Happy Birthday William McKinley
On this day January 29th in 1843 (168 years ago today) William McKinley, Jr. was born. He was the 25th President of the United States, and was also the last Civil War veteran to be elected President. He was also the last President of the 19th century and the first of 20th.
McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio, the seventh of nine children (or 7 of 9 if you're a Star Trek Voyager fan.) He joined in the Union Army in June 1861 as a private in the 23rd Ohio Infantry. His superior officer, another future U.S. president, Rutherford B. Hayes. Hayes promoted McKinley to sergeant for his bravery in battle, and later to second lieutenant for bravery at the Battle of Antietam. McKinley must have been a very brave soldier because, by the end of the war he achieved the rank of brevet major of the same regiment.
McKinley attended Albany Law School and was admitted to the Ohio state bar in 1867. He practiced law in Canton, and served as prosecuting attorney of Stark County from 1869 to 1871. He was elected to the House of Representatives from 1877 to 1882 and 1885 to 1891. He was chairman of the powerful Committee on Ways and Means from 1889 to 1891. In 1890 he designed the McKinley Tariff, but that backfired on the Republicans and he was defeated in the election of 1891. He served as Governor of Ohio from 1891-96 before winning the 1896 presidential election, against Democrat William Jennings Bryan.
McKinley presided over a return to prosperity after the Panic of 1893, and made gold the base of the currency. He demanded that Spain end its atrocities in Cuba, which were outraging public opinion. Spain resisted the interference and the Spanish-American War was the result in 1898. The war was fast and easy, as the weak Spanish fleets were sunk and both Cuba and the Philippines were captured in 90 days. As a result of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were annexed by the United States as unincorporated territories, and Cuba was subjected to United States occupation. McKinley also annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898, with all its residents becoming full American citizens.
McKinley was reelected in the 1900 presidential election following another intense campaign against Bryan, which focused on foreign policy and the return of prosperity. McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz anarchist, in 1901, and succeeded by his Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
In the opinion of many scholars, McKinley helped create the modern presidency. His use of the telephone, the press, and publicity to conduct and manage war and political campaigns became imitated by his successors. He invited the nation's press to regular briefings by him or his assistants, establishing the first presidential press conferences. He understood the political advantage to be found in the use of mailouts and printed material. He greatly expanded the presidential staff, and he traveled widely across the nation making speeches, attending public ceremonies. He was in many ways a visionary and a man ahead of his time.
McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio, the seventh of nine children (or 7 of 9 if you're a Star Trek Voyager fan.) He joined in the Union Army in June 1861 as a private in the 23rd Ohio Infantry. His superior officer, another future U.S. president, Rutherford B. Hayes. Hayes promoted McKinley to sergeant for his bravery in battle, and later to second lieutenant for bravery at the Battle of Antietam. McKinley must have been a very brave soldier because, by the end of the war he achieved the rank of brevet major of the same regiment.
McKinley attended Albany Law School and was admitted to the Ohio state bar in 1867. He practiced law in Canton, and served as prosecuting attorney of Stark County from 1869 to 1871. He was elected to the House of Representatives from 1877 to 1882 and 1885 to 1891. He was chairman of the powerful Committee on Ways and Means from 1889 to 1891. In 1890 he designed the McKinley Tariff, but that backfired on the Republicans and he was defeated in the election of 1891. He served as Governor of Ohio from 1891-96 before winning the 1896 presidential election, against Democrat William Jennings Bryan.
McKinley presided over a return to prosperity after the Panic of 1893, and made gold the base of the currency. He demanded that Spain end its atrocities in Cuba, which were outraging public opinion. Spain resisted the interference and the Spanish-American War was the result in 1898. The war was fast and easy, as the weak Spanish fleets were sunk and both Cuba and the Philippines were captured in 90 days. As a result of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, the former Spanish colonies of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines were annexed by the United States as unincorporated territories, and Cuba was subjected to United States occupation. McKinley also annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898, with all its residents becoming full American citizens.
McKinley was reelected in the 1900 presidential election following another intense campaign against Bryan, which focused on foreign policy and the return of prosperity. McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz anarchist, in 1901, and succeeded by his Vice President Theodore Roosevelt.
In the opinion of many scholars, McKinley helped create the modern presidency. His use of the telephone, the press, and publicity to conduct and manage war and political campaigns became imitated by his successors. He invited the nation's press to regular briefings by him or his assistants, establishing the first presidential press conferences. He understood the political advantage to be found in the use of mailouts and printed material. He greatly expanded the presidential staff, and he traveled widely across the nation making speeches, attending public ceremonies. He was in many ways a visionary and a man ahead of his time.