Line #20 UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/william_mckinley.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''"In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest. That's all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history."'']]
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4	->''"Doesn't our President look marvelous today? So round and prosperous!"''
5	-->-- ''Theatre/{{Assassins}}'', "The Ballad of Czolgosz"
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7	William [=McKinley=] Jr. (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th [[UsefulNotes/ThePresidentsOfTheUnitedStates President of the United States]], serving [[TheGayNineties from 1897 until his death in 1901]]. He was the seventh president from the Republican Party, followed UsefulNotes/GroverCleveland's ''second'' term, and was followed by none other than UsefulNotes/TheodoreRoosevelt.
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9	[=McKinley=] was phenomenally popular during his time. A former lawyer, political operator, congressman, and governor of UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}}, he gained the presidency mostly by running a "front porch campaign", giving his speeches and addressing his supporters from his own house in Canton, Ohio. He ran mostly on a platform of protecting the economy with high tariffs; he had been chairman of the congressional committee which had drafted the "[=McKinley=] Tariff" of 1890, under which the average duty on imported goods rose to almost 50%. He also advocated keeping the gold standard at a time when his Democratic opponent, UsefulNotes/WilliamJenningsBryan, was promoting the free coining of silver (and [[SingleIssueWonk little else]] -- though stylistically, he campaigned by crossing the country, also a marked contrast from [=McKinley=]). When that issue failed to excite the nation, [=McKinley=] won the election by a small margin in the popular vote and a considerably ''larger'' margin in the Electoral College. Having inherited a depression from predecessor Cleveland, the economy significantly rebounded during [=McKinley=]'s time (in part due to the UsefulNotes/SpanishAmericanWar), with unemployment dropping by over 10% during his first term. The dollar was placed entirely on the gold standard, tariff rates were increased, and relations with labor unions improved significantly.
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11	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, 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.
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13	[=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 [[UsefulNotes/PhilippineAmericanWar 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.
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15	This combination of strong economy, territorial gain, and success on the international stage buttressed his case, in the minds of the public, for why he should have won a second term in 1900. Although he defeated Bryan by larger popular and electoral margins than in their previous contest, [=McKinley=] barely got a chance to enjoy his second term. He was the last veteran of UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar to be president (serving alongside fellow Ohioan president UsefulNotes/RutherfordBHayes) and was also the first president to be elected during an UsefulNotes/{{Olympic\|Games}} year (the year of the first modern games, 1896), to ride in an automobile, and to campaign by telephone. His face was on the $500 bill, but these have been discontinued since 1969. His two elections saw voter turnout above 70% each time, the last time voter turnout was above the 70% mark.
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17	In person, he was known as a kind and well-meaning man -- after he was shot, he literally begged the people at the exposition not to form a mob and attack his assassin, and to [[BreakingBadNewsGently break the news gently]] to his wife. [=McKinley=] went on national speaking tours in order to stay in touch with voters and held regular press meetings. His wife, Ida, developed epilepsy after both of her daughters died as toddlers. He kept her by his side at all times in case she had a seizure.
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19	The worst natural disaster in American history, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1900_Galveston_hurricane 1900 Galveston hurricane]], happened on his watch. Over 8,000 people in UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} lost their lives to an incredibly destructive hurricane.
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21	[=McKinley=] was shot by Leon Czolgosz on September 6, 1901 and died of his wounds which became gangrenous eight days later, making him one of the more famous victims of violence perpetrated in the name of anarchism; a few short but eventful decades later, the [[RedScare radicals to be really afraid of would be communists]] instead. He famously [[TemptingFate disliked having a security detail]], seeing them as an impediment to interacting with his constituents, and was specifically warned that the event in which he was shot would be impossible to secure properly. [=McKinley=] was unconcerned because he couldn't imagine that anyone would actually want to hurt him. Much like UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield before him, technology was very near [=McKinley=] that probably would have saved him, but several decisions surrounding the operation didn't work out for keeping him alive ([[ItWillNeverCatchOn the new "X-ray machine" being exhibited at the very expo where he was shot was too untested for doctors to trust it, and apparently they didn't think to do the surgery under the brand-new electric lighting, nor could they use candles because flammable ether was still the best anesthetic available at the time]]). Nine days later, Czolgosz's trial began; it lasted eight hours, and after half an hour of deliberation, Czolgosz was found guilty and sentenced to death by [[ElectricTorture the electric chair]]. After Czolgosz got executed, [[NoBodyLeftBehind his remains were destroyed with acid]]. Less than six years after her husband's death, [[DeathByDespair Ida Saxton was fatally heartbroken]].
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23	The lack of security afforded to American presidents--which was condemned by newspaper editorials across the country, led to an informal request from Congress asking the Secret Service--Treasury Department police, until then mostly concerned with fighting {{counterfeit\|Cash}}ing but doing other stuff on the side--with providing security for the President and other high-ranking officials. The Theodore Roosevelt administration quickly made this arrangement permanent.
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25	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 both Americans and Filipinos today, it is nonetheless a very dark chapter in the history of both countries; 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.
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27	He got a massive mountain in UsefulNotes/{{Alaska}} named after him, though the Koyukon people who live nearby had something to say about that. It was officially returned to its original name Denali by the [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama Obama]] administration in 2015, nearly two years short of a whole century after the naming of "Mount [=McKinley=]".
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29	[=McKinley=] is the most recent President with no direct descendants living today, since neither of his daughters survived to adulthood.
30	----
31	!!William [=McKinley=] in Fiction
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33	* ''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.
34	* ''Literature/BenSnow'': In "The Man in the Alley", Ben is present at [=McKinley=]'s assassination, at later brings the secret mastermind behind the plot to justice.
35	* 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.
36	* The school in ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'' was named after him, as is the school in ''Series/{{Glee}}''.
37	* The arrest of Leon Czolgosz by a racist Buffalo cop was the original point of departure for the Web original AlternateHistory ''Literature/RedsARevolutionaryTimeline'' 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.
38	* Played by Brian Keith in ''Film/TheRoughRiders''.
39	* In an episode of ''Series/SanfordAndSon'', Fred brings a very old girlfriend to dinner, who concludes Grace with "...and bless President [=McKinley=]!"
40	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
41	** "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.
42	** [[VagueAge Mr. Burns]] said he survived five years of "[=McKinley=]-nomics".
43	* In ''Film/WaitingForGuffman'', [=McKinley=] visited the fictional town of Blaine, Missouri. A young boy gave him a footstool as a gift and Blaine thus became known as the "stool capital of the world".
44	* 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=].
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Context UsefulNotes / WilliamMcKinley