Passed Presidents - # 25 – William McKinley

On the final day of what The Archives call ‘Post-Retirement Road Trip II’, we were in Canton, OH. A short drive from the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the McKinley National Memorial, an impressive mausoleum on a hill with a nearby museum.

The McKinley National Memorial, Canton, OH (26 September 2006)

William McKinley, another Son of Ohio, was born in Niles in 1843 and died in 1901, 112 years ago today. At age 18, he enlisted in the Ohio Volunteer Infantry at the start of the Civil War and served until the war ended in 1865, rising to the rank of Brevet Major. He was a member of the House of Representatives for six terms and was Governor of Ohio before being elected president in 1896. After his vice president died, McKinley enlisted a young, charismatic war hero, Teddy Roosevelt to be his running mate in 1900. They won easily, defeating William Jennings Bryan for the second time.

The Spanish-American War is the event most people associate with McKinley’s time in office. Cuba wanted to be independent of Spain. The president preferred to avoid foreign entanglements but other interests [especially a rabid press] urged greater involvement. The sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana changed all that and war was declared. With Spain’s quick defeat and our acquisition of its territories, we began the 20th century as an emerging world power.

Inside McKinley’s Tomb (26 September 2006)

Six months into his second term, McKinley was shot by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz (pronounced “shol-gosh”). The son of eastern European immigrants, Czolgosz began working factory jobs at age ten. While the Industrial Revolution created fabulous wealth for some, it also spawned the labor movement and radical offshoots like the anarchists. This was a time when striking workers lost their jobs for demonstrating or, worse, were shot in the streets. Czolgosz was drawn to the anarchists’ cause and decided the president had to go.

According to Brian Lamb (‘Who is Buried in Grant’s Tomb? A Tour of Presidential Gravesites’), McKinley looked forward to attending the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo and meeting with the people. His Secretary was concerned about safety and cancelled the meet-and-greet part. The president said, “No one would want to hurt me” and put the meeting back on his schedule.

McKinley was shot in the abdomen on September 6th. Doctors actually thought he would survive as his health briefly improved. Eight days after the attack, he died of gangrene poisoning. Czolgosz was captured at the scene, tried, convicted and executed within two months. This was not the era of endless appeals and permanent residency on Death Row.

Inside McKinley’s Tomb (26 September 2006)

A fun read on the details surrounding the deaths of three of our murdered presidents is Sarah Vowell’s ‘Assassination Vacation’. It is the story of her personal journey to the many places associated with the last days of Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley and the men who killed them.

One tidbit I found particularly noteworthy was about Abraham Lincoln’s oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln. Of course, he was present in 1865 when his father died across the street from Ford’s Theater. Sixteen years later, he was James Garfield’s Secretary of War and was with the president when he was shot in the train station in Washington. Twenty years after that, he had left government service and was president of the Pullman Railcar Company. At the invitation of President McKinley, he was present at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, though not at the scene of the shooting...this time. Most eerie.

Lincoln lived until 1926. He was aware of this association with the untimely ends of presidents and he no longer wanted to visit with them. I suspect no president wanted to be anywhere near him, either. I imagine Oval Office conversations like this. “So what’s on the schedule today, Miss Phelps...and is Lincoln going to be there? Ah, he is? Send the VP instead, along with my regrets.”

William McKinley

25th President; Served 1897-1901

Born: January 29, 1843, Niles, OH

Died: September 14, 1901, Buffalo, NY

Grave Location: McKinley National Memorial, Canton, OH

Date Visited: 9/26/2006

According to the historical marker at the foot of the hill on which the mausoleum sits, the children of America donated their pennies to fund this memorial. I wonder what the national mood was like at the time since this was the third president killed in a 36-year period. Most people my age know where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The attack on Pearl Harbor had the same impact on my parents just as the Millennial Generation knows where they were on 9/11. If the same time intervals are considered, it would be like having Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton murdered after JFK...quite disturbing.