Lessons on American Presidents.
Ready-To-Print Handouts, MP3 & Online Quizzes - William McKinley

William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States, between 1897 and 1901. He was born in 1843 in Ohio. McKinley attended Allegheny College, and was teaching in a country school when the Civil War out. He enlisted as a private in the Union Army. After the war he studied law and his own office. He married Ida Saxton, the daughter of a banker.

At the age of 34, McKinley a seat in Congress. His attractive personality and quick intelligence him to rise rapidly. He was appointed to the Ways and Means Committee. A colleague recalled that he generally "represented the newer ," and "on the great new questions, he was generally on the side of the public and against private ."

He took office in 1897. He on restoring prosperity to the country and set the of the dollar against the price of gold. This helped end the gloom following the Panic of 1893. However, foreign , dominated McKinley's term and in the 100-day war, the United States the Spanish fleet outside Santiago harbor in Cuba, Manila in the Philippines, and occupied Puerto Rico.

In 1900, McKinley won a second in office. He was shot two times while greeting the in Buffalo, New York on September 5, 1901. He asked the crowd not to his assassin, anarchist Leon Czolgosz. McKinley died eight days . He was the last president to have in the American Civil War and was succeeded by his vice president Theodore Roosevelt.