William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio. He taught for a short time before going off to fight in the Civil War. Following the war, he practiced law in Canton, Ohio and got married.
At the age of 34, he was elected to Congress and served for 14 years in the House of Representatives. He was very well liked, and he championed the tariff issue (McKinley tariff of 1890). He then served as the governor of Ohio for two terms.
McKinley went on to be elected in 1896, thus becoming the 25th president of the United States. He was president during the Spanish-American War and the annexation of the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico. He also fought hard against trusts and industrial monopolies. While he had his issues, he defeated Bryan in 1900 and was elected to a second term.
Labor issues are what led to Leon Czolgosz making the decision that government must be dismantled. It was on this day in 1901 that this young anarchist got his chance to carry out his plans. President McKinley was standing in a receiving line at the Buffalo Pan-American Exposition, and Czolgosz shot the president twice at point blank range. The president was mortally wounded, but lived for 8 days. He finally succumbed to blood poisoning, and he became the third president to be assassinated. His unapologetic assassin was electrocuted October 29, 1901.
For more information, check out these sites:
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/williammckinley/
- http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/william-mckinley-is-born
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