William McKinley

Major Domestic Policy: During the election of 1896, the coinage of silver became a very prominent issue. Farmers wanted more coinage of silver in order to relieve their debt, and the elite in the east viewed unlimited coinage of silver as a bad idea. They wanted to completely use the gold standard because of fear for a depression. McKinley was then nominated by the Republicans, while the Democratic Convention were split between the gold supports and the silver supports. The gold supports left the Convention and were drawn in by William Jennings Bryan's speech "cross of gold," and lead to the Democrats declaring coinage of unlimited amount of silver. McKinley won the election by over 50% of the popular vote and electoral votes, hence the coinage of silver did not occur and bimetallism was abolished. During his Presidency, he established the McKinley tariff, which raised rates up to 48.4%. The tariff caused harm to the farmers by increasing the prices of farm equipment and caused a decline in farm prices. McKinley then ran for presidency for a second term and easily received office once again, but was shot by Leon Czolgosz at the American Exhibition in Buffalo. He then died eight days later, and Theodore Roosevelt took office.

Major Foreign Policy: During McKinley's presidency, the United States had a grand interest in Cuba. Polk was never able to purchase Cuban land from Spain from the Ostend Manifesto in the 1840's. Then, in 1898, the United States invaded Cuba due to the fact that Spanish were going against human rights and the United States were in support of the Cuban revolutionist. Also, the United States was in hopes of expanding its territory into the Pacific Ocean. The war began in Havana harbor when there was an explosion on the battleship Maine. There is still no real evidence of what the cause of the explosion was, but the journalists and press took this news and turned it into a large deal by making it look like American's were at serious harm. As a result, the Spanish-American War was declared. The war only lasted about three months, but in those months, the United States conquered the Spanish Empire and acquired the Philippines and Guam. This helped the world realize that the United States was powerful, since the defeat only took three months. This war also created a realization to the American Government that there was need for a canal in Central America. McKinley also was interested in making American producers involved in the nation market by annexing Hawaii and getting involved with China.

The McKinley administration was known for economic prosperity and the growth and influence of business in American politics. The McKinley era saw the rise of American Imperialism. Imperialism is the desire to acquire influence or ownership of areas outside the United States, for the increase in military, economic, and commercial weath and influence they would bring to the United States. Imperialism is an outgrowth of Manifest Destiny. It is considered by some to be Manifest Destiny outside the boundaries of the nation. Trade made the US an active participant in world affairs. American ships, sailors, and merchant vessels were traveling to the world's most exotic ports. To protect that commerce, imperialism became a policy of the McKinley administration. The belief was that the United States should acquire influence and ownership of areas in the Pacific, South America, Africa and in the Atlantic, so we could protect our Naval and merchant forces and continue to increase trade. The Spanish-American War was an example of imperialism in action. MrV

I am improving the above- Mckinleys may have seemed imperialist but it was genrally more about moral and socail issues than power. McKinley did not aim to control other people, but rather wanted to make other people American. His religious and moral ideas made him believe it was American responsibility to educte and christianize others.

Garret A. Hobart, from New Jersey, was the vice president for most of McKinley's first term. He died in office and so had to be replaced on the ticket for the second term. Theodore Roosevelt, a hero for his exploits in Cuba, was his choice for his successful bid for re-election. When McKinley was assassinated on September 14, 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th US President.

William McKinley's running mate in the 1896 presidential election was Garret A. Hobart. However, Vice President Hobart died in office during McKinley's first term, so a new running mate had to be selected when President McKinley ran for reelection in 1900. The Republican Party chose Theodore Roosevelt, who became President when McKinley was assassinated in 1901.

William McKinley's Vice Presidents were Garret Hobart (1897-1899) none (1899-1901), and Theodore Roosevelt (1901)