QUICK FACTS

Nickname: Idol of Ohio

Years in office: 1897–1901

Political party: Republican

Birthday: January 29, 1843

Official presidential portrait of William McKinley

by Harriet Anderson Stubbs Murphy, 1902

Prosperity at home, prestige abroad, c1895 (Image from the Library of Congress)

In this campaign poster, William McKinley, is shown standing on a gold coin. The Republicans supported the gold standard.

In 1896, the parties differed in their views on protective tariffs (the Republicans strongly supported them). The Republicans also supported a gold standard with the possibility of using silver as well. The Democrats supported bimetallism. In the end, William McKinley, the Civil War officer and Governor of Ohio, defeated William Jennings Bryan, the great orator.

The incumbent, William McKinley, had an advantage in this race.  He was the victorious leader in the Spanish-American War, and the country was doing well economically. In this rematch election, McKinley again won the vast majority of electoral votes over William Jennings Bryan.

BIRTHPLACE

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HOME

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BOOKS

Davis, Kenneth C., and Pedro Martin. Don’t Know Much about the Presidents. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.

DeGregorio, William A., and Aaron Jaffe. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, Inc., 2017.

Kane, Joseph Nathan, and Janet Podell. Facts about the Presidents: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Information. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2009.

WEBSITES

Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com

Library of Congress, loc.gov

Miller Center, University of Virginia, millercenter.org/the-presidency

The White House, whitehouse.gov

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