Name/Title
Notes on McKinley as president.Entry/Object ID
2016.2.99xScope and Content
Proper manners
The Presidency 1897-1901
He was nominated on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention. Since it was against protocol, he followed the progress by telephone (a first) and telegraph. He had other firsts too. He was the first to use campaign buttons. His solgan "full lunch pail."
Since Ida was too frail to travel and McKinley refused to leave her behind, he did his campaign from his home in Canton. It was called the "front porch campaign." The delegates came to Canton by train and other tranpertation of the period. Canton was busy city, an example, on Illinois Day 1100 people arrived to hear his speech.
November 3, 1896, William McKinley was elected 25th President of the United States. At this time he changed his signature to William McKinley instead of Wm. McKinley. He took office March 4, 1897 with Garret A Hobart as his Vice President.
McKinley was our last Civil War vetern Presidnet. He was the first President to be filmed in 1896 and he had his own Presidential Seal.
On December 12, 1897, Mother McKinley died.
Under his leadership we became a world power.
His term in office was busy. The Cuban situation caused unrest with the sinking of the Battleship "Maine" on Feburary 15, 1898, by the Spanish. He tired to use peaceful measures to settle the situation as he felt "revenge" was a poor excuse for war but the public demanded it. The Spanish-American War went from April 25 (21) to December 24, 1898. As a result we acquired Guam, the Phillippines and Puerto Rico. Cuba
We annexed Hawaii in 1898.
From the Boxer rebellion we acquired the Samoan group and Tutuila.
We adopted the Gold Standard on March 14, 1900. The most important financial reform in American history, and by 1899 the "Open Trade Policy" was adopted our country recovered from the great depression.
President McKinley had pets at the White House. He had a horse named Midnight and a parrot that could whistle a few lines of "Yankee Doodle."
1900 he was re-elected President with Vice President Teddy Roosevelt. With the country recovered from the great depression, every thing should have been wonderful but on Sept 4, 1901, he was shot, while shaking hand with people. He had just given his lucky carnation to a girl when Czolgosz, came up with his hand wrapped in a hanky and fired the shots. His only reply was he wanted to kill a "great ruler."
President McKinley died September 14, 1901 in Buffalo, NY.Collection
BlaneyAcquisition
Accession
2016.2.0Source or Donor
Eileen B. BlaneyAcquisition Method
Gift