William McKinley: Message to Congress about Cuban Intervention

About the Author

William McKinley was born in 1843. After service in the Civil War, he became a politician in Ohio and was elected to Congress in 1875. During the next fourteen years, he was identified with the protective tariff as a key part of his party's ideology. Defeated for reelection in 1890, he won the governorship of Ohio in 1891 and was reelected in 1893. His popularity among Republicans made him a front-runner for his party's presidential nomination in 1896. He defeated the democratic candidate, William Jennings Bryan, in the race for the White House. McKinley guided the United States to victory in the war with Spain. He advocated acquisition of the Philippine Islands. Following the success in the Spanish-American War, McKinley won reelection to a second term in another race against Bryan in 1900. He was shot by an assassin on September 6, 1901, in Buffalo, New York, and died on September 14.

McKinley was the first modern president. He improved relations with the press, worked well with Congress, and broadened the authority of the office. He acted as his own secretary of state and kept the reins of power in his own hands. His goal was to persuade Spain to withdraw from Cuba without a war. He insisted, however, that any resolution of the conflict be acceptable to the Cuban rebels. That meant that there was little room for compromise between Madrid and Washington. By April 1898, McKinley's efforts at inducing Spain to accept Cuban independence had clearly failed. Nonetheless, as his message would demonstrate, he was still hoping that diplomatic pressure from the United States might prevent bloodshed.