McKinley, William 1843-1901
25th President of the USA

Born in Niles, Ohio, he served in the Civil War, retiring with the rank of major in 1865 and later practising law in Canton, Ohio. He was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1876, and repeatedly re-elected. In 1891, with business community support, he was made Governor of Ohio, his name being identified with the high protective tariff carried in the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890. Chosen Republican candidate for the presidency in 1896 and 1900, he conducted exciting contests with W J Bryan who advocated the cause of free silver, denounced trusts, high tariffs, and imperialism, and was understood to favour labour at the expense of capital. McKinley, a conservative and an advocate of the gold standard, had the backing not only of Republicans but of the so-called 'Gold Democrats' or 'Sound Money Democrats', in spite of their dislike of his policy on many points. His administration (1897-1901) saw the adoption of the highest tariff rate in US history and the rise of US imperialism. In his first term the Spanish-American War (1898) brought the USA possession of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, and its colonial empire was further increased by the annexation of Hawaii. The domain of US trade was likewise protected and extended by the proclamation of the Open Door Policy in China. Less than a year into his second term, McKinley was shot by an anarchist, Leon F Czolgosz, in Buffalo, New York, and died eight days later.

Bibliography: M K Leech, In the Days of McKinley (1959)