Hail to the Chiefs Part XXV: Big Bill
By rights, William McKinley should be a lot more famous. He was elected to two terms. He won a war and gained quite a bit of new American territory. He was popular and his administration had great prosperity. He was so successful at overcoming the Republican-Democrat statemate to have a Republican majority, that Karl Rove later looked to his example. McKinley was also one of the 4 presidents to be assassinated.
Of course the reason most of us only vaguely remember McKinley, probably because of some street or the mountain in Alaska...is because of his successor. McKinley would have had to be able to walk on water not to be overshadowed by Teddy Roosevelt. (And even then, I'm sure TR would have found a way to top it.)
Those who have payed close attention to McKinley have very strong opinions. *insert boxing ring bell here* Aaaaand in the right corner weighing in at 255 pounds we have Mr. Kevin "I Heart McKinley" Phillips. Phillips was a senior strategist for the 1969 Nixon presidential campaign. He credits McKinley for creating a Republican majority after decades of a two-party stalemate. He believes Teddy Roosevelt is falsely credit with innovations put in motion by McKinley. He also wrote such a glowing biography about McKinley ("William McKinley" in the Time Books American Presidents series) that I kept wanting to say: "Seriously? Get a room!"
Aaaand in the left corner weighing in at 95 pounds we have Ms. Sarah "I'd Like to Buy A" Vowell. In her book "Assassination Vacation" she also credits McKinley for the creation of the modern GOP, but she doesn't think that's a very good idea. She compares McKinley's actions in the Spanish-American War to George W. Bush's in the Iraq War. She also excoriates McKinley for his role as an American empire builder.
The most surreal part about researching McKinley was the most neutral source I found was UC-Berkeley....yes BERKELEY! In one of their courses on American History they had the closest thing I found to a neutral lecture on the Spanish-American War. Fellow presidential geeks, I'd be curious to hear about what sort of experiences you've had with McKinley bios.
But love him, hate him, or vaguely recollect him, William McKinley came to power at a pivotal moment in history. A few years ago I took a road trip west. As I traveled east from Montana to South Dakota to Minnesota...I gradually watched the landscape morph into something that looked more and more like my native Wisconsin. That is what is going to happen in the entries from here on out. The landscape is gradually going to start resembling the America that we live in today.
William McKinley was born on January 24, 1843 in Niles, Ohio. He was the 7th of 9 children. The Trekkie in me was delighted to realize that McKinley was 7 of 9. No WONDER he felt the need to assimilate the Philippines!
McKinley went to Allegheny College for a year but dropped out when he had a serious bout of depression. By the time he was feeling better, his family was having financial troubles so he could not afford to go back to school. He went to work at the post office, and also worked as a teacher.
McKinley was only 18 when the Civil War began. He would be the last Civil War veteran to be elected president. McKinley enlisted as a private, and would end the war as a Major. His commanding officer and mentor was Rutherford B. Hayes. The two men and their families would maintain a close relationship. When McKinley was on his deathbed, one of the few people present that was not a relative was Rutherford B. Hayes' son Webb.
After the war McKinley went to law school in Albany, New York. He became a prosecuting attorney in Canton, Ohio. Not long after that he met and married Ida Saxton. The birth of their second child severely damaged Ida's health and appears to have made her epileptic. Sadly, both of the McKinley's daughters died quite young. McKinley once again fell into a severe depression...and who could blame him?
McKinley was devoted to his wife. He made sure to spend a couple of hours with her daily. When he was governor, every afternoon at 3 he would wave to her window. To his credit, William McKinley did not keep Ida hidden away, as would have been the common practice of the day. Even as president she would regularly attend White House social events. At one such event, the conversation was interrupted by Ida hissing. She was having a sort of seizure. William put a napkin over her face, and continued the conversation. When the seizure was over, Ida removed the napkin from her face, and kept on with the dinner as if nothing had happened.
Probably the most notable case in McKinley's legal career was when he defended a group of miners that had participated in a strike. All but one were freed. When the miners cobbled together the legal fee they owed him, McKinley refused to take it. Years later, when McKinley was in major financial trouble due to a bad investment, those same miners were one group that came to the rescue. The whole story sounds like something straight out of "It's A Wonderful Life."
Before McKinley, the previous two Republican presidents had only been in one elected office each before becoming president: Chester A. Arthur had only been vice-president, and Benjamin Harrison had one lone term in the U.S. senate. McKinley had considerably more experience he served 4 terms in the U.S House of Representatives, even becoming head of the crucial Ways and Means Committee. McKinley failed to win a 5th term largely due to the gerrymandering of Ohio districts. McKinley took the opportunity to run for governor, and won.
In the 1892 Republican Convention, where President Harrison was vying to be renominated by his party, a significant amount of delegates voted for McKinley; most notably all the Ohio delegates except McKinley himself, who voted for Harrison. This caused Harrison to be rather miffed at McKinley as he thought McKinley could have swayed all the votes in his direction if he'd wanted to.
McKinley was successfully nominated as the Republican presidential candidate in 1896. He successfully defeated William Jennings Bryan, and even managed to carry a few Southern states that were traditionally Democrat.
In 1890 the American Frontier had been declared closed. I don't think Americans have ever truly gotten over that. I've had more than one student I think a century and a half ago could have channeled some of that restless energy by becoming a pioneer. So America was in an expansionist mood. Europe was too. This was in the middle of the Scramble for Africa when Europeans colonized every nation in Africa except Liberia and Ethiopia.
Civil Service reform continued on it's merry way forward during the McKinley administration. There was continuing debates over the gold standard and tariffs....but I'd rather skip ahead to the part where things blow up. I mean seriously, with administration after administration of care-taker presidents...you know how excited I am to have a war to write about at last? Yippee!
Cuba was the last colony in the Americas that was not independent from Spain. The latest revolt started in 1895. Just 90 miles away from Florida, the usually isolationist Americans paid close attention to Cuba's ongoing struggle for independence. Not least because many Americans had business investments in Cuba. Also newspaper moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst recognized the potential for great newspaper-selling headlines when they saw them.
McKinley agonized over what the U.S. response should be. Initially he tried the diplomatic route. The United States and Spain negotiated an independent government for Cuba that would begin on January 1, 1898. However just 11 days after the government went into power, there was a riot in Havana. The United States sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba for the protection of American citizens who remained there. Ships were also sent near Lisbon and the Philippines.
On February 15, the USS Maine exploded killing 266 sailors. The rumors were that the explosion was an act of war from Spain. The newspapers did all they could to play up that angle. However the ship probably blew up on its own. The technology for building the boat was still new and volatile.
Nevertheless, this led to the big slogan of the Spanish-American War "Remember the Maine!" That March Congress officially declared war on Spain. Teddy Roosevelt was so excited he resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and started his own regiment called the Rough Riders.
The war was over in 4 months. John Hay, ambassador to England and former assistant to Abraham Lincoln, referred to it as a "splendid little war." Brief as it was, (and largely forgotten...) the Spanish-American War had consequences that still affect us. Puerto Rico became an American territory as well some islands inn the South Pacific such as Guam. Yes Americans, every time you get pleasure in crying out the name "Guam!"...you can thank William McKinley.
Cuba was supposed to be temporarily under U.S. jurisdiction...but that pretty much continued until the communist revolution in 1959. The Philippines were purchased for $20 million. McKinley had high hopes of bringing Christianity to the Philippines. Never mind the fact that Filipinos had been Catholic since before the United States existed as a country. Conflict would continue in the Philippines until they finally gained their independence from the United States in 1902.
1898 was also the year that the Hawaiian Republic ceased to exist. Benjamin Harrison had started the process of the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. Grover Cleveland had put a stop to that feeling strongly that colonization was not part of the American ideals. McKinley reverted back to annexing Hawaii, and all Hawaiians officially became American citizens.
It was also during this time period that the United States and Britain gradually made the transition from awkwardness from being former colony and former colonizer, to becoming all buddy-buddy. "Hey I'm an English speaking mostly protestant nation that's building an empire and so are you! Let's hang out! And let's not let Germany into our club." Hear that rumbling? That's World War I less than 20 years away.
In the election of 1900, McKinley once again defeated William Jennings Bryan. However in this election he had a new running mate. Vice President Hobart had died in 1899. McKinley opted to go with war hero Teddy Roosevelt as his running mate.
For his second term, McKinley planned to be the first American president to go abroad during his administration. He hoped to increase trade with Latin America, and was part of the talks for a canal to be built in Panama. This cause brought him to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. While McKinley was shaking hands, Leon Czolgosz shot him in the stomach. Czolgosz was captured immediately. The wounded McKinley insisted "Don't let them hurt him!" At first, people assumed with the lack of consonants, that McKinley had been shot by a foreigner. However, Czolgosz was born in Michigan to Polish immigrant parents.
McKinley's condition declined. By the 8th day, right before he slipped into a coma, his last words were the lyrics to "Nearer My God to Thee." McKinley died on September 14, 1901...just 6 months into his second term.
What follows is a tale of excitement, romance and square deals. But you'll just have to wait until I wade through my Teddy Roosevelt biographies. :)
One sure fire sign that McKinley was the first 20th century president is the fact that I can find youtube clips of him on film. Here is McKinley's 2nd inauguration:
</lj-embed>
Of course the reason most of us only vaguely remember McKinley, probably because of some street or the mountain in Alaska...is because of his successor. McKinley would have had to be able to walk on water not to be overshadowed by Teddy Roosevelt. (And even then, I'm sure TR would have found a way to top it.)
Those who have payed close attention to McKinley have very strong opinions. *insert boxing ring bell here* Aaaaand in the right corner weighing in at 255 pounds we have Mr. Kevin "I Heart McKinley" Phillips. Phillips was a senior strategist for the 1969 Nixon presidential campaign. He credits McKinley for creating a Republican majority after decades of a two-party stalemate. He believes Teddy Roosevelt is falsely credit with innovations put in motion by McKinley. He also wrote such a glowing biography about McKinley ("William McKinley" in the Time Books American Presidents series) that I kept wanting to say: "Seriously? Get a room!"
Aaaand in the left corner weighing in at 95 pounds we have Ms. Sarah "I'd Like to Buy A" Vowell. In her book "Assassination Vacation" she also credits McKinley for the creation of the modern GOP, but she doesn't think that's a very good idea. She compares McKinley's actions in the Spanish-American War to George W. Bush's in the Iraq War. She also excoriates McKinley for his role as an American empire builder.
The most surreal part about researching McKinley was the most neutral source I found was UC-Berkeley....yes BERKELEY! In one of their courses on American History they had the closest thing I found to a neutral lecture on the Spanish-American War. Fellow presidential geeks, I'd be curious to hear about what sort of experiences you've had with McKinley bios.
But love him, hate him, or vaguely recollect him, William McKinley came to power at a pivotal moment in history. A few years ago I took a road trip west. As I traveled east from Montana to South Dakota to Minnesota...I gradually watched the landscape morph into something that looked more and more like my native Wisconsin. That is what is going to happen in the entries from here on out. The landscape is gradually going to start resembling the America that we live in today.
William McKinley was born on January 24, 1843 in Niles, Ohio. He was the 7th of 9 children. The Trekkie in me was delighted to realize that McKinley was 7 of 9. No WONDER he felt the need to assimilate the Philippines!
McKinley went to Allegheny College for a year but dropped out when he had a serious bout of depression. By the time he was feeling better, his family was having financial troubles so he could not afford to go back to school. He went to work at the post office, and also worked as a teacher.
McKinley was only 18 when the Civil War began. He would be the last Civil War veteran to be elected president. McKinley enlisted as a private, and would end the war as a Major. His commanding officer and mentor was Rutherford B. Hayes. The two men and their families would maintain a close relationship. When McKinley was on his deathbed, one of the few people present that was not a relative was Rutherford B. Hayes' son Webb.
After the war McKinley went to law school in Albany, New York. He became a prosecuting attorney in Canton, Ohio. Not long after that he met and married Ida Saxton. The birth of their second child severely damaged Ida's health and appears to have made her epileptic. Sadly, both of the McKinley's daughters died quite young. McKinley once again fell into a severe depression...and who could blame him?
McKinley was devoted to his wife. He made sure to spend a couple of hours with her daily. When he was governor, every afternoon at 3 he would wave to her window. To his credit, William McKinley did not keep Ida hidden away, as would have been the common practice of the day. Even as president she would regularly attend White House social events. At one such event, the conversation was interrupted by Ida hissing. She was having a sort of seizure. William put a napkin over her face, and continued the conversation. When the seizure was over, Ida removed the napkin from her face, and kept on with the dinner as if nothing had happened.
Probably the most notable case in McKinley's legal career was when he defended a group of miners that had participated in a strike. All but one were freed. When the miners cobbled together the legal fee they owed him, McKinley refused to take it. Years later, when McKinley was in major financial trouble due to a bad investment, those same miners were one group that came to the rescue. The whole story sounds like something straight out of "It's A Wonderful Life."
Before McKinley, the previous two Republican presidents had only been in one elected office each before becoming president: Chester A. Arthur had only been vice-president, and Benjamin Harrison had one lone term in the U.S. senate. McKinley had considerably more experience he served 4 terms in the U.S House of Representatives, even becoming head of the crucial Ways and Means Committee. McKinley failed to win a 5th term largely due to the gerrymandering of Ohio districts. McKinley took the opportunity to run for governor, and won.
In the 1892 Republican Convention, where President Harrison was vying to be renominated by his party, a significant amount of delegates voted for McKinley; most notably all the Ohio delegates except McKinley himself, who voted for Harrison. This caused Harrison to be rather miffed at McKinley as he thought McKinley could have swayed all the votes in his direction if he'd wanted to.
McKinley was successfully nominated as the Republican presidential candidate in 1896. He successfully defeated William Jennings Bryan, and even managed to carry a few Southern states that were traditionally Democrat.
In 1890 the American Frontier had been declared closed. I don't think Americans have ever truly gotten over that. I've had more than one student I think a century and a half ago could have channeled some of that restless energy by becoming a pioneer. So America was in an expansionist mood. Europe was too. This was in the middle of the Scramble for Africa when Europeans colonized every nation in Africa except Liberia and Ethiopia.
Civil Service reform continued on it's merry way forward during the McKinley administration. There was continuing debates over the gold standard and tariffs....but I'd rather skip ahead to the part where things blow up. I mean seriously, with administration after administration of care-taker presidents...you know how excited I am to have a war to write about at last? Yippee!
Cuba was the last colony in the Americas that was not independent from Spain. The latest revolt started in 1895. Just 90 miles away from Florida, the usually isolationist Americans paid close attention to Cuba's ongoing struggle for independence. Not least because many Americans had business investments in Cuba. Also newspaper moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst recognized the potential for great newspaper-selling headlines when they saw them.
McKinley agonized over what the U.S. response should be. Initially he tried the diplomatic route. The United States and Spain negotiated an independent government for Cuba that would begin on January 1, 1898. However just 11 days after the government went into power, there was a riot in Havana. The United States sent the U.S.S. Maine to Cuba for the protection of American citizens who remained there. Ships were also sent near Lisbon and the Philippines.
On February 15, the USS Maine exploded killing 266 sailors. The rumors were that the explosion was an act of war from Spain. The newspapers did all they could to play up that angle. However the ship probably blew up on its own. The technology for building the boat was still new and volatile.
Nevertheless, this led to the big slogan of the Spanish-American War "Remember the Maine!" That March Congress officially declared war on Spain. Teddy Roosevelt was so excited he resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and started his own regiment called the Rough Riders.
The war was over in 4 months. John Hay, ambassador to England and former assistant to Abraham Lincoln, referred to it as a "splendid little war." Brief as it was, (and largely forgotten...) the Spanish-American War had consequences that still affect us. Puerto Rico became an American territory as well some islands inn the South Pacific such as Guam. Yes Americans, every time you get pleasure in crying out the name "Guam!"...you can thank William McKinley.
Cuba was supposed to be temporarily under U.S. jurisdiction...but that pretty much continued until the communist revolution in 1959. The Philippines were purchased for $20 million. McKinley had high hopes of bringing Christianity to the Philippines. Never mind the fact that Filipinos had been Catholic since before the United States existed as a country. Conflict would continue in the Philippines until they finally gained their independence from the United States in 1902.
1898 was also the year that the Hawaiian Republic ceased to exist. Benjamin Harrison had started the process of the annexation of Hawaii by the U.S. Grover Cleveland had put a stop to that feeling strongly that colonization was not part of the American ideals. McKinley reverted back to annexing Hawaii, and all Hawaiians officially became American citizens.
It was also during this time period that the United States and Britain gradually made the transition from awkwardness from being former colony and former colonizer, to becoming all buddy-buddy. "Hey I'm an English speaking mostly protestant nation that's building an empire and so are you! Let's hang out! And let's not let Germany into our club." Hear that rumbling? That's World War I less than 20 years away.
In the election of 1900, McKinley once again defeated William Jennings Bryan. However in this election he had a new running mate. Vice President Hobart had died in 1899. McKinley opted to go with war hero Teddy Roosevelt as his running mate.
For his second term, McKinley planned to be the first American president to go abroad during his administration. He hoped to increase trade with Latin America, and was part of the talks for a canal to be built in Panama. This cause brought him to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo. While McKinley was shaking hands, Leon Czolgosz shot him in the stomach. Czolgosz was captured immediately. The wounded McKinley insisted "Don't let them hurt him!" At first, people assumed with the lack of consonants, that McKinley had been shot by a foreigner. However, Czolgosz was born in Michigan to Polish immigrant parents.
McKinley's condition declined. By the 8th day, right before he slipped into a coma, his last words were the lyrics to "Nearer My God to Thee." McKinley died on September 14, 1901...just 6 months into his second term.
What follows is a tale of excitement, romance and square deals. But you'll just have to wait until I wade through my Teddy Roosevelt biographies. :)
One sure fire sign that McKinley was the first 20th century president is the fact that I can find youtube clips of him on film. Here is McKinley's 2nd inauguration:
</lj-embed>