American President
William McKinley (1843–1901)
Facts at a Glance
- Term
- 25th President of the United States (1897–1901)
- Born
- January 29, 1843, Niles, Ohio
- Nickname
- “Idol of Ohio”
- Education
- Allegheny College
- Religion
- Methodist
- Marriage
- January 25, 1871, to Ida Saxton (1847–1907)
- Children
- Katherine (1871–1875), Ida (1873)
- Career
- Lawyer
- Political Party
- Republican
- Writings
- The Tariff in the Days of Henry Clay and Since (1896)
- Died
- September 14, 1901, Buffalo, New York
- Buried
- Canton, Ohio (adjacent to Westlawn Cemetery)
- A Life in Brief
- For a long time, William McKinley was considered a mediocre President, a chief executive who was controlled by his political cronies and who was pressured into war with Spain by the press. Recent historians have been kinder to McKinley, seeing him instead as a decisive President who put America on the road to world power. More »
- War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed; peace is preferable to war in almost every contingency.
- March 4, 1897
Essays on William McKinley and His Administration
- William McKinley
- A Life in Brief
- Life Before the Presidency
- Campaigns and Elections
- Domestic Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Death of the President
- Family Life
- The American Franchise
- Impact and Legacy
- Key Events
- First Lady
- Ida McKinley
- Vice President
- Garret A. Hobart (1897–1899)
- Theodore Roosevelt (1901)
- Secretary of State
- John Sherman (1897–1898)
- John M. Hay (1898–1901)
- William Day (1898–1898)
- Secretary of War
- Russell Alger (1897–1899)
- Elihu Root (1899–1901)
- Postmaster General
- James A. Gary (1897–1898)
- Charles Emory Smith (1898–1901)
- Secretary of the Interior
- Cornelius N. Bliss (1897–1899)
- Ethan A. Hitchcock (1899–1901)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- Lyman J. Gage (1897–1901)
- Attorney General
- Joseph McKenna (1897–1898)
- John W. Griggs (1898–1901)
- Philander C. Knox (1901–1901)
- Secretary of the Navy
- John D. Long (1897–1901)
- Secretary of Agriculture
- James Wilson (1897–1901)
Consulting Editor: Lewis L. Gould
Professor Gould is the Eugene C. Barker Centennial Professor Emeritus in American History at the University of Texas. His writings include:
The Modern American Presidency (University Press of Kansas, 2003)
The Spanish-American War and President McKinley (University Press of Kansas, 1982)
The Presidency of William McKinley (University Press of Kansas, 1981)
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center’s William McKinley speech collection.
Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on William McKinley.
Listen to Kevin Phillips’s 2003 presentation at the Miller Center on President William McKinley.
President William McKinley led the country as Commander in Chief during the Spanish-American War. Learn more about the Miller Center's National War Powers Commission.
Learn more about the Center’s National Commission on Presidential Disability and the 25th Amendment and its relationship to McKinley.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center’s Scripps Library, designed to help students and scholars conduct their research quickly.
Information on William McKinley’s Private and Public Papers
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