50 Fun Facts About William McKinley

William McKinley was which number president of the United States?

He served from March 1897 until his death in September 1901.

In which Ohio town was McKinley born in 1843?

He was the seventh of nine children; the family moved to Poland, Ohio, for better schools in 1852.

McKinley's family trade on both sides was what?

His father ran foundries across Ohio, ending up in Canton.

McKinley was a lifelong member of which Christian denomination?

He became active in his local church at sixteen; his wife Ida joined it after their Presbyterian wedding.

McKinley enlisted in 1861 as a private in which regiment?

Its first commander was William Rosecrans; a major in the regiment, Rutherford B. Hayes, became his lifelong friend.

Which future president served as McKinley's superior officer and became a lifelong friend?

Hayes convinced the grumbling volunteers to accept their issued gear, and the friendship lasted until Hayes's death in 1893.

At which 1862 battle did McKinley come under heavy fire while bringing rations to the front line?

Governor David Tod rewarded him with a commission as second lieutenant.

What rank had McKinley reached by the end of the Civil War?

He was the only president to start as an enlisted man and finish as a brevet major, and the last Civil War veteran to hold the office.

For whom did McKinley cast his first presidential ballot, in 1864?

He voted while his army was camped near Cedar Creek after helping rally the troops there.

In which Ohio city did McKinley set up his law practice and make his home?

He bought a block of buildings on Main Street that paid him rent for decades.

What was the maiden name of McKinley's wife, Ida?

They married in January 1871; both their daughters died young and Ida developed epilepsy.

McKinley's first elected office, won unexpectedly in 1869, was what?

He lost re-election in 1871 by 143 votes to William A. Lynch.

McKinley's pro bono 1876 defence of striking coal miners introduced him to which future backer?

Hanna was one of the mine owners; all but one of the miners were acquitted.

In which year was McKinley first elected to Congress?

He campaigned on the protective tariff and won by 3,300 votes, halving his income in the process.

Which Speaker of the House made McKinley chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in 1889?

McKinley had lost the speakership race to Reed; he then guided the McKinley Tariff of 1890 through Congress.

By how many votes did McKinley lose his House seat in the gerrymandered 1890 election?

Democrats sent fake peddlers selling 25-cent tinware for 50 cents, blaming the McKinley Tariff.

Which office did McKinley win in 1891 and again in 1893?

His 1893 win was by the largest percentage of any Ohio governor since the Civil War.

In which city was the 1896 Republican National Convention that nominated McKinley held?

He stayed home and listened to Foraker's nominating speech by telephone.

Who was McKinley's running mate in 1896?

The New Jersey lawyer died in late 1899, opening the ticket for Roosevelt in 1900.

McKinley's 1896 campaign is remembered by what nickname?

He said competing with Bryan on the stump would be like setting up a trapeze to compete with a professional athlete.

Whom did McKinley defeat in both the 1896 and 1900 presidential elections?

Bryan had electrified the Democrats with his Cross of Gold speech.

Roughly how much did Hanna raise from bankers and businessmen for the 1896 campaign?

Bryan's campaign had at most an estimated $500,000.

Outside the South, what was the only city of over 100,000 people that Bryan carried in 1896?

McKinley won 51% of the vote and swept the Northeast and Midwest.

McKinley's controversial choice for Secretary of State was which ageing Ohio senator?

Moving Sherman up freed a Senate seat for Hanna; Sherman's mental decline soon showed.

Which Chicago bank president became McKinley's Secretary of the Treasury?

Dingley declined the post; Dawes became Comptroller of the Currency instead.

McKinley reluctantly appointed Theodore Roosevelt to which post in 1897?

He worried that 'your friend Theodore is always getting into rows with everybody'.

Which 1897 law raising rates on wool, sugar and luxuries did McKinley sign in July?

It raised rates on wool, sugar and luxury goods.

On 14 March 1900 McKinley signed a landmark currency law using a pen made of what?

A British refusal to reopen India's mints to silver had killed his hopes for international bimetallism.

How many men died when the USS Maine exploded in Havana harbour in February 1898?

A court of inquiry ruled on 20 March that an underwater mine was responsible.

Which amendment to the 1898 war declaration disavowed any intent to annex Cuba?

Cuba remained under American control until 1902, after McKinley's death.

Which commodore destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila Bay in 1898?

The victory turned a Caribbean war into one that decided all of Spain's Pacific colonies.

Which general led the American army that landed near Santiago de Cuba in June 1898?

His force won at San Juan Hill on 2 July and took Santiago's surrender on 17 July.

How much did the US agree to pay Spain under the 1898 Treaty of Paris?

In return it gained Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, and Spain gave up Cuba.

By what vote did the Senate approve the Treaty of Paris in February 1899?

McKinley and Vice President Hobart lobbied hard to reach the two-thirds needed.

The 1898 annexation of Hawaii was achieved by which joint resolution of Congress?

McKinley chose the route because a treaty would have needed two-thirds of the Senate.

McKinley said, 'We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did' which state?

He called the annexation 'manifest destiny'.

What name did McKinley give his doctrine that all nations should trade freely with China?

It was reaffirmed after the Boxer Rebellion, to which he sent 5,000 troops without consulting Congress.

Which 1850 pact with Britain barred either from sole control of a Central American canal?

McKinley pushed to renegotiate it; the Senate demanded the right to fortify a canal.

In which city was the 1900 Republican convention that put Roosevelt on McKinley's ticket?

Hanna opposed the choice; New York boss Thomas Platt pushed it to get Roosevelt out of the governorship.

In the 1900 election, McKinley even carried Bryan's home state — which one?

It was the largest Republican victory since 1872.

McKinley was shot at which event in September 1901?

His secretary Cortelyou had twice tried to cancel the public reception for security reasons.

In which city was McKinley shot?

A primitive X-ray machine on the exposition grounds was never used to find the second bullet.

The man who shot McKinley had been inspired by a speech from which anarchist?

Leon Czolgosz was tried nine days after the president's death and executed on 29 October 1901.

In which building on the exposition grounds did the shooting take place?

The president asked aides to break the news gently to Ida and to call off the mob attacking his assailant.

Where was Vice President Roosevelt when McKinley's condition collapsed on 13 September 1901?

Doctors had issued optimistic bulletins; unseen gangrene was poisoning the president's blood.

Which hymn, McKinley's favourite, was reportedly sung at his deathbed?

He died at 2:15 a.m. on 14 September 1901, eight days after being shot.

Which federal agency took on presidential protection after McKinley's assassination?

Congress decided protecting the president should be part of its duties.

A gold prospector gave McKinley's name in 1896 to which mountain?

Alaska reverted to the local name in 1975, the Interior Department in 2015, and a 2025 executive order restored McKinley.

Which McKinley appointee, made Governor-General of the Philippines, later became president?

Dawes became vice president under Coolidge and Cortelyou held three Cabinet posts under Roosevelt.

McKinley's Secretary of War, forced out in 1899 after wartime scandal, was whom?

Elihu Root replaced him and did so well that McKinley would not move him to the 1900 ticket.