Presidential Outline: William Mckinley

I. William McKinley (1/29/1843 - 9/14/1901) II. Two Terms: 1897 – 1901 III. Garret Hobart (1897 - 1899); Theodore Roosevelt (1901) IV. Republican Party V. Major Events * William McKinley becomes President (1897) – Political a. McKinley ran against Democrat, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley received majority popular and electoral votes. b. William McKinley became the 25th President of the United States. * Dingley Tariff (1897) – Domestic c. The Dingley Tariff redeemed the promises made to restore high protective tariffs. d. The Dingley Tariff replaced the Wilson-Gorman Act of 1894. * Klondike Gold Rush (1897) – Domestic e. Gold was discovered in the Klondike River in Canada. More than 100,000 men and women set off to the Klondike River in the Yukon Territory of Canada. Word of the discovery got around very quickly. f. Gold rush fever reached a new height. Over 30 million dollars (in 1897 U.S. dollar value) worth of gold. * De Lôme Letter (1898) – Foreign Policy g. Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, a Spanish minister to Washington, wrote a letter expressing his views on President McKinley, calling him weak. h. America was outraged that a foreign official made such a remark towards the president. De Lôme resigned and stated that the letter expressed his views, not his government’s views. * Spanish-American War begins (1898) – Foreign Policy i. The Spanish-American War was a short-lived conflict, beginning and ending in the same year, between Spain and the United States. The United States was trying to help Cuba gain independence from Spain. The war began when the United States declared war after the battleship Maine was sunk in Havana Harbor. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris. j. The United States won the war. As a result of losing, Spain lost control over the remaining overseas empire. Spain lost control over Cuba, Puerto