William McKinley was born into a middle-class Ohio family. He attended public school in Niles, Ohio. In 1852, the McKinley family moved to Poland, Ohio. McKinley enrolled in a Methodist school. In 1860, he entered Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. He became ill. He had little money. McKinley withdrew from college. He returned home to Poland, Ohio. He taught school and worked as a postal clerk.
In 1861, McKinley enlisted in the Union Army. During the Civil War, he was promoted to the rank of major. After the war, he studied law. McKinley joined the Ohio bar in 1867. The same year, he opened a law practice in Canton, Ohio. In 1869, McKinley was elected prosecutor in Stark County, Ohio.
In 1876, McKinley won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. He became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In 1890, he sponsored the McKinley Tariff Act. It sharply increased duties on foreign imports. The tariff bill was McKinley's last major contribution in Congress. The borders of his district were changed. He lost his House seat.
In 1891, McKinley was elected governor of Ohio. He was reelected in 1893. Around 1895, he acquired more than $100,000 in debts to help a friend. McKinley found himself in deep financial trouble. He was rescued by Mark Hanna, Cleveland's most important industrialist. Hanna believed McKinley could become president. He organized his friends on McKinley's behalf. In 1896, they helped him win the Republican presidential nomination. McKinley was elected president. He was reelected in 1900.
McKinley won reelection by a large margin. His second inauguration was held on March 4, 1901. In late summer, the president toured the western states. When he returned, he visited Buffalo, New York to attend the Pan-American Exposition. (The exposition was an international fair for American countries.) On September 6, 1901, McKinley was shot at the exposition in Buffalo.
The assassin was a Polish immigrant named Leon Czolgosz. He was an anarchist. The wounded president was carried to the home of John Milburn, a Buffalo lawyer. (Milburn was McKinley's host.) On September 14, 1901, William McKinley died at the Milburn home in Buffalo. He is buried at the McKinley National Memorial in Canton, Ohio.
