The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => History => Topic started by: corbe on June 13, 2023, 09:58:53 pm
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America's Untold Stories~Who was William McKinley?
William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from 1897 until he was assassinated in 1901. Despite his brief tenure in office, McKinley presided over a period of rapid industrial growth and expansion in the United States, ushering in the era of American imperialism and consolidating the country's position as a global power.Born in Niles, Ohio in 1843, McKinley grew up in a working-class family and served in the Union Army during the Civil War. After the war, he studied law and eventually entered politics, rising through the ranks of the Republican Party to become a congressman and then governor of Ohio.
McKinley's presidential campaign in 1896 was marked by fierce debates over economic policy, with McKinley advocating for protectionist tariffs and opposition to free silver, a controversial monetary policy favored by his opponent, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley won a decisive victory in the election, but his presidency was soon overshadowed by the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898.
Under McKinley's leadership, the United States successfully defeated Spain and acquired its overseas territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. McKinley also oversaw the annexation of Hawaii and advocated for the construction of the Panama Canal, cementing America's position as a major global power.
Despite his successes, McKinley's presidency was cut short when he was shot by an anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York in 1901. He died eight days later, becoming the third American president to be assassinated.
Today, McKinley is remembered as a key figure in American history, whose presidency marked a turning point in the country's emergence as a dominant economic and military power. Whether you are a history buff, a student of politics, or simply curious about the life and legacy of one of America's most fascinating presidents, this video will provide a comprehensive overview of William McKinley's life, career, and lasting impact on the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFbz1ArTdtY (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFbz1ArTdtY)
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Such loaded, tendentious, terms:
American imperialism - Was planning and doing Cuban independence in 1903 "American imperialism"?
(C)onsolidating the country's position as a global power - Seriously? During McKinley's Presidency the US Army was tiny, and the US Navy was inferior to the navies of Britain, France, and Russia (when McKinley died the USN had 9 battleships, all of which were significantly smaller than the RN's 8 Royal Sovereign, 9 Majestic class, and 5/6 Canopus class battleships). The USN did not become world-class until the 1910s and 1920s, and the US Army really did not break its roller-coaster-like swell-and-shrink cycling until WW2 or even Korea.
His presidency was soon overshadowed by the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 - Seriously? Overshadowed? It was perhaps the major event in McKinley's Presidency, what's with the dark adjective?
McKinley also oversaw the annexation of Hawaii and advocated for the construction of the Panama Canal, cementing America's position as a major global power. - Besides the lesser size of the USN's major ships and its fleet as a whole, the USN had two oceans in which it had to operate, and pre-Panama-Canal, moving ships from one ocean to the next was a long voyage through inhospitable seas. The voyage of USS Oregon during the Spanish American War and consequent refit before being committed to battle illustrates this. Another reason the USN was not a "major global power" in 1898 and for long afterward was that it lacked its own coaling stations for long voyages, and would only slowly develop such resources - Hawai'i, Guam, and the Philippines - over the first couple of decades of the 20th Century.