William McKinley

William McKinley fell in love with Ida Saxton and married her in 1871. The couple had two daughters, both of whom unfortunately died in their childhood. Ida became depressed after the deaths of her daughters and also developed epilepsy. McKinley remained deeply devoted to his wife and tended to her for as long as he lived.

Shortly after he was re-elected as the president, McKinley embarked on a tour of the western states which ended with a speech at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, on September 5, 1901. The following day he was shot at twice by an unemployed mill worker named Leon Czolgosz. The president was rushed to the hospital where he suffered for a few days and died on the morning of September 14, 1901. The nation was plunged into genuine grief at the news of his passing as he had been a much loved and respected president.

William McKinley Jr., was born on January 29, 1843, in Ohio as the seventh child of William and Nancy McKinley. His father was a manager of a charcoal furnace and a small-scale iron founder.

After graduating from high school in 1859, William McKinley Jr., joined the Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. However, he remained there for only one year before he became ill with depression and returned home. Financial issues in the family prevented him from returning to college after his health improved.

He started working to add to the family income, first taking up the job of a postal clerk and then working as a school teacher.

He was 18 years old in 1861 when the Civil War broke out. He enlisted in an Ohio regiment under the command of Rutherford B. Hayes who became his mentor and lifelong friend. He joined as a private, was promoted to second lieutenant in 1862, and was discharged as a brevet major, in 1865.

After the war he studied law at the Albany Law School in New York and was admitted to the bar in Ohio in 1867. Soon he built a successful practice in partnership with a prominent lawyer, George W. Belden.

McKinley entered politics when his mentor from the war, Hayes, was nominated for governor in 1867. McKinley made speeches on his behalf and campaigned for his friend. Over the years Hayes became a prominent politician and was elected as the President of the United States, in 1877.

The same year Hayes became the president, McKinley won his first congressional seat. As a Republican, McKinley belonged to a minority in the congress. He was a strong advocate for protective tariffs which he believed allowed American manufacturers to develop by providing them a price advantage in the domestic markets.

The ensuing years saw McKinley become an increasingly significant figure in national politics. He served a brief stint as Ohio’s representative on the Republican National Committee in 1880 and four years later, was elected as a delegate to the 1884 Republican convention.

President William McKinley is credited to have brought about rapid economic progress in America during his tenure. Especially significant among the various measures he implemented were his promotion of the Dingley tariff to protect American manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition and the passage of the Gold Standard Act.