History UsefulNotes / WilliamMcKinley

[=McKinley=] also sent 2,500 troops to join the eight-power coalition (the Americans fought alongside [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russia]], [[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan Japan]], [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany Germany]], [[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom Britain]], UsefulNotes/{{France}}, UsefulNotes/{{Austria}}--UsefulNotes/{{Hungary}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}) in suppressing the xenophobic 'Boxer' rebels in [[UsefulNotes/ImperialChina China]]. AsYouKnow, this ended with the looting and razing of Beijing and the (sexual) assault of many of its inhabitants, fueling further xenophobia and sowing the seeds of specifically anti-American sentiment among the country's elites (who actually knew the differences between the barbarian nations). [=McKinley=] joined the coalition to prevent the USA's embassy staff in Beijing from being killed, to prevent the Qing Empire from taxing foreign companies or raising taxes on foreign imports (tariffs) above the 2% which the Eight Powers had forced them to agree to, and to prevent any of the other seven powers from formally annexing any territories. [=McKinley=] avoided annexations in China and opposed them by others because the Philippines debacle had soured the US public on formal empire, and US nationalists and anti-Imperialists alike agreed that ''other'' countries expanding ''their'' empires was bad. This pursuit of a highly unequal trade and diplomatic relationship with the Qing Empire and opposition to annexations was termed "the Open Door Policy". In upholding it, the USA both helped to spark and shaped the peace after the UsefulNotes/FirstSinoJapaneseWar of 1895 and UsefulNotes/RussoJapaneseWar of 1904–5.

Most historians consider [=McKinley=] to be an above-average president. While he was initially considered to be WeakWilled and easily influenced by the public, there is a growing opinion in the historical community that his leadership successfully helped the United States enter the international stage, for all the good and bad that implies. He presided over the country's taking of its first non-continental territories while restraining European countries when they were on the verge of trying to take parts of China as colonies. Additionally, America recovered from a stinging depression and prosperity resumed. He also set the stage for the Republicans dominating the White House for the next few decades, making him easily one of the most effective presidents as a party leader. On the other hand, he is often criticized for annexing Hawaii and for his administration's [[UsefulNotes/PhilippineAmericanWar actions in the Philippines]]. While largely forgotten by Americans today, it is becoming much more remembered in the Philippines. The conflict in many ways paralleled the later [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] in its lethality (up to 200,000 Filipinos, most of them civilians, died along with 5,000 Americans) and the lasting anti-American feeling it generated both abroad and at home among peace activists.

Most historians consider [=McKinley=] to be an above-average president. While he was initially considered to be WeakWilled and easily influenced by the public, there is a growing opinion in the historical community that his leadership successfully helped the United States enter the international stage, for all the good and bad that implies. He presided over the country's taking of its first non-continental territories while restraining European countries when they were on the verge of trying to take parts of China as colonies. Additionally, America recovered from a stinging depression and prosperity resumed. He also set the stage for the Republicans dominating the White House for the next few decades, making him easily one of the most effective presidents as a party leader. On the other hand, he is often criticized for annexing Hawaii and for his administration's [[UsefulNotes/PhilippineInsurrection actions in the Philippines]]. While largely forgotten by Americans today, it is becoming much more remembered in the Philippines. The conflict in many ways paralleled the later [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] in its lethality (up to 200,000 Filipinos, most of them civilians, died along with 5,000 Americans) and the lasting anti-American feeling it generated both abroad and at home among peace activists.

The Spanish-American War broke out during his first term in 1898, mostly over the issue of independence for UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}. The American victory was quick and decisive: both the Army and Navy [[CurbStompBattle won nearly every engagement with the Spanish]]. Ironically, [=McKinley=] tried to avoid war for a long time despite public opinion favoring the Cubans, but he accepted war when it was clear that diplomacy was no longer an option (and Congress essentially forced his hand; after all, Congress declares war, not the president). When the dust had settled, UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} had ceded UsefulNotes/PuertoRico, UsefulNotes/{{Guam}}, and the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} to direct American control (though the residents of the Phillippines spent the next four years fighting a violent guerrilla war against the Americans), while Cuba was granted independence but remained firmly in the American sphere of influence. At the same time, the formerly independent nation of UsefulNotes/{{Hawaii}} was annexed after local American plantation owners overthrew the Hawaiian monarchy, further expanding American influence in the Pacific.

Most historians consider [=McKinley=] to be an above-average president. While he was initially considered to be WeakWilled and easily influenced by the public, there is a growing opinion in the historical community that his leadership successfully helped the United States enter the international stage, for all the good and bad that implies. He presided over the country's taking of its first non-continental territories while restraining European countries when they were on the verge of trying to take parts of China as colonies. Additionally, America recovered from a stinging depression and prosperity resumed. He also set the stage for the Republicans dominating the White House for the next few decades, making him easily one of the most effective presidents as a party leader. On the other hand, he is often criticized for annexing Hawaii and for his administration's actions in the Philippines. While largely forgotten by Americans today, it is ''very'' much not in the Philippines. The conflict in many ways paralleled the later [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam War]] in its lethality (over 200,000 Filipinos, most of them civilians, died along with 5,000 Americans) and the lasting anti-American feeling it generated both abroad and at home among peace activists.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
** "The hat [=McKinley=] was shot in" appears in one episode ... or at least the random hat Grandpa leaves behind in Herman's Military Antiques is promptly ''labelled'' as such.
** [[VagueAge Mr. Burns]] said he survived five years of "[=McKinley=]-nomics".

* He was the inspiration for The Wizard in ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz''. Creator/FrankMorgan, his portrayer in [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the film version]], is even made up to resemble [=McKinley=].

* ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}'', a musical about people who tried to kill the President, naturally has a number about his assassination by Czolgosz. It’s up to the production if they want to include him as a character.
* In ''WesternAnimation/DevilMayCare'', President [=McKinley=] appears as the Devil's right-hand man, forever boasting about the things he accomplished during his shortened presidency, even as nobody else seems to remember who he was.

* The arrest of Leon Czolgosz by a racist Buffalo cop was the original point of departure for the Web original AlternateHistory ''Literature/{{Reds}}'' and remains an important differentiating event in the rewrite. In both versions, the assassination of [=McKinley=] never takes place and thus history is radically altered.