Presidential Outline: William Mckinley

I. William McKinley (1/29/1843 – 9/14/1901)
II. Two Terms: 1897 – 1901
III. Garret Hobart (1897 – 1899); Theodore Roosevelt (1901) IV. Republican Party
V. Major Events
* William McKinley becomes President (1897) – Political a. McKinley ran against Democrat, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley received majority popular and electoral votes. b. William McKinley became the 25th President of the United States. * Dingley Tariff (1897) – Domestic

c. The Dingley Tariff redeemed the promises made to restore high protective tariffs. d. The Dingley Tariff replaced the Wilson-Gorman Act of 1894. * Klondike Gold Rush (1897) – Domestic

e. Gold was discovered in the Klondike River in Canada. More than 100,000 men and women set off to the Klondike River in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Word of the discovery got around very quickly. f. Gold rush fever reached a new height. Over 30 million dollars (in 1897 U.S. dollar value) worth of gold. * De Lôme Letter (1898) – Foreign Policy

g. Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, a Spanish minister to Washington, wrote a letter expressing his views on President McKinley, calling him weak. h. America was outraged that a foreign official made such a remark towards the president. De Lôme resigned and stated that the letter expressed his views, not his government’s views. * Spanish-American War begins (1898) – Foreign Policy i. The Spanish-American War was a short-lived conflict, beginning and ending in the same year, between Spain and the United States. The United States was trying to help Cuba gain independence from Spain. The war began when the United States declared war after the battleship Maine was sunk in Havana Harbor. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris. j. The United States won the war. As a result of losing, Spain lost control over the remaining overseas empire. Spain lost control over Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands. * Teller Resolution (1898) – Foreign Policy

k. The United States had no intentions on annexing Cuba or taking over Cuba in any way. The United States only wanted to help the island claim independence and leave the government and control to the island’s people. l. The United States did not annex Cuba and only remained on the island until 1902 with the Platt Amendment to the Cuban constitution. The United States gained rights to station a naval base in the Cuban harbor, Guantánamo Bay.

* Hawaiian Islands annexed (1898) – Domestic
m. The United States had begun interest in the Hawaiian Islands in the early 1800s. The United States traded with Hawaii for its sugar. A sugar tariff in the 1890s caused a depression in Hawaii. Queen Liliuokalani was overthrown and forced to renounce her thrown. Marines stormed the islands. President Cleveland unfavored the annexation of Hawaii. President McKinley signed a joint resolution and annexed Hawaii. n. The Hawaiian Islands were annexed by the United States and became territory. The Hawaiian Islands would not become the state of Hawaii until both it and Alaska were ratified in 1959. * Treaty of Paris (1898) – Foreign Policy

o. This treaty ended the Spanish-American War.
p. The United States paid Spain $20 million for the possession of the Philippines. Puerto Rico and Guam were placed under American control. * First Grandfather Clause (Louisiana) (1898) – Political q. Seven southern states enacted the clause in attempt to prevent freedmen from voting. The clause was to nullify the 15th amendment. r. The Grandfather Clause significantly reduced African American political participation and influence in the 20th century. This voting denial clause was the center of the discrimination and segregation of African Americans in the 20th century. * Open Door Policy (1899) – Foreign Policy

s. China was not recognized as a sovereign state during this time and was completely disorganized. The major powers of the world were trying to claim trading rights to China. President McKinley presented an “open door” policy that would allow all trading nation access to the Chinese market. John Hay, U.S. Secretary of State, was trying to make every nation on the same level and trying to keep China from being partitioned among the major powers. t. John Hay was trying to protect the United States and its businessmen and investors. The Open Door Policy was not highly favored by foreign nations. * Boxer Rebellion (1900) – Foreign Policy

u. A secret Chinese organization, the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, led an uprising in northern China against the spread of Western and Japanese influence. The rebels, known as boxers, killed foreigners and Chinese Christians and destroyed foreign property. The boxers surrounded China’s capital Beijing. International forces subdued the uprising. The Boxer Protocol officially ended the rebellion. v. China agreed to pay $330 million in reparations. * Gold Standard Act (1900) – Economic

w. The gold dollar was declared to be the standard unit of value. x. Gold was made the standard for all of the nation’s currency. The Treasury was required to maintain a minimum of $150 million in gold reserves and the price of gold was raised.

* Foraker Act (1900) – Domestic/Foreign
y. The Foraker Act established a civilian government in Puerto Rico. The government had a House of Representatives, governor, president, and Supreme Court. z. Even with this newly established government, Puerto Rico was still under United States control. All federal laws of the United States were to be in effect on the island. * Socialist Party organized in the U.S. (1900) – Political {. The party was formed to promote public control of the means of production and distribution. |. The party differed from the Socialist Labor Party and soon outsized the older party. * Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington published (1900) – Social }. Up From Slavery is the autobiography of Booker T. Washington. The book details Washington rising from slavery and overcoming obstacles to get an education. ~. Up From Slavery became a best seller among whites and heightened Booker T. Washington’s profile. * Census shows U.S. population is 75.9 million; Life expectancy is 48 years for males, 51 years for females (1900) – Domestic . The 1900 census asked questions including address, name, gender, race, marital status, age, place of birth, and occupation.

The 1900 census only estimated life expectancies for whites. The life expectancies for black were not conducted until the 1970 census. . The 1900 census was a 21% increase in population from the 1890 census. * William McKinley begins second Presidential term (1901) – Political . William McKinley ran for re-election against once again Democrat, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley received majority popular and electoral votes. . William McKinley received approximately the same percentages from the previous election. (1896: 61%Pop./51.1%El.; 1900: 65.3%Pop./51.7%El.) * William McKinley is Assassinated (1901) – Domestic . While on a trip to Buffalo, New York to see the Pan-American Exposition, President McKinley was in Temple of Music building at the Exposition. He was there to greet the public. One man named Leon Czolgosz was next in line to meet the President. He walked up to President McKinley and fired two shots at the President’s abdomen. The crowd jumped on top of the assassin. Doctors did what they could, but could not find the bullet. McKinley initially started to get better but died from gangrene. . William McKinley was the third president to be assassinated and the fifth president to die in office.

Bibliography

* http://www.historycentral.com/Industrialage/DingleyTariff.html * http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/klondike-gold-rush/ * http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h3617.html

* http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/intro.html
* http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h820.html
* http://www.ushistory.org/us/44b.asp
* http://history.state.gov/milestones/1866-1898/Hawaii * http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/treaty.html
* http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/grandfather-clause-1898-1915 * http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h908.html
* http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion
* http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h813.html
* http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/1898/foraker.html
* http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h944.html
* http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/mckinley.htm
VI. Overall Rating
* On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate President McKinley as a 7 because he was well-liked President who helped Cuba gain independence, gained control over the Philippines and Puerto Rico, and annexed the Hawaiian Islands.