William McKinley and Civil Rights
William McKinley was the last President to have served in the Civil War. He enlisted in the Union Army in June 1861 as a private in the 23rd Ohio Infantry. His superior officer was another future U.S. president, Rutherford B. Hayes, who promoted McKinley to commissary sergeant for his bravery in battle. Later, for driving a mule team delivering rations under enemy fire at Antietam, Hayes promoted McKinley to first lieutenant. This happened several times during the war and McKinley eventually became a captain. Hayes is quoted as referring to McKinley as "a handsome, bright, gallant boy and one of the bravest and finest officers in the army."
McKinley became a congressman and later the Governor of Ohio. By many accounts he was a generous Governor. According to one story, in 1895, a community of severely impoverished miners in Hocking Valley telegraphed Governor McKinley to report their plight, writing, "Immediate relief needed." Within five hours McKinley had paid out of his own pocket for a railroad car full of food and other supplies to be sent to the miners. He then proceeded to contact the Chambers of Commerce in every major city in the state, instructing them to investigate the number of citizens living below poverty level. When reports returned revealing large numbers of starving Ohioans, the governor headed a charity drive and raised enough money to feed, clothe, and supply more than 10,000 people.
McKinley was raised an abolitionist by his Methodist mother in Poland, Ohio. He was very sympathetic to African Americans who struggled under the "Jim Crow" system of second class citizenship in the South. When he became President in 1896 McKinley did not try to reverse Jim Crow (which had won Supreme Court approval in 1896), but he did name a number of African Americans to federal office in the South. These included George B. Jackson, a former slave, (to the post of customs collector in Presidio, Texas and Walter L. Cohen of New Orleans, a leader of the Black and Tan Republican faction, as a customs inspector in New Orleans.
McKinley made several speeches about the need to provide African Americans with equality and justice. He said:
"It must not be equality and justice in the written law only. It must be equality and justice in the law's administration everywhere, and alike administered in every part of the Republic to every citizen thereof. It must not be the cold formality of constitutional enactment. It must be a living birthright.
"Our black allies must neither be forsaken nor deserted. I weigh my words. This is the great question not only of the present, but is the great question of the future; and this question will never be settled until it is settled upon principles of justice, recognizing the sanctity of the Constitution of the United States.
"Nothing can be permanently settled until the right of every citizen to participate equally in our State and National affairs is unalterably fixed. Tariff, finance, civil service, and all other political and party questions should remain open and unsettled until every citizen who has a constitutional right to share in the determination is free to enjoy it."
Although he made his intentions known in his public speeches, the political realities of the times prevented any real action or progress being made by the McKinley administration in the field of race relations. During the Spanish-American War, McKinley made certain that black soldiers served, and even reversed army orders preventing recruitment of African-American soldiers. Although giving African-Americans the "privilege" of dying in a foreign way would seem like a dubious benefit, at the time it was actually quite an achievelement and a recognition of the value of these men.
McKinley was re-elected to a second term based on the prosperity that followed the US victory over Spain. But he got to serve little of this term, as he was assassinated in September of 1901. The politics of the day constrained McKinley from making any legislative progress in bringing about better conditions for African-Americans. Even his successor, the energetic reformer Theodore Roosevelt would find that changing the condition of African-Americans for the better would not be an easy task.
McKinley became a congressman and later the Governor of Ohio. By many accounts he was a generous Governor. According to one story, in 1895, a community of severely impoverished miners in Hocking Valley telegraphed Governor McKinley to report their plight, writing, "Immediate relief needed." Within five hours McKinley had paid out of his own pocket for a railroad car full of food and other supplies to be sent to the miners. He then proceeded to contact the Chambers of Commerce in every major city in the state, instructing them to investigate the number of citizens living below poverty level. When reports returned revealing large numbers of starving Ohioans, the governor headed a charity drive and raised enough money to feed, clothe, and supply more than 10,000 people.
McKinley was raised an abolitionist by his Methodist mother in Poland, Ohio. He was very sympathetic to African Americans who struggled under the "Jim Crow" system of second class citizenship in the South. When he became President in 1896 McKinley did not try to reverse Jim Crow (which had won Supreme Court approval in 1896), but he did name a number of African Americans to federal office in the South. These included George B. Jackson, a former slave, (to the post of customs collector in Presidio, Texas and Walter L. Cohen of New Orleans, a leader of the Black and Tan Republican faction, as a customs inspector in New Orleans.
McKinley made several speeches about the need to provide African Americans with equality and justice. He said:
"It must not be equality and justice in the written law only. It must be equality and justice in the law's administration everywhere, and alike administered in every part of the Republic to every citizen thereof. It must not be the cold formality of constitutional enactment. It must be a living birthright.
"Our black allies must neither be forsaken nor deserted. I weigh my words. This is the great question not only of the present, but is the great question of the future; and this question will never be settled until it is settled upon principles of justice, recognizing the sanctity of the Constitution of the United States.
"Nothing can be permanently settled until the right of every citizen to participate equally in our State and National affairs is unalterably fixed. Tariff, finance, civil service, and all other political and party questions should remain open and unsettled until every citizen who has a constitutional right to share in the determination is free to enjoy it."
Although he made his intentions known in his public speeches, the political realities of the times prevented any real action or progress being made by the McKinley administration in the field of race relations. During the Spanish-American War, McKinley made certain that black soldiers served, and even reversed army orders preventing recruitment of African-American soldiers. Although giving African-Americans the "privilege" of dying in a foreign way would seem like a dubious benefit, at the time it was actually quite an achievelement and a recognition of the value of these men.
McKinley was re-elected to a second term based on the prosperity that followed the US victory over Spain. But he got to serve little of this term, as he was assassinated in September of 1901. The politics of the day constrained McKinley from making any legislative progress in bringing about better conditions for African-Americans. Even his successor, the energetic reformer Theodore Roosevelt would find that changing the condition of African-Americans for the better would not be an easy task.