William
McKinley
was born in Niles, Ohio, on 29th January, 1843. McKinley served in
the Civil War and after retiring as
a major in 1867 he became a lawyer in Canton, Ohio.
McKinley, a Republican, was elected
to Congress in 1877. A stanch supporter of protectionism, in 1890,
as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, he helped to raise duties
on foreign imports. After being defeated in 1890, McKinley served
two terms as governor of Ohio (1892-96).
McKinley was selected by the Republican
Party as their candidate in the 1896 presidential election. During
the campaign against the Democratic
candidate, William Jennings Bryan, McKinley
argued for high protective tariffs on foreign goods. This message
was popular with America's leading industrialists and with the support
of Mark Hanna, McKinley was able to raise
$3,500,000 for his campaign. Outspending Bryan by 20 to 1, McKinley
easily defeated his opponent by an electoral vote of 271 to 176.
After his election McKinley revised customs
duties upwards (the Dingley
Tariff). He was soon involved in a foreign policy crisis with the
Cuban insurrection. In the short war that followed the United States
defeated Spanish forces in Cuba. McKinley was accused of imperialism
when he declared that Puerto Rico and the Philippines must not be
allowed to "fall into unfriendly hands" and made them United
States dependencies.
McKinley was re-elected in 1900 but the following year on 6th September,
was shot by the anarchist, Leon Czolgosz
while visiting the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo. Although surrounded
by fifty bodyguards, Czolgosz was able to walk up to McKinley and
fire two shots at him. Hit in the chest and abdomen, McKinley shouted
out "Be easy with him, boys" as secret service agents
beat Czolgosz with fists and pistol butts.
William McKinley
was taken to hospital where it was discovered that the chest
wound was superficial but the other bullet had torn through the stomach
wall. For the first few days his condition improved and newspapers
reported that he would recover. However, the path of the bullet that
had passed through the wall of the stomach and his kidney, had turned
gangrenous and he died on the 14th September, 1901. McKinley was replaced
by his vice-president, Theodore Roosevelt.
Leon Czolgosz
after assassinating
William McKinley in September, 1900.
(1)
Robert
La Follette, Autobiography (1911)
William McKinley drew men to him by the charm, courtliness, and kindliness
of his manner. McKinley was a magnetic speaker; he had a clear, bell-like
quality of voice, with a thrill in it. He spoke with dignity, but
with freedom of action. The pupils of his eyes would dilate until
they were almost black, and the face, naturally without much colour,
would become almost like marble - a strong face with a noble head.
I know of my own knowledge that McKinley stood against many of the
corrupt influences within his own party - that he even stood firmly
against the demands of his best friend, Hanna.
(2)
The Wichita Daily Eagle (7th September, 1901)
It was shortly after 4 p.m. when one of the throng which surrounded
the presidential party, a medium sized man of ordinary appearance
and plainly dressed in black, approached as if to greet the president.
He worked his way amid the stream of people until he was within two
feet of the president.
President McKinley smiled, bowed and extended his hand in the spirit
of congeniality his American people so well know, when suddenly the
sharp crack of a revolver rang out loud and clear above the hum of
the voices, the shuffling of myriad feet and vibrating waves of applause.
There was an instance of almost complete silence. The president stood
stood still, a look of hesitancy, almost of bewilderment on his face.
Then he retreated a step, while a pallor began to steal over his features.
Then came a commotion. Three men threw themselves forward, as with
one impulse, and sprang toward the would-be assassin. Two of them
were United States secret service men who were on the lookout, and
whose duty it was to guard against such a calamity. The third was
a by-stander, a negro, who had only an instant previously grasped
the hand of the president. In a twinkling the assassin was borne to
the ground, his weapon was wrestled from his grasp, and strong arms
pinioned him down.
(3)
The New York Times (8th September,
1901)
All the official bulletins showed great gains and inspired those near
the President to state positively that he would recover rapidly. The
strain on the heartstrings of the Nation has been relieved.
(4)
Jane
Addams, Twenty Years at Hull House
(1910)
When Peter Kropotkin came to America to lecture, he was heard throughout
the country with great interest and respect; that he was a guest at
Hull House during his stay in Chicago attracted little attention at
the time, but two years later, when the assassination of President
McKinley occurred, the visit of this kindly scholar, who had always
called himself an "anarchist" and had certainly written
fiery tracts in his younger manhood, was made the basis of an attack
upon Hull House. It is impossible to overstate the public excitement
of the moment and the unfathomable sense of horror with which the
community regarded an attack upon the chief executive of the nation,
as a crime against government itself which compels an instinctive
recoil from all law-abiding citizens.
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