I.

Introduction

William McKinley (1843-1901), 25th president of the United States (1897-1901). McKinley led an administration that marked the beginning of vast changes in American attitudes and ways of living. During his administration the United States emerged from more than a century of isolation from world affairs to become one of the great powers of the world. His election in 1896 stifled demands for radical economic and social reforms, but his assassination at the beginning of his second term paved the way for the moderate reforms that followed.

Although he was extremely popular, McKinley was not a strong president. He was opposed to going to war with Spain to liberate Cuba but took no effective action to prevent it. He was in sympathy with the plight of farmers and laborers who were being victimized by the growing economic and political power of big business, but he believed that it was the result of natural forces with which the government had no right to interfere.