President McKinley

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by Robert W. Merry


  “that we are mistaken”: Dawes to WMcK, August 1, 1896, reprinted in Dawes, p. 92.

  Standard Oil Company: Croly, p. 220.

  Rockefeller himself contributed another $2,500: Williams, p. 137. Subsequent contribution numbers come from the same source.

  a tenth of McKinley’s: Ibid.

  Lincoln to Chicago: Wilson, p. 221.

  “high character and personal worth”: “Mr. Bryan at Canton,” Washington Post, August 11, 1896.

  570 speeches: Williams, p. 98.

  18,000 miles: Koenig, p. 250.

  twenty-nine states: Williams, p. 98.

  twenty-three speeches: “Broke His Own Record,” Washington Post, October 17, 1896.

  placing “himself”: “Bryan’s Chicago Programme,” Washington Post, October 24, 1896.

  “You’ve got to stump”: quoted in Williams, p. 130.

  “scared to death”: quoted in Mott, p. 64.

  “If I took a whole train”: quoted in Timmons, p. 56.

  “That will hardly do”: quoted in Charles Dick, dictated statement to J. B. Morrow, September 1905, HMcCP, Box 4.

  “Just read it to me”: quoted in ibid.

  two glasses of beer: Williams, p. 131.

  “like a child”: quoted in Leech, “The Front Porch Campaign.”

  750,000 Americans: Williams, p. 134.

  “new experiment”: quoted in “Toilers Visit Canton,” Washington Post, July 26, 1896.

  “That which we call money”: quoted in “Tariff and Revenue,” Washington Post, July 31, 1896.

  “a somewhat furtive way”: quoted in Leech, “The Front Porch Campaign.”

  “Having diminished our business”: quoted in “Tariff Still His Text,” Washington Post, August 23, 1896.

  “My countrymen”: quoted in “Hard for Men to Get,” Washington Post, August 19, 1896.

  “Lunacy having dictated”: quoted in “Bolting the Nominee,” Washington Post, July 11, 1896, reprinted from the New York World.

  slipped increments of cash: Williams, p. 123.

  “I promise you”: quoted in ibid., p. 124.

  “minced no words”: “Roosevelt Scores Altgeld,” Washington Post, October 16, 1896.

  identified fifteen states as “doubtful”: “States Yet Doubtful,” Washington Post, November 2, 1896.

  “I want people to feel apprehensive”: quoted in “Hanna Glad Republicans Are Scared,” Washington Post, October 21, 1896.

  “The outlook is generally encouraging”: quoted in Williams, p. 143.

  80 cents a bushel: Ibid., p. 142.

  “What has happened to this ‘law’ ”: quoted in ibid.

  “Glorious old banner”: quoted in ibid., p. 145.

  “I never saw him look better”: quoted in “Confidence in Canton,” Washington Post, November 3, 1896.

  “The feeling here”: quoted in Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 185.

  271 electoral votes: Moore, Preimesberger, and Tarr, p. 1:745.

  plurality of 464,000: Williams, p. 152.

  7,107,822 popular votes: Koenig, p. 251.

  “Oh, God, keep him humble”: quoted in Kohlsaat, p. 54.

  an “attempt”: Croly, p. 226.

  10. BUILDING A CABINET

  “Your unfaltering and increasing friendship”: WMcK to MAH, November 12, 1896, HMcCP, Box 2.

  circulation ploy: Nasaw, p. 118.

  his pro-gold convictions: Koenig, p. 204.

  “That hurts”: quoted in Horner, p. 114.

  “Jim,” said Hanna: James M. Dempsey, transcribed statement to J. B. Morrow, May 22, 1905, HMcCP, Box 4.

  “I guess that is about the only thing”: quoted in “Conference at Cleveland,” Washington Post, November 15, 1896.

  “unsafe and erratic”: quoted in Whitelaw Reid to WMcK, December 5, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “They must not dictate”: quoted in Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 203.

  invited Dingley to Canton: “Dingley at Canton,” Washington Post, December 4, 1896.

  serious health problems: Nelson Dingley to WMcK, December 22, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “a close friend of Chairman Hanna”: “Depends on Sherman,” Washington Post, Nov. 24, 1896.

  “a gentleman who is as much”: “Sherman and Hanna’s Ambition,” Washington Post, November 25, 1896.

  “He is not ready yet”: quoted in “His Goal the Senate,” Washington Post, November 26, 1896.

  “Mr. Hanna has his heart set”: William Osborne to WMcK, December 11, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  authorized to ask: John Sherman to MAH, December 15, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “After full reflection”: Ibid.

  “the sage old pilot”: quoted in “William B. Allison,” Wikipedia.

  Allison signaled: A. B. Cummins to Charles Dawes, December 24, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1; H. M. McFarland to WMcK, December 29, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  outlined the plan to Foraker: Foraker, p. 1:496.

  “very well endowed”: Ibid., p. 497.

  “The stories regarding Senator Sherman’s ‘mental decay’ ”: WMcK to Joseph Medill, February 8, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  McKinley offered the job to Sherman: John Sherman to WMcK, January 7, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “I have concluded”: Ibid.

  Hanna didn’t take any chances: MAH to WMcK, January 13, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “serious and favorable consideration”: John Sherman to Asa Bushnell, January 16, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “from a good source”: quoted in “Will Foraker Oppose Hanna?,” Washington Post, January 14, 1897.

  attorney general Asa Jones: “Will Not Name Hanna,” Washington Post, January 25, 1897.

  announced he would appoint Hanna: Asa Bushnell to WMcK, February 21, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “So strong was the storm”: “Hanna to Be Senator,” Washington Post, February 22, 1897.

  “I have a Secretary of the Treasury”: Kohlsaat, p. 58.

  the young entrepreneur reported back: Dawes, p. 113.

  “no sense of disappointment”: Ibid.

  His relations with Sherman: “Alger Makes a Reply,” Washington Post, November 22, 1896.

  dogged by accusations: H. V. Boynton to WMcK, January 18, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “it would be very gratifying”: Russell Alger to WMcK, January 11, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “Oh, there is nothing in that”: quoted in “Alger Put On the List,” Washington Post, January 30, 1897.

  Alger got other friends: William Chandler to WMcK, January 12, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1; Redfield Proctor to WMcK, January 12, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  “There is nothing in the files”: H. V. Boynton to WMcK, January 18, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  to overcome McKenna’s concern: Joseph McKenna to WMcK, December 29, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  He sent Melville Stone: Melville Stone to WMcK, December 29, 1896, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  Otis to press further: Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 201.

  “Well, judge”: quoted in Kohlsaat, p. 59.

  Hanna disliked McCook: Ibid., p. 60.

  “probably the most popular man”: quoted in Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 199.

  intermittent emotional strains: Leech, In the Days of McKinley, p. 106.

  It has been my dearest wish: WMcK to MAH, February 18, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  preferably the State Department: Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 202.

  Hay had encouraged Reid’s ambitions: Taliaferro, p. 312. A full treatment of the Hay-McKinley intrigue is contained in Taliaferro’s chapter 13.

  “I have ceased thinking of Reid”: Ibid., p. 314.

  “I feel that I must reluctantly forego”: WMcK to Whitelaw Reid, February 19, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 1.

  health was “certainly better than”: Whitelaw Reid to WMcK, March 3, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 2.

  McCook announced that the only job he wanted: John McCook to WMcK, February 27, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 2.

  Platt
now demanded: Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 203.

  “I need your sympathy”: quoted in “Bliss Yields at Last,” Washington Post, March 4, 1897.

  master at tossing out names: Kohlsaat, p. 59.

  “[You may] wipe out every obligation”: quoted in Leech, In the Days of McKinley, p. 105.

  “I never met a man”: quoted in Gould, The Presidency of William McKinley, p. 15.

  “But he met me”: John Hay to Henry Adams, October 20, 1896, reprinted in Thayer, p. 2:153.

  “My real trouble”: quoted in Garraty, p. 104.

  “I want peace”: quoted in Goodwin, p. 221.

  “The truth is, Will”: quoted in ibid.

  “a chance to prove”: quoted in ibid., p. 222.

  “Everything is going on pleasantly”: WMcK to ISM, December 11, 1896, McKinley Family Letters and Saxton.

  “since Mrs. McKinley is in Chicago”: “President-Elect McKinley,” Washington Post, December 14, 1896.

  “to find rest and change”: “M’Kinley Goes to Chicago,” Washington Post, December 17, 1896.

  crowd of 4,000: “Maj. McKinley Goes Shopping,” Washington Post, December 23, 1896.

  the couple dined: “Merry Christmas at Canton,” Washington Post, December 25, 1896.

  she organized a dinner dance: Anthony, p. 100.

  “an old-fashioned cotillion”: quoted in ibid., p. 101.

  leaden skies brought rain: “Farewell at Canton,” Washington Post, March 2, 1897.

  McKinley arrived at 7:30: “White House Dinner,” Washington Post, March 3, 1897.

  “I have not seen you”: quoted in “Washington’s Busy Day,” Washington Post, March 4, 1897.

  exchange of courtesy visits: Ibid.

  11. INAUGURATION DAY

  President-elect McKinley rose from bed at six: “A Day with M’Kinley,” Washington Post, March 5, 1897. Details of McKinley’s morning are from this source.

  “Not a cloud”: “M’Kinley Is Now the President,” New York Times, March 5, 1897.

  225,000 visitors: “Crowd of Vast Size,” Washington Post, March 2, 1897.

  hotels were filled to capacity: “Hotels to Be Jammed,” Washington Post, November 23, 1897.

  “in the most affectionate terms”: “A Day with M’Kinley.”

  Clarence Chaplin arrived: Ibid.

  American-grown wool: “McKinley’s Inaugural Suit,” Washington Post, December 28, 1897.

  eighty men atop coal-black chargers: “Maj. M’Kinley’s Mounted Escort,” Washington Post, March 1, 1897.

  four-in-hand team: “March Down the Avenue,” New York Times, March 5, 1897.

  “The ring of nearly 2,000 iron hoofs”: “A Day with M’Kinley.”

  “Major McKinley kept removing his hat”: “March Down the Avenue.”

  McKinley asked if Ida: “A Day with M’Kinley.”

  At 12:18: “President M’Kinley,” Washington Post, March 5, 1897.

  She wore a purple gown: “Nation’s First Lady,” Washington Post, March 5, 1897.

  More than 40,000 spectators: “M’Kinley Is Now the President.”

  kissed the Bible: “Oath of Office Taken,” Washington Post, March 5, 1897.

  “depression in business”: WMcK, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1897, reprinted in McKinley, Speeches and Addresses of William McKinley, from March 1, 1897 to May 30, 1900, p. 2.

  “one of the biggest displays”: “The Pyrotechnic Display,” New York Times, March 5, 1897.

  a gown of silver and white brocade: “Mrs. M’Kinley’s Inaugural Gown,” Washington Post, January 28, 1897.

  The McKinleys reached the Pension Building at 8:40: “The Inaugural Ball,” New York Times, March 5, 1897. The Times reports a later arrival time, but it doesn’t square with the schedule of evening events reported in the same article. My arrival time is calculated by adding time segments reported by the Times.

  “Shortly after”: Ibid.

  to 75 million: “Demographic History of the United States,” Wikipedia.

  from native births: “Immigration to the United States by decades, 1820–1930,” National Humanities Center, nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ows/seminarsflus/BecomingAmerican.pdf.

  “Yes,” he said, “but this is a billion dollar country!”: quoted in Musicant, p. 10.

  outpaced all others: Zimmermann, p. 25.

  “For nearly three centuries”: Turner, p. 219.

  “industrial distress”: “The New Administration,” Washington Post, March 5, 1897.

  nearly 50 percent: “Gorman’s Triumph—A Humiliating Spectacle,” Harper’s Weekly, September 8, 1894, reprinted on On This Day, www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/harp/0908.html.

  70 million dollars: Tarbell, p. 240.

  Republicans held forty-six seats: Moore, Preimesberger, and Tarr, p. 2:1569.

  “doing something for silver”: “The Republican Nominee,” Nation, June 25, 1896.

  “The victory for gold”: quoted in “Will Keep Up the Fight,” Washington Post, November 9, 1896.

  significant cargo increases: “Better Times at Hand,” Washington Post, November 6, 1896.

  large amounts of gold: “Business Gets Brisk,” Washington Post, November 8, 1896.

  global gold production: “The Increase of Gold,” Washington Post, January 3, 1897.

  “No one now doubts”: quoted in “Trade Grows Better,” Washington Post, November 14, 1896.

  pig iron output: “Our Expanding Trade,” Washington Post, January 16, 1897.

  “Money markets”: quoted in ibid.

  Even before his inauguration: “The Monetary Conference,” Washington Post, December 31, 1896.

  McKinley’s approach constituted a shrewd political maneuver: “Mr. Wolcott’s Report,” Washington Post, January 4, 1897.

  “ever faithful isle”: quoted in Musicant, p. 38.

  almost 260,000 lives: Zimmermann, p. 246.

  “scorched earth” strategy: Bailey, p. 451.

  Spain had nearly 200,000 troops: Offner, p. 12.

  the insurgency’s 40,000: Ibid., p. 6.

  another 50,000 troops: Ibid., p. 12.

  400,000 rural peasants: Ibid., p. 13.

  tens of thousands had died: Ibid.

  U.S. imports from Cuba: Zimmermann, p. 250.

  Of seventy-one missions launched: Offner, p. 6.

  “rascally Cubans”: quoted in Ferrell, p. 350.

  “the independence of Cuba”: quoted in Offner, p. 18.

  “The only action now proper”: quoted in “President and Cuba,” Washington Post, March 4, 1896.

  Secretary of State Richard Olney warned: Offner, p. 33.

  a plan for Cuban autonomy: Ibid.

  “I have been through one war”: quoted in Zimmermann, p. 252.

  He let congressional leaders know: Musicant, p. 96.

  “create an immediate ugly situation”: quoted in ibid.

  “Mr. President, if I can only”: quoted in ibid.

  five-sixths of all ships: Bailey, p. 428.

  “port, harbor, or territory”: quoted in Morgan, Pacific Gibraltar, p. 23.

  “the intimacy of our relations”: quoted in ibid., p. 24.

  Soon nearly all Hawaiian sugar: Ibid., p. 29.

  jumped 50 percent: Ibid., p. 32. The same citation covers subsequent production numbers.

  “Plantations became so mechanized”: Ibid., p. 33.

  50 percent in good years: Ibid., p. 35.

  nearly 30,000 immigrants: Ibid., p. 48.

  about 109,000: Ibid., p. 18.

  thus ending the 1,600-year-old kingdom: Ibid., p. 109.

  It arrived on February 3: Ibid., p. 111.

  the Senate, where an informal poll: Ibid., p. 114.

  for “the purpose of reexamination”: quoted in Ferrell, p. 331.

  “stop and look and think”: quoted in Morgan, Pacific Gibraltar, p. 118.

  “growing Japanese trouble”: “Annexation Feeling in Hawaii,” Washington Post, September 5, 1896.

&nbs
p; Japanese residents now numbered 25,000: Ibid.

  “the ultimate fate of the islands”: “Hawaii to Seek Annexation,” Washington Post, November 29, 1896.

  “probably the most influential work”: Zimmermann, p. 94.

  “a position powerfully influencing”: Mahan, “Hawaii and Our Future Sea Power.”

  “peace is preferable to war”: WMcK, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1897, Avalon Project, http://avalon.law.yale.edu.

  12. TAKING CHARGE

  “Never keep books”: quoted in Gould, The Spanish American War and President McKinley, p. 4.

  “with all his equanimity”: Charles Emory Smith, “McKinley in the Cabinet Room,” Saturday Evening Post, October 11, 1902.

  “He is hunting for men”: quoted in Morgan, William McKinley and His America, notes elaboration, p. 435.

  “jackass”: quoted in Leech, In the Days of McKinley, p. 136.

  “The quarrel ended”: Ibid., p. 136.

  “I always yielded”: quoted in ibid.

  always with a carnation: “A White House Souvenir,” Chicago Times Herald, October 9, 1897. McKinley’s well-known penchant for boutonnieres and for giving them to children is described in detail here.

  “I don’t think that McKinley”: Charles Dick, transcribed statement to J. B. Morrow, February 10, 1906, HMcCP.

  “Why, if McKinley and I were walking”: quoted in “White House Humor,” Washington Post, July 5, 1897.

  “the masks that he wore”: quoted in Gould, The Spanish American War and President McKinley, p. 2.

  “He had a way of handling men”: quoted in ibid.

  Tuesdays and Fridays at eleven: “Office-Seeking Hosts,” Washington Post, March 11, 1897.

  anecdote or story: Smith, “McKinley in the Cabinet Room.”

  “His pre-eminence in the council”: Ibid. Other observations about McKinley’s approach to Cabinet meetings are taken from this source.

  “This is the first time in eight years”: “Policy of Good Will,” Washington Post, March 6, 1897.

  vetoed only fourteen bills: Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 210.

  “We have never had a president”: quoted in ibid.

  “the fashion in which highwaymen”: quoted in Gould, “William McKinley and the Expansion of Presidential Power.”

  “Newspaper Row”: quoted in ibid.

  “While apparently not courting publicity”: quoted in ibid.

  “to carry out what he considered”: quoted in ibid.

 

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