William McKinley: the record and the legends

The Major. The 25th president, 1897-1901, from Ohio. Every story here is tagged Record, meaning it’s documented, or Legend, meaning it gets told a lot and doesn’t hold up. Each one links to its source.

President: 25th
In office: 1897-1901
Home state: Ohio
Party: Republican
Height: 5'7"

The record

RecordAt Antietam in 1862, Sergeant McKinley drove a wagon of hot coffee and food through the middle of the fighting, without orders, and served every man in his regiment. His colonel, future president Rutherford B. Hayes, wrote that McKinley passed under fire and delivered.Source: National Park Service, Monument to William McKinley, Antietam
RecordIn 1896 McKinley didn't tour the country. He stayed home in Canton, Ohio, and let the country come to him: about 750,000 visitors, and roughly 300 short speeches from his own front porch.Source: Miller Center, McKinley: Campaigns and Elections
RecordAs a congressman, McKinley wrote the McKinley Tariff of 1890, a big jump in taxes on imports. It was so tied to his name that it helped cost him his own seat that fall.Source: Miller Center, McKinley: Life Before the Presidency
RecordMcKinley joined the Union Army as a private at 18 and came home in 1865 a brevet major. People called him Major McKinley for the rest of his life.Source: Miller Center, McKinley: Life Before the Presidency

The legends

LegendFor decades, historians called McKinley a puppet of his rich campaign manager, Mark Hanna. Newer research flips that. McKinley used Hanna, and he put Theodore Roosevelt on the 1900 ticket over Hanna's objections.Source: Miller Center, McKinley: Impact and Legacy

What he cared about

High tariffs to protect American factories, as a congressman and as president.
The gold standard. He signed the Gold Standard Act in 1900.
Expanding overseas: Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines after the war with Spain, and Hawaii in 1898.

The full record

His push to hold the Philippines led to the Philippine-American War, which cost more than 5,000 American and roughly 200,000 Filipino lives and put the islands under U.S. rule against their independence movement.

How he fights in POTUS KO

Four years in the Union Army, private to major

McKinley was patient: he waited out Spain before going to war and made the 1896 campaign come to his porch. In the ring he wrestles on his own ground and lets you come to him.

See POTUS KO

Questions about William McKinley

Was William McKinley a puppet of Mark Hanna?

For decades, historians called McKinley a puppet of his rich campaign manager, Mark Hanna. Newer research flips that. McKinley used Hanna, and he put Theodore Roosevelt on the 1900 ticket over Hanna's objections.

What was McKinley's front porch campaign?

In 1896 McKinley didn't tour the country. He stayed home in Canton, Ohio, and let the country come to him: about 750,000 visitors, and roughly 300 short speeches from his own front porch.

What did William McKinley do at Antietam?

At Antietam in 1862, Sergeant McKinley drove a wagon of hot coffee and food through the middle of the fighting, without orders, and served every man in his regiment. His colonel, future president Rutherford B. Hayes, wrote that McKinley passed under fire and delivered.