William McKinley – The 25th President of the United States

William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from 1897 to 1901. His administration was notable for bringing about a political realignment, making the Republican Party the dominant party in the industrial states and nationally until the 1930s. His administration was also notable for his stance on African-Americans.

William McKinley

William McKinley (id: M000522)

William McKinley, who was born in 1843, was the 25th president of the United States. He served from 1897 to 1901, and was a Republican. His policies focused on protecting American industry and enforcing free-trade agreements with other countries. Although his policies were controversial, they did help restore the country’s economic prosperity. His policies included rejecting the inflationary monetary policy of free silver, increasing protective tariffs, and promoting American manufacturing.

After a successful professional life, McKinley married Ida Saxton, who came from a prominent family in Canton, Ohio. They were both raised in the First Presbyterian Church in Canton, Ohio, and they had a daughter named Katherine.

After the election, McKinley was re-elected to the presidency. His supporters were confident that he would win the 1900 presidential election. He had been popular for the first half of his term. This ensured his re-election. However, in 1900, McKinley had a new loper. Elihu Root was his favorite candidate.

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William McKinley was the fifth president of the United States. He served as the nation’s president for a total of six terms. He was born in 1832. McKinleyneun was the son of John McKinley, who had been an Irish immigrant.

As president, McKinley endorsed the Gold Standard Act and the Dingley-tariffen. He also overtaled the Spania in 1898 to bring peace without conflict. As president, he signed the congressional krigserklaering to end the spanish-american war.

His presidency

William McKinley’s presidency is often portrayed as one that is unremarkable, but it actually had many noteworthy aspects. During his presidency, he named more African Americans to federal offices than all of his predecessors put together, strengthened federal penalties for lynch mobs, and supported measures promoting racial tolerance. His cooperative relationships with African American leaders have been long overlooked by historians. For example, McKinley named George Henry White as the nation’s only black congressman during the years 1897-1801.

McKinley was raised in a Christian household and was a member of a Methodist denomination. His father, a coal miner from Ohio, had married a Methodist named Nancy Allison. The couple had a son named William, who was born on January 29, 1843, in a wooden cottage.

The first step in McKinley’s presidency was securing the presidency for himself. His victory in the 1896 presidential election shifted the political system. The Republicans became the Fourth Party System, igniting the Progressive Era. In the subsequent 1900 presidential election, McKinley defeated his opponent, William Bryan. McKinley campaigned on anti-imperialism policies, protectionism, and free silver. However, his presidency ended in tragedy when he was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz.

While McKinley had hoped to avoid intervention in Cuba, the Spanish-American War forced him to intervene. Spanish forces had been attempting to suppress the Cuban revolution, but McKinley sought to avoid a military conflict. After the battleship Maine exploded in Havana harbor in February 1898, he asked Congress for the authority to intervene in Cuba. Congress granted the president the authority to do so and the Spanish-American War lasted from early May to August 1898. In the end, the U.S. defeated Spain and captured the Philippines and Puerto Rico, and also occupied Manila in the Philippines.

After serving as governor of Ohio for two terms, McKinley sought the presidency. He was supported by the industrial and big-city centers and won by more than 50 percent of the popular vote and 271 electoral votes.

His foreign policy

Foreign policy dominated the early years of the McKinley Administration. The Cuban Revolution was causing a great deal of suffering and death, and McKinley hoped to avoid a war. However, in February 1898, he requested authorization from Congress to intervene in Cuba. He also requested an embassy in Havana. By early May, the U.S. declared war on Spain and began a 100-day war in which the United States destroyed the Spanish fleet in Cuba and captured Manila in the Philippines and Puerto Rico.

In addition to the Philippines, McKinley also engaged in trade negotiations with Asia and embraced the “Open Door Policy” to establish robust global trade with China. McKinley was not particularly friendly to international commerce, but was convinced by Hay’s Open Door Note of September 1896. This proposal would allow equal trade with all nations, and it also prohibited the United States from interfering in Chinese ports.

In his inaugural address, William McKinley outlined a portion of his foreign policy. The president stressed that he was conducting a moral duty and that his plans for expansion were a good business. His foreign policy, however, was opposed by the anti-imperialist movement.

Despite his preoccupation with foreign affairs, McKinley never lost sight of the domestic problems facing the country. In 1899, he studied the growth of large business conglomerations in the United States. These conglomerations agitated reformers and threatened the nation’s prosperity. He also warned against the dangers of monopolies and trusts. He handled these issues and all other potentially controversial issues well.

In his foreign policy, McKinley stressed the importance of protective tariffs. He also supported a gold standard monetary standard. Although the Spanish-American War presented many challenges to the U.S., McKinley’s policies in foreign policy reflected his goals. He was a skilled legislator, a strong coalition builder, and favored public interests over private interests. His domestic policy emphasised the protection of labor and the poor.

His stance on African-Americans

As the 25th president of the United States, William McKinley was an abolitionist and was sympathetic toward African-Americans. Although he did not seek to change Jim Crow, which was an unjust system of second-class citizenship in the South, he did nominate several African-Americans to federal offices. These included George B. Jackson, who was named to the post of customs collector in Presidio, Texas, and Walter L. Cohen, a leader of the Black and Tan Republican party.

McKinley made his intentions known in public speeches, but political realities limited real progress in race relations. He did, however, make an effort to ensure that African-American soldiers served in the Spanish-American War. This included overturning army orders that barred the recruitment of African-American soldiers. In many ways, this demonstrates McKinley’s stance on African-Americans, as it is a recognition of the value of African-American life.

McKinley’s stance on ethnicity and immigration was realistic. He was well aware of the polarizing nature of immigration. Although the Republican platform supported the exclusion of illiterates and criminal classes, McKinley took a more moderate approach. Moreover, he applauded immigrants who had pledged to uphold the fundamental principles of the United States.

Although McKinley did not address issues related to suffrage, his efforts were still helpful. As a supreme realist, he understood that public opinion would change in small steps and that equality would come eventually. Even if he didn’t mention suffrage, he acknowledged that women would gain more visibility and increased roles in society.

McKinley also sought to gain favor with organized labor by promoting the Dingley Tariff and appointing labor leaders to government positions. In particular, he appointed Terence V. Powderly, head of the Knights of Labor, to the post of commissioner general of immigration. He also supported the exclusion of Chinese laborers and promoted the establishment of a mechanism for interstate railroad wage disputes.

His gun attack

William McKinley was shot in the head by a man known as Leon F. Czolgosz, a former Polish-American mill worker. McKinley was unconscious for several days and later died. The attack was the third by an assassin in forty years. Czolgosz was sentenced to death by electric chair. Other anarchists were initially suspected, but Czolgosz was believed to be the lone gunman.

President McKinley was the third president to be assassinated, after Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield. He was shot twice at point-blank range. He died of his wounds eight days later. His assassin, a fanatic named Leon F. Czolgosz, was beaten and handcuffed before the shooting. He then wore a handkerchief over his hand.

In the days following the shooting, the president’s condition continued to worsen. On Sept. 12, gangrene set in along the bullet’s path through his organs. The vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, rushed from his vacation in the Adirondacks to attend to the president. McKinley’s condition deteriorated, but Vice President Theodore Roosevelt had high hopes for his recovery.

Czolgosz was a 28-year-old factory worker who came to the United States with the sole purpose of killing McKinley. He allegedly wrapped his revolver in a white handkerchief in an attempt to make it look like a sweat towel.

Although the bullet was reportedly in McKinley’s abdomen, the president was shot twice at close range by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz seven days earlier. Although the first bullet bounced harmlessly off his sternum, the other bullet entered his left upper quadrant of the abdomen, piercing the front and back walls of his stomach. The president underwent surgery within hours, but he later died.