Happy Birthday to... President McKinley!

On January 29, 1843, a child was born in the small town of Niles, Ohio by the name of William McKinley. I have decided to honor his 163rd birthday with a blog dedicated to this historical president.
President William McKinley, a.k.a. the “Idol of Ohio” grew up wanting to become a minister. However, when the Civil War erupted McKinley joined the ranks and showed himself to be a great soldier. After the Civil War, McKinley returned to Ohio where he studied to become a politician. At 37 years old, McKinley was elected into Congress where he served 14 years until becoming the governor of Ohio. He was a firm believer in foreign trade, and as a Congressman he enforced the protection of trade and created the McKinley tariff of 1890. This placed American trade and business at a secure level. Finally, in 1896, McKinley ran for presidency against Democrat William Jennings Bryan and won by a landslide, thus becoming America’s 25th President. Four years later, McKinley was successive in the polls and defeated Bryan once again for his second term of office.
During his period in office, McKinley declared war on Spain when they sunk the Battleship Maine on February 15, 1898. This, of course, led to the Spanish American War where America was successful in conquering the Spaniards and, in addition, was able to give freedom to Cuba. McKinley also helped the Europeans with the Boxer Rebellion by sending troops into China and sent “Open Door” notes to China. “Open Door” notes, in a nutshell, declared that America would support China, but that they would have to trade fairly with all countries.
On September 14, 1901 President McKinley was shot and killed by Leon Czolzgosz, an anarchist who was not partial to McKinley’s style of government. Humorously enough, McKinley was then succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt, who was arguably the most influential president of all time.
Though McKinley had many difficulties while in office, his power improved the authority and control of America to a great degree.

“McKinley was a President who acted decisively in going to war with Spain, asserted great presidential authority over his cabinet and generals, and understood the link between foreign markets and national prosperity. During his administration, the U.S. acquired possessions that allowed it to become a major world power.” (AmericanPresident.org)

“William McKinley was an affable man and an astute and patient politician whose political skills and confidence enabled him to make firm decisions even when they were not popular ones. He did not reinvent the presidency, but he did work very successfully within the prevailing limitations and conception of the office.” (AmericanPresident.org)