.86% (+9.69%)
  06/10/1892 US President - R Convention Lost 20.09% (-39.07%)
  11/03/1891 OH Governor Won 48.61% (+2.70%)
  11/04/1890 OH District 16 Lost 48.59% (-0.74%)
  11/06/1888 OH District 18 Won 52.30% (+8.47%)
  06/25/1888 US President - R Convention Lost 1.11% (-36.57%)
  11/02/1886 OH District 18 Won 49.07% (+6.69%)
  10/14/1884 OH District 20 Won 51.56% (+4.61%)
  10/10/1882 OH District 18 - Revised Vote Totals Lost 48.19% (-0.09%)
  10/10/1882 OH District 18 Won 48.25% (+0.02%)
  10/12/1880 OH District 17 Won 53.51% (+9.45%)
  10/08/1878 OH District 16 Won 49.79% (+3.97%)
  10/10/1876 OH District 17 Won 50.21% (+8.05%)
ENDORSEMENTS
US President - R Convention - Jun 10, 1892 R Benjamin Harrison
US President - R Convention - Jun 25, 1888 R John Sherman