Honestly, if you ask the average person to name a president from the turn of the century, they’re going to yell "Teddy Roosevelt!" and start talking about big sticks or national parks. It’s kinda funny because William McKinley—the guy who actually hired Roosevelt as his VP—usually gets left in the dust. But here’s the thing: President McKinley was the one who actually dragged the United States onto the world stage. Before him, the U.S. was basically a large, isolated country minding its own business. By the time he was assassinated in 1901, America was a global empire.
He was the 25th president. A Civil War vet. The last one to serve in that war, actually. He entered the White House in 1897 during a mess of an economy and left it with the country booming, though he didn't leave on his own terms.
The "Idol of Ohio" and the Front Porch Campaign
McKinley wasn't some flashy guy. He was born in Niles, Ohio, in 1843, and he really embodied that Midwestern, Methodist "good boy" vibe. He was a lawyer by trade, but politics was his true calling. He spent 14 years in the House and two terms as Governor of Ohio. People loved him. They called him the "Idol of Ohio."
When he ran for president in 1896, he did something incredibly weird by today's standards. He stayed home. While his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, was traveling thousands of miles giving fiery speeches about "crosses of gold," McKinley just sat on his front porch in Canton, Ohio. He let the people come to him.
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His campaign manager, Mark Hanna, was a business tycoon who basically invented modern political fundraising. Hanna raised millions—an insane amount back then—to flood the country with posters and pamphlets. It worked. McKinley promised a "full dinner pail," and in an era of breadlines, that message hit home. He won by a landslide.
The War That Changed Everything
Most people think of 1898 as the year the U.S. went "imperial." That was all McKinley. For a long time, he really didn't want to go to war with Spain over Cuba. He’d seen the horrors of the Civil War firsthand at Antietam, where he famously drove a wagon of hot coffee and meat to soldiers under fire. He knew what bullets did to people.
But then the USS Maine blew up in Havana Harbor.
The newspapers—the "Yellow Press"—went absolutely wild. They blamed Spain. McKinley tried to negotiate, but the public pressure was a tidal wave. We went to war, and it was over in about 100 days. Secretary of State John Hay called it a "splendid little war."
By the time the smoke cleared, the U.S. owned:
- Puerto Rico
- Guam
- The Philippines
He also annexed Hawaii during this time. Suddenly, the U.S. wasn't just a collection of states; it was a colonial power with interests in the Pacific and the Caribbean. This is usually where historians start debating. Was he a liberator or an oppressor? In the Philippines, a brutal insurrection broke out against American rule that lasted for years. It's a dark chapter that complicates the "prosperous" image of his era.
Money, Tariffs, and the $500 Bill
If you ever see a $500 bill (which you won't, because they stopped printing them in 1934), you'll see McKinley’s face. He was the ultimate "money man."
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He was obsessed with tariffs. Basically, he wanted to tax foreign goods so heavily that Americans would have to buy American. He believed this was the only way to protect workers. While he was in Congress, he passed the "McKinley Tariff" of 1890, which was so high it actually got him voted out of office for a bit because prices spiked. But as president, his "Gold Standard Act" of 1900 brought some serious stability to the dollar.
A Devoted (and Stressed) Husband
Behind the scenes, his life was pretty heavy. He was intensely devoted to his wife, Ida. She had lost both of their daughters at very young ages and suffered from epilepsy and deep depression.
McKinley was a saint to her.
At state dinners, if she had a seizure, he would simply place a silk handkerchief over her face to give her privacy, wait for it to pass, and then keep talking as if nothing happened. He never left her side if he could help it. It’s one of those human details that makes him more than just a guy in a suit in a history book.
The Shocking End in Buffalo
In 1901, McKinley was at the top of his game. He’d just been re-elected. The economy was humming. He went to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, to give a speech about how the U.S. needed to start trading more with other countries—a big shift for a "tariff guy."
On September 6, he was shaking hands with the public at the Temple of Music. A man named Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist who felt the government was the enemy of the working man, approached him. Czolgosz had a bandage on his hand, but underneath it was a .32 caliber revolver.
He shot McKinley twice.
One bullet bounced off a button, but the other went deep into his abdomen. At first, doctors thought he’d be fine. They couldn't find the bullet, but he seemed to be recovering. Then, gangrene set in. He died eight days later. His last words were reportedly from a hymn: "Nearer, my God, to Thee."
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Why His Legacy Still Matters
McKinley’s death changed the world in a very literal way. Because of him, the Secret Service was officially tasked with protecting the president. And because of his death, Theodore Roosevelt became president, bringing a much more aggressive, progressive energy to the White House.
If you want to understand why the U.S. acts the way it does on the global stage today, you have to look at McKinley. He was the bridge between the old, insular America and the modern superpower.
Practical Takeaways for History Buffs:
- If you're in Ohio, the McKinley National Memorial in Canton is actually incredible. It's a massive dome where he and Ida are buried.
- Check out the Spanish-American War archives if you want to see the exact moment the U.S. decided to become an empire.
- Look up the "Front Porch Campaign" tactics—you’ll see the DNA of modern political branding and "grassroots" staging right there.
He wasn't just a placeholder between Cleveland and Roosevelt. He was the architect of the American Century.