William McKinley

William McKinley
McKinley c. 1900
25th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1897 – September 14, 1901
Vice President	Garret Hobart (1897–1899) None (1899–1901)[a] Theodore Roosevelt (Mar–Sep. 1901)
Preceded by	Grover Cleveland
Succeeded by	Theodore Roosevelt
39th Governor of Ohio
In office January 11, 1892 – January 13, 1896
Lieutenant	Andrew L. Harris
Preceded by	James E. Campbell
Succeeded by	Asa S. Bushnell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio
In office March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1891
Preceded by	David R. Paige
Succeeded by	Joseph D. Taylor
Constituency	20th district (1885–1887) 18th district (1887–1891)
In office March 4, 1877 – May 27, 1884
Preceded by	Laurin D. Woodworth
Succeeded by	Jonathan H. Wallace
Constituency	17th district (1877–1879) 16th district (1879–1881) 17th district (1881–1883) 18th district (1883–1884)
Personal details
Born	William McKinley Jr. (1843-01-29)January 29, 1843 Niles, Ohio, U.S.
Died	September 14, 1901(1901-09-14) (aged 58) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Manner of death	Assassination (Gangrene due to infection in gunshot wound)
Resting place	McKinley National Memorial, Canton, Ohio
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ida Saxton ​ (m. 1871)​
Children	2
Parent	William McKinley Sr. (father)
Education	Allegheny College Mount Union College Albany Law School
Profession	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army (Union Army)
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Brevet major
Unit	23rd Ohio Infantry
Battles/wars	See list American Civil War Battle of Carnifex Ferry Second Battle of Bull Run Maryland campaign Battle of South Mountain Battle of Antietam Battle of Buffington Island Battle of Cloyd's Mountain Second Battle of Kernstown Shenandoah Valley campaigns Battle of Berryville Battle of Opequon Battle of Fisher's Hill Battle of Cedar Creek
William McKinley's voice Giving a campaign speech for his first presidential campaign Recorded 1896
Other offices 1889–1891: Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee

William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. A member of the Republican Party, he led a realignment that made Republicans largely dominant in the industrial states and nationwide for decades. He presided over victory in the Spanish–American War of 1898; gained control of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines; restored prosperity after a deep depression; rejected the inflationary monetary policy of free silver, keeping the nation on the gold standard; and raised protective tariffs.

McKinley was the last president to have served in the American Civil War; he was the only one to begin his service as an enlisted man and ended it as a brevet major. After the war, he settled in Canton, Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton. In 1876, McKinley was elected to Congress, where he became the Republican expert on the protective tariff, which he believed would bring prosperity. His 1890 McKinley Tariff was highly controversial and, together with a Democratic redistricting aimed at gerrymandering him out of office, led to his defeat in the Democratic landslide of 1890. He was elected governor of Ohio in 1891 and 1893, steering a moderate course between capital and labor interests. He secured the Republican nomination for president in 1896 amid a deep economic depression and defeated his Democratic rival William Jennings Bryan after a front porch campaign in which he advocated "sound money" (the gold standard unless altered by international agreement) and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity. Historians regard McKinley's victory as a realigning election in which the political stalemate of the post-Civil War era gave way to the Republican-dominated Fourth Party System, beginning with the Progressive Era.

McKinley's presidency saw rapid economic growth. He promoted the 1897 Dingley Tariff to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition and, in 1900, secured the passage of the Gold Standard Act. He hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict. Still, when negotiation failed, he requested and signed Congress's declaration of war to begin the Spanish-American War of 1898, in which the United States saw a quick and decisive victory. As part of the peace settlement, Spain turned over to the United States its main overseas colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, while Cuba was promised independence but remained under the control of the United States Army until May 20, 1902. The United States annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898, and it became a United States territory.

McKinley defeated Bryan again in the 1900 presidential election in a campaign focused on imperialism, protectionism, and free silver. His second term ended early when he was shot on September 6, 1901, by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. McKinley died eight days later and was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment, McKinley is generally ranked as an above-average president. However, his take-over of the Philippines is often criticized as an act of imperialism. His popularity was soon overshadowed by Roosevelt's.
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