McKinley, William,

Two years later Hanna along with Charles DawesDawes, Charles Gates
, 1865–1951, American statesman and banker, b. Marietta, Ohio. Admitted (1886) to the bar, Dawes practiced law in Lincoln, Nebr., until 1894 and became interested in various gas and electric companies.
..... Click the link for more information.  began a skillful and successful preconvention campaign to have McKinley nominated by the Republicans for president in 1896. The Democrats took a radical position and nominated William Jennings BryanBryan, William Jennings
, 1860–1925, American political leader, b. Salem, Ill. Although the nation consistently rejected him for the presidency, it eventually adopted many of the reforms he urged—the graduated federal income tax, popular election of senators, woman
..... Click the link for more information.  with a platform favoring free silver. Although McKinley had earlier favored bimetallismbimetallism
, in economic history, monetary system in which two commodities, usually gold and silver, were used as a standard and coined without limit at a ratio fixed by legislation that also designated both of them as legally acceptable for all payments.
..... Click the link for more information.  and voted for the Bland-Allison Act, he accepted a platform endorsing the gold standard, and the issue was squarely joined. Many conservative Democrats viewed their party's stand as reckless, and Hanna's handling of the campaign was a masterpiece of adroitness. Conservatism and McKinley won. The Republicans also had control of Congress, and in 1897 a thoroughgoing Republican tariff was adopted. McKinley's election marked the beginning of a period of Republican dominance in American politics that did not end until the 1932 election of Franklin D. RooseveltRoosevelt, Franklin Delano
, 1882–1945, 32d President of the United States (1933–45), b. Hyde Park, N.Y. Early Life

Through both his father, James Roosevelt, and his mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, he came of old, wealthy families.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Interest then swung to external affairs. There was much sympathy in the United States for the rebels in Cuba, who were seeking independence from Spain. The destruction of the battleship MaineMaine,
U.S. battleship destroyed (Feb. 15, 1898) in Havana harbor by an explosion that killed 260 men. The incident helped precipitate the Spanish-American War (Apr., 1898). Commanded by Capt. Charles Sigsbee, the ship had been sent (Jan.
..... Click the link for more information.  gave the advocates of war a rallying cry, and McKinley made the decision to ask Congress for a declaration of war. The Spanish-American WarSpanish-American War,
1898, brief conflict between Spain and the United States arising out of Spanish policies in Cuba. It was, to a large degree, brought about by the efforts of U.S. expansionists.
..... Click the link for more information.  was brief, and from it the United States emerged a world power. McKinley directed the peace commissioners to demand the Philippine Islands for the United States. This resulted in the unsuccessful and bloody Philippine insurrection (1899–1901) led by Emilio AguinaldoAguinaldo, Emilio
, 1869–1964, Philippine leader. In the insurrection against Spain in 1896 he took command, and by terms of the peace that ended it he went into exile at Hong Kong (1897).
..... Click the link for more information.  against U.S. rule. Cuba became a U.S. protectorate. The president also signed the bill to annex Hawaii and supported the Open DoorOpen Door,
maintenance in a certain territory of equal commercial and industrial rights for the nationals of all countries. As a specific policy, it was first advanced by the United States, but it was rooted in the typical most-favored-nation clause of the treaties concluded
..... Click the link for more information.  policy in China, thus vigorously advancing the interests of the United States and American commerce. The Currency Act of 1900 consolidated the gold standard policy on which McKinley had been elected in 1896. He was reelected in 1900, but his new administration was short. On Sept. 5, 1901, he addressed the Pan-American Exposition at Buffalo, N.Y., advocating commercial reciprocity among nations. The next day he was shot down by an anarchist, Leon CzolgoszCzolgosz, Leon F.
, c.1873–1901, American anarchist, b. Detroit, Mich. He shot and killed William McKinley in Buffalo on Sept. 6, 1901, saying that the President was "an enemy of good working people." Czolgosz was later adjudged sane and was executed.
..... Click the link for more information. , and on Sept. 14 he died. Vice President Theodore Roosevelt succeeded him.

Bibliography

See biographies by C. S. Olcott (1916, repr. 1972), W. C. Spielman (1954), K. Phillips (2003), and R. W. Merry (2017); L. L. Gould, The Presidency of William McKinley (1981); S. Miller, The President and the Assassin (2011); K. Rove, The Triumph of William McKinley (2016).

McKinley, William

McKinley, William