William+McKinley

William McKinley 1897-1901 Republican
 * Manjot Chahal**
 * = **Personal Details** ||= **Major Events & Issues** ||= **Decisions & Changes Made** ||= **Legacies** ||
 * < * veteran of the Civil War
 * held a seat in the House of Representatives for 14 years
 * elected governor of Ohio in 1891
 * was assassinated in his second presidential term ||< **Depression of 1993 / Rise of the Populists**
 * western farmers began to protest and blamed **conservatism**, which they thought was favorable to the eastern industries, for their problems
 * led to the rise of the **People's Party**
 * despite fusing with the Democrats, McKinley was elected president and this led to the decline of the People's Party
 * the economy recovered in a few years because of a foreign crop failure, which led to an increase in domestic farm prices and a huge increase in gold production, which stabilized the currency

= __Why McKinley Is The Most Important President In US History__ =
 * Spanish-American War / American Imperialism**
 * McKinley spoke out in public against what **Spain** was doing to the Cubans, but at first did not support declaring war
 * After the public sentiment for war increased, McKinley asked Congress for a declaration of war, which was approved
 * The war lasted about 3 months, didnt result in many casualties for the Americans, and gained America new territory around the world such as **Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines** ||< * before he became president, McKinley helped create the **McKinley Tariff** in 1890, which was very unpopular and cost him his seat in Congress
 * believed, along with many Republicans, that high tariffs on imports would lead to prosperity in the nation
 * The **Dingley Tariff** was passed during McKinley's presidency, which was similar to the McKinley Tariff, but increased tariffs even higher
 * **Currency Act of 1900** - America would stick with the gold standard and not expand to using silver
 * decided whether or not to annex Puerto Rico, the Pilippines, and Guam based on public sentiment which he traveled around the country to figure out
 * came up with the basis of **Hay's Open Door Policy** with China ||< * concentrated on foreign policy and America's relationship with other countries, believing good relations with other nations would lead to America's growth and prosperity
 * him and his administration were able to control the crisis of the 1890s and prevent farmers from running America by winning the election of 1896
 * encouraged **cultural pluralism** in America which is the idea that minority groups should be accepted by society and keep their own identity
 * his style of campaigning, using advertisements and less traveling & giving speeches to the public, became popular
 * was a president of the people becuase he wanted to do what the public wanted, such as deciding to annex Puerto Rico, the Pilippines, and Guam ||

McKinley was able to tranform the US from a collapsing nation in the 1890s to one that began to expand economically and territorially. With his election as president, the People's Party collapsed and a potientially destructive rebellion was put down. The economy recovered soon after with policies such as the Currency Act of 1900. Also, McKinley began America's expansion to the rest of the world by declaring war on Spain which led to America annexing Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

__**Sources:**__ Alan Brinkley - __American History__ [] []