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William
McKinley - 25th President
Party: Republican
Term: March 4, 1897 - Sept 14, 1901
Age at Inauguration: 54
Life Span: Jan 29, 1843 - Sept 14, 1901 [58]
Spouse: Ida Saxton - Age at Marriage:
27
Vice President: Garret Hobart - Theodore Roosevelt |
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- Because his wife was an invalid, McKinley
refused to leave her and campaign across the country
- Wealthy supporters brought voters
to his home in Ohio where he spoke to them from his front porch
- The President was shot in the first
year of his second term while attending the Pan American Exposition
in Buffalo, NY, on September 6, 1901, and died September 14
- After being shot he said, "Be
careful how you tell my wife," and also urged police and
secret service agents not to hurt the assassin, later identified
as Leon Czolgosz Presidential Assassinations
- Mr. McKinley sported a pink carnation
in his lapel and often removed it as a gift to visitors or guests
to the White House
- Just seconds before he was shot he
had removed his carnation and given it to a young girl in the
crowd
- After his death Ohio adopted it as
their state flower
- When Cuba revolted against Spain in
1895 many Americans sided with the rebels and called for intervention
against the Spanish, but McKinley refused to get involved amidst
criticism from cabinet members, including Assistant Secretary
of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt
- His first term vice president, Garret
Hobart died on office Vice President Death
in Office
- Teddy Roosevelt was vice president
in his second term
- The battleship Maine, while
harbored in Havana Harbor, mysteriously exploded in February
killing 250 American sailors
- In April 1898 the United States declared
War on Spain, with a peace treaty settlement reached in December
- Although the Maine was never
proven as a Spanish attack, it forced the United States into
war with "Remember the Maine" as a rallying cry
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