Elihu Root, observed, the Ohioan “always got his way, in part
because he never cared who got the credit.”
During his ascent to the White House, McKinley came
to master the snake pit that was Ohio politics. Before and
during his presidency, he deftly outmaneuvered such po-
litical potentates as the seemingly invincible Speaker of
the House Thomas “Czar” Reed. Some historians portray
McKinley as the amiable puppet of industrial magnate and
political operator Mark Hanna.
In reality, while Hanna employed remarkably modern
methods to sway different groups of voters, McKinley was
the senior partner.
McKinley’s major achievements:
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just as Franklin Roosevelt would do for the Democrats in
the 193 0s.
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adroitly ending the threat to the dollar’s integrity posed by
inflationists led by William Jennings Bryan, who wanted to
devalue the greenback by tying it to silver instead of gold.
The debilitating uncertainty over what would happen to
the dollar had been severely damaging to growth-creating
investment for several years.
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gave the U.S. new status as a global power. McKinley’s role
was crucial. Unlike such belligerent nationalists as Theo-
dore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot
Lodge, McKinley was no European-
like imperialist. He knew it was
imperative for U.S. security that we
have a strong navy, a capable army
(which was in deplorable condition
when the war began) and bases
from which to project power, par-
ticularly in the Pacific, but McKin-
ley had no lust for conflict, remark-
ing that he’d seen enough piles of
bodies during the Civil War. He
worked hard diplomatically to get
Spain out of its ghastly colonial
war in Cuba without U.S. military
intervention, until our battleship
the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in
Havana Harbor, making conflict
between Washington and Madrid
unavoidable. McKinley then pros-
ecuted the war vigorously.
After the war, the U.S. took
possession of Puerto Rico, Guam
and Wake Island. McKinley also
concluded that we had to take over
the Philippines until its people
were ready for self-government.
He rightly feared that if we stayed
away, other powers, such as Japan, would move in.
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annexation in 1898 of Hawaii. Because of its proximity to
our West Coast, McKinley wanted to forestall any German
or Japanese interference there.
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Hay, saved China from suffering Africa’s fate of being
carved up by imperial powers. The Open Door policy
said, in effect, that outside powers could keep what they
had but, in essence, could take no more. What made the
approach credible was the U.S.’ rout of Spain, its seizure
of the Philippines and the now undoubtable power of the
growing U.S. Navy.
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Central America.
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higher tarifs soon ater he took oice, McKinley concluded
that this approach was now counterproductive, given the size
of the U.S. economy and the need for more trade with other
countries. Against formidable opposition within his own
party, McKinley began pushing reciprocal trade treaties, what
today we would call free-trade agreements. Beginning the
political groundwork to make this fundamental break from
the past enduring, McKinley hoped it would be one of the
hallmarks of his second term. Unfortunately, he was gunned
down before this could be done. One can only speculate as to
how diferent history would be had McKinley lived to wean
his party and, indeed, much
of the country from old-fash-
ioned protectionism.
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gained national fame for his
charge up San Juan Hill (ac-
tually Kettle Hill), McKinley
had the more formidable war
record. During the Civil War,
he exhibited extraordinary
bravery and organizational
skills, which enabled the then
teenager to rise from private
to major.
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exemplary. He was unfailingly
gracious to all, regard-less of
their status. When his wife fell
prey to debilitating illnesses
after the deaths of their young
daughters, McKinley was
remarkably attentive to her,
despite the intense pressures
of his professional life. When
he was fatally shot, he said to
his secretary: “My wife—be
careful how you tell her. Oh,
be careful.” FAPRIL 2018 FORBES ASIA | 13