Born in Niles, Ohio 1843, future President William McKinley would spend the majority of his life in service not only to his country, but to his beloved home state.
Moving to the larger city of Canton at the age of 10, McKinley was a very good student at a local Methodist private school, though only attended college for a short time due to a combination of health problems and financial difficulties. Nevertheless, a new opportunity was waiting for the young man, who, at the age of 18, joined the Ohio Volunteer Infantry to serve in the Civil War.
Wartime Service and Law Career
William McKinley was the first Civil War-veteran President who had not had a professional career prior to his military service. While every President from Ulysses S. Grant to Benjamin Harrison had served in the Civil War in one capacity or another, McKinley alone had done so immediately out of school.
Despite his young age, McKinley showed great success in the war, serving under future President Rutherford B. Hayes (also of Ohio) and garnering several promotions. At the end of the war, McKinley's rank was that of Brevet Major.
The Civil War ended in 1865, just prior to the assassination of President Lincoln. McKinley left the military and began to study law, eventually gaining acceptence in the Ohio bar in 1867, when he began his practice in Canton.
In 1869, the same year McKinley met his future wife, Ida Saxton, at the age of twenty-six, he first entered political life, being elected prosecuting attorney for Stark County, Ohio. His first entrance into party politics came when McKinley made speeches on behalf of his former commander in the Civil War, Rutherford B. Hayes, who was running in 1875 for Governor of Ohio.
Congressman
As a result of his speeches made on Hays' behalf, McKinley had the governor's support in 1876 to run for the U.S. Congress, where he served two terms between 1877 and 1882 and then again from 1885 to 1891. While in congress McKinley gained enough power to serve on the highly important House Ways and Means Committee.
William McKinley's most memorable feat while congressman was to push through congress the highly controversial "McKinley Tariff" bill, which successfully raised the tariff rate to almost 50% (although a great many had seen the tariff as already being far too high) in 1890, during the Presidency of Benjamin Harrison.
Many view the tariff bill, which was unpopular despite McKinley's assurances that it would benefit the economy for his failed attempt at reelection in 1890, as well as the landslide victory for the Democratic party in the off-year elections. In addition, the McKinley tariff is seen as having precipitated the economic panic of 1893 and Harrison's failed attempt at reelection in 1892.
While Grover Cleveland, returning to the White House in 1893 after a four year hiatus, recieved much of the blame for the financial crisis which truly began during his term, the McKinley tariff surely played a strong role in this.
Governor McKinley and 1896 Campaign
After losing reelection by only 300 votes, McKinley quickly rebounded, running successfuly for the Ohio Governorship in 1891 and again in 1893. As Governor, he gained popularity by passing several important pieces of reform legislation, precipitating his Presidency, which many would view as the beginning of the "Progressive Era" of American Politics.
Leaving the Governor's mansion in 1894, McKinley began to seriously consider running for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1896. His name had been put forward in 1892, though Harrison had won the nomination, being the incumbant, and McKinley had supported him.
In 1896, however, McKinley was at the top of the list. He won his party's nomination and then went on to execute a very famous "front porch campaign." Though Presidential candidates at that time tended not to actively campaign for themselves, that did not stop people from coming to them, and McKinley proved a master at making speeches to crowds from his own front porch.
When the election results came in that year, McKinley had defeated his opponent, William Jennings Bryan (who was running on a platform of free silver coinage) by nearly 100 electoral votes. McKinley became the 25th President of the United States.
For more information:
The Presidency of William McKinley
References:
"William McKinley." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource.
"Biography of William McKinley."
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