President William McKinley

1. President William McKinley Benjamin Culbreth

2. ‘A more serious turn of mind’ • William McKinley learned hard work early, at 17 while attending Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania McKinley became sick and had to return home to Poland, Ohio. • Once he had recovered and was able to return to school his parents could not afford to pay for his education.

3. Early Work and Educaton • McKinley starting working at Poland’s post office as a clerk to earn money to return to college. • A teaching position soon opened in the Kerr school district, just three miles from his parents home, and McKinley was hired as a teacher.

4. War • William McKinley’s teaching career was cut short by the American Civil War. • Feeling strongly about the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery, he joined the Union army with his cousin Will Osburne.

5. ‘Sense of Duty’ • In a letter to his sister Anna, William said, “I volunteered to serve my country in this her perilous hour from a sense of duty.” • After training at Camp Jackson as a private in the 23rd regiment of the Ohio Volunteer Army McKinley saw his first action on September 10, 1861.

6. Baptism by Fire • At the Battle of Antietam McKinley, who at the time was a supply sergeant, delivered food “at breakneck speed, through a terrific fire of musketry and artillery.” • “A thing that never occurred under similar circumstances in any other army in the world” said Rutherford B. Hayes, of McKinley’s actions.

7. ‘A Good Lawyer’ • Upon returning from the war McKinley wanted to do something with his life. • He earned a law degree at Albany Law School in New York and later became a lawyer in Canton, Ohio. • “Major Wm. McKinley is a good lawyer, a fine orator, and both in respect to ability and character, commands the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens” stated the Canton Repository and Republican.

8. The Political Realm • McKinley entered politics in 1867 campaigning for his old friend, Rutherford Hayes, who was running for governor of Ohio. • The next year he was chairman of the Republican Central Committee of Stark County Ohio.

9. First Time For Everything • In 1869 McKinley ran for and won his first elected office, prosecutor of Stark County Ohio. • McKinley pulled off an upset, a Republican winning in a Democratic county. He ran for the office again in 1871 but lost.

10. Big Time • By 1876 McKinley had decided to run for Ohio’s 18th District in Congress. • William gave powerful speeches and people came to trust him and he won the election.

11. ‘In violation..of fairness’ • In 1878 the Democratic Party in Ohio realigned the districts to make it more difficult for McKinley to get reelected. • Despite the adversity he won the election. • In 1880, on his third term in the House, McKinley was appointed to the House Ways and Means Committee.

12. Setback • In 1882 after initially believing he had once again won his seat in Congress, the votes were recounted and John Wallace won McKinley’s seat. • He rebounded and won back his spot in the House in 1884.

13. No Enemies • William McKinley was known as the only man in Congress who had no enemies. • “Come now, let us put the personal element aside and consider the principle involved,” he was famed for saying. • “He had a rare tact as a manager of men,” Congressman Robert La Follette said of him.

14. Popular Man • At the 1888 Republican National Convention several in attendance tried to nominate McKinley for president. • In 1890 once again facing a a large Democratic district McKinley lost his seat in Congress after thirteen years.

15. Hello Governor • “I accept the nomination you have tendered me, sensible both of the honor and responsibility it implies,” McKinley said as he accepted the Republican nomination for the governorship of Ohio. • He won the election over Democrat James Campbell.

16. The Time Was Right • By 1896 McKinley decided he had a good chance to win the presidency. • He was nominated and ran against Democrat William Jennings Bryan. • Northern political bosses offered their support in exchange for power. • McKinley refused saying, “If I were to accept the nomination on those terms, the place would be worth nothing to me and less to the people.”

17. The Campaign Trail • While Bryan ran around the country making speeches McKinley let the people come to him. • “I might just as well put up a trapeze on my front lawn and compete with some professional athlete as go out speaking against Bryan,” he said.

18. ‘McKinley and the Full Dinner Pail’ • By the day of the election McKinley had spoken to 750,000 people from his front porch. • The central issue of the 96’ election was the currency standard. • McKinley backed the gold standard but did not press the issue; while Bryan had his whole campaign revolve around the support of silver coinage.

19. ‘President of the whole people’ • In 1900 McKinley once again defeated William Jennings Bryan, even more so than the first time. • On September 5, 1901 while at the Pan-American Exposition President William McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgoz. • He died eight days later surrounded by family and friends.

20. Works Cited • Edge, Laura B. William McKinley. Minneapolis, MN: Twenty-First Century Books,      2007. Print. • "William McKinley: Campaign Button." Heritage Auction Galleries. Heritage      Auctions Inc., 2011. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://historical.ha.com/common/      view_item.php?Sale_No=6032&Lot_No=47610>. (Picture slide 17) • Wisconsin Electronic Reader. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2011.      <http://www.library.wisc.edu/etext/WIReader/Images/WER0002.html>. (Picture slide 13) • Estabrook, Dan, et al. A Failed Compromise: The Spanish-American War and America's Diplomatic Progression. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2011.n (Picture slide 4) • "Campaign Poster." McKinley Birthplace Home & Research Center. McKinley Memorial      Library, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://www.mckinley.lib.oh.us/      viewspage.cfm?pg=3&id=239>. (Picture slide 10)