The 25th POTUS William McKinley was born on this day in 1843.

Ten Notes On William McKinley.

1. President William McKinley was 5’7″ and weighed 200 pounds. He had blue-gray eyes.He was of Scots-Irish ancestry. He reportedly smoked 20 Garcias cigars a day.

2. Ohio has been called the “Cradle of Presidents.” Eight POTUS have been from Ohio. McKinley was the 6th of the 8. Since McKinley we’ve had William Howard Taft and Warren Harding. It’s been over 90 years now since we’ve even had an Ohioian who was elected. McKinley would have to be the best of the bunch. Garfield was assassinated early in his presidency. He may have become a great POTUS but we will never know.

3. William McKinley served in the American Civil War under another future POTUS- Rutherford B. Hayes in the Twenty-third Ohio infantry regiment. McKinley served as Hayes’s quartermaster. He earned the rank of Major in the Civil War and even after he became POTUS he preferred being addressed as Major over the other titles. He would say he earned that title but was unsure if he earned any other. He was the last POTUS who had served in the American Civil War. The biggest battle he fought at was the Battle of Antietam.

4. Even back in 1896 when McKinley won his first term as POTUS money mattered. McKinley’s campaign spent an estimated $3.5 million which was the most expensive up until that time. Today that would be chump change. McKinley outspent his opponent William Jennings Bryan by a ratio of twenty to one.

5. Before becoming POTUS the offices that McKinley held were, prosecuting attorney for Stark, Co. Ohio 1869-71, member of the United States House of Representatives 1877-83, 1885-91 and Governor of Ohio 1892-96.  While he was in the U.S. House McKinley caught the attention of a wealthy industrialist Mark Hanna and he became Hanna’s boy. Hanna’s support would be critical in McKinley winning the governorship of Ohio and the presidency in 1896. Many saw Hanna as the puppetmaster, the kingmaker. Others argue that McKinley led and Hanna followed.

6. He highest point in the United States, Mount McKinley in Alaska is named for President McKinley. Mount McKinley also known as Mount Denali is  at its summit 20,320 feet above sea level. It was first called Mount McKinley while McKinley was still alive and president. A gold prospector called it McKinley. There has always been dispute on the name. The locals call it Denali.

7. McKinley had a very young and ambitious Vice-President[in his second term] in Theodore Roosevelt. The thinking at the time by the Republican Party brain trust was to get Roosevelt into the Vice-Presidency which would pretty much end his career, take him out of power. They obviously didn’t think too much about something happening to McKinley while he was POTUS and TR being a breathe away from the presidency.

8. The big event in the McKinley presidency that he will most be known for his the Spanish-American War. Spain had refused to grant Cuba it’s independence and there were all kind of rumours coming out of Cuba about how the Cubans were being mistreated. William Randolph Hearst in his newspapers described these atrocities-real or imagined. McKinley wanted Spain and Cuba to resolve the disputes but when that didn’t happen McKinley in a show of strength sent the U.S. battleship Maine to Havana. On February 15th, 1898 the Maine blew up in Havana Harbor killing 266 Americans. To this day we don’t know what really happened to the Maine. American newspapers blamed it on sabatoge by Spain. The cry “Remember The Maine!” became the rallying cry. McKinley still wanted to remain out of the war but in April 1898 Congress passed resolutions declaring war on Spain. America kicks ass. Theodore Roosevelt then Assistant Secretary of the Navy becomes a hero in Cuba at San Juan Hill.. and in the end Guam and Puerto Rico are under United States control. The United States pay $20 million for the Philippines. Cuba is given its independence although the United States imposed restrictions on the new nation.

9. McKinley’s first term Vice-President Garret Hobert died in 1899. Running for re-election McKinley names Theodore Roosevelt to be his Vice Daddy. McKinley beats the Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan once again. Six months into his second term William McKinley travels to Buffalo, New York to attend the Pan-American Exposition that is being held there. On September 6th he is shot by Leon Czolgosz who was an anarchist. After being shot McKinley told those apprehending Czolgosz not to do him harm. President McKinley would die eight days later on September 14th, 1901. Theodore Roosevelt was now the POTUS. McKinley is considered the first modern president. After Lincoln and until McKinley there were a number of forgetable presidents. Congress towered over the president. McKinley started taking some of that power back.

10. When William McKinley ran for POTUS in 1896 he refused to do any campaigning around the country because he didn’t want to leave his wife Ida who was an invalid. They called it the “Front Porch Campaign” McKinley gave rehearsed speeches at his home in Canton, Ohio.