When he was in Congress, McKinley had sponsored the McKinley Tariff Act. It sharply increased duties on foreign imports. After he was elected president, McKinley decided to reduce duties. Before he took office, he met with members of the House of Representatives. They drafted a bill to lower duties. Shortly after he was inaugurated, the House passed the bill. It was called the Dingley Tariff Act.
The Senate increased the import duties in the Dingley bill. President McKinley disliked the new bill. But he signed it. The Dingley Tariff Act of 1897 sharply increased duties. The United States had never before imposed such high import duties on foreign goods.
The Spanish-American War
When ULYSSES GRANT was president, Cubans rebelled against the Spanish colonial government. But President Grant could not be persuaded to intervene on behalf of the Cuban rebels. In 1895, the Cubans rebelled a second time. President McKinley faced a difficult situation. By 1898, U.S. investments and trade with Cuba amounted to roughly $150 million. Events in Cuba aroused great interest in the United States.
U.S. newspapers were filled with stories of Spanish atrocities in Cuba. Newspaper editors clamored for war. President McKinley was reluctant to go to war over Cuba. He tried to mediate the conflict. He asked Spain to allow Cuba to govern itself. Spain rejected McKinley's proposal. But the Spanish did offer to approve a Cuban legislature.
Enrique Dupuy de Lôme was Spain's ambassador to the United States. He sent a letter to his government in Spain. Cubans in the United States intercepted de Lôme's letter. They leaked it to the press. On February 9, 1898, the New York Journal published the de Lôme letter. It described McKinley in very unflattering terms.
Spain apologized to the United States for the insults in de Lôme's letter. But Americans were still angry. Then the Spanish fleet sank the battleship U.S.S. Maine. (McKinley had ordered the ship to Cuba to protect U.S. lives and property.) The president still hoped to avoid a war. He ordered an investigation of the sinking of the Maine.
McKinley decided that Spain should compensate the United States. He demanded international arbitration. He also wanted Spain to make peace in Cuba. Spain refused. On April 25,1898, the United States declared war on Spain. The Spanish-American War had begun. The U.S. Navy destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet. One month later, the United States blockaded Havana Harbor.
There was one famous ground battle during the war. THEODORE ROOSEVELT's Rough Riders charged up San Juan (Kettle) Hill. They defeated the Spanish colonial army and took back the hill. Spanish troops surrendered in Santiago, Chile. Within days, the U.S. Army occupied Puerto Rico. Spain agreed to peace talks. The Spanish-American War ended with the Treaty of Paris. It was signed on December 10, 1898.
The Treaty of Paris
On December 10, 1898, the United States and Spain signed the Treaty of Paris. It ended the Spanish-American War. The treaty gave Cuba its independence. The United States paid Spain $20 million for Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam.
The Senate debate on the treaty was heated. Many Americans feared the cost of policing the new Pacific territories. But McKinley won the Senate fight. On February 6, 1899, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Paris. The vote was 57 to 27. McKinley won only one vote more than he needed for ratification.
Silver Money
When President McKinley arrived in office, many Americans wanted the federal government to mint more silver money. Like President GROVER CLEVELAND, McKinley favored the gold standard. He intended to keep the value of the U.S. dollar tied to the gold. Unfortunately, gold was scarce. Most other countries also tied the value of their paper money to gold.
Around 1901, vast amounts of gold were discovered in Australia, Canada, and South Africa. The discoveries increased the world's supply of gold. Gold prices dropped. As gold became cheaper, the U.S. government put more money into circulation. The domestic economy improved. Fewer people still wanted the federal government to issue more silver money.
Cuba
When the Spanish-American War ended in 1898, the United States guaranteed Cuba's independence. In 1901, Congress had second thoughts. It passed the Platt Amendment. The amendment restricted Cuban independence. It gave the United States the right to approve Cuba's agreements with other countries. It limited Cuba's right to borrow money. The United States could send U.S. troops into Cuba. President McKinley signed the law. The long period of U.S. intervention in Cuba had begun.
Hawaii and the Pacific
Both President BENJAMIN HARRISON and President GROVER CLEVELAND considered annexing Hawaii. During the Spanish-American War, Congress decided to take over Hawaii. On July 7, 1898, President McKinley signed a resolution colonizing the Hawaiian Islands.
During McKinley's presidency, the United States became a Pacific power. At the end of the Spanish-American War, the country acquired the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. In addition, the United States annexed Hawaii, Samoa, and Wake Island. (The annexation of Samoa violated a U.S. agreement with Britain and Germany. President Benjamin Harrison had agree to share control of Samoa with Britain and Germany.)
The United States set up military bases and refueling stations in its new Pacific territories. But U.S. relations in the new territories were not always peaceful. In 1900, the United States faced civil unrest in the Puerto Rican colony. Congress ended U.S. military rule of Puerto Rico. A Puerto Rican legislature was established. In 1901, the U.S. military suppressed a popular revolt against the United States in the Philippines.
The Panama Canal
President McKinley believed the U.S. economy would benefit from better trade relations with other countries. He wanted to secure U.S. access to foreign markets. He decided to support the building of a canal across Central America. It could be used to shorten the voyage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. (President RUTHERFORD HAYES passed up an opportunity to help build the canal.)
In 1850, President ZACHARY TAYLOR had agreed to share control of a canal with Britain. In 1899, McKinley renegotiated the treaty with Britain. But the Senate changed the treaty. Congress wanted the United States to control access to the canal. Britain refused to ratify the new treaty.
China and the Open-Door Policy
In 1895, Japan defeated China in the Sino-Japanese War. After the war, China's territory was divided among Japan, Russia, Britain, France, and Germany. President McKinley did not want the United States locked out of the Far East. He advocated an "open-door" policy in China. The "open door" meant that all countries would have access to commerce in China on equal terms.
During McKinley's presidency, nationalists rebelled against foreigners in China. (The nationalists were known as the Boxers. Their revolt was called the Boxer Rebellion.) The nationalists occupied Peking (Beijing). McKinley sent U.S. troops as part of an international military force to suppress the Boxer Rebellion.
WILLIAM MCKINLEY AND HIS TIMES
McKinley the Photogenic President
McKinley was the first president to be photographed regularly. George Eastman had founded the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York in 1888. By the time McKinley became president, photographs were a common newspaper feature. McKinley immediately grasped the political significance of the new technology. He is said to have changed his white vests whenever they became wrinkled. He was always neat and posed when his photograph was taken.
McKinley's Assassination
On September 6, 1901, McKinley was shot in Buffalo, New York. His assassin was Leon Czolgosz. Czolgosz was an anarchist and an immigrant. He was upset over social injustice. The assassination increased anti-immigrant feelings in the United States. McKinley died on September 14, 1901. Czolgosz was executed in New York on October 29, 1901.
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan opposed McKinley twice in presidential elections. Bryan was a lawyer from Nebraska. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1890. He lost a race for the U.S. Senate in 1894. When he ran against McKinley, Bryan was the editor of the Omaha World-Herald.
Bryan became famous for his "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic Convention in 1896. He opposed GROVER CLEVELAND's policy of tying the dollar to the gold standard. The Democrats nominated Bryan for president in 1896, 1900, and 1908. He never won a presidential election. But he remained a powerful figure in the Democratic Party for many years. In 1912, Bryan helped WOODROW WILSON win the Democratic presidential nomination.
The McKinley National Memorial
The McKinley National Memorial is located in Canton, Ohio. It is also called the McKinley Tomb. The structure is 75 feet tall. A statute of McKinley stands outside the tomb. The 9-foot statute shows him delivering his last speech in Buffalo, New York. McKinley's tomb is administered by the U.S. National Park Service.
