William McKinley
Amos Latteier
William McKinley (1897-1901) was a big man who guided a country with a growing appetite. McKinley governed during a time of economic and social crisis. The frontier had been exhausted, the depression put men out of work, and women were agitating for the right to vote.
Just as a young man leaves home to seek his fortune and claim adult responsibility, so it was argued, the young republic should arrive on the world scene and establish colonies. Incensed at Spain’s suppression of its Cuban colony, in 1898 McKinley asked Congress to declare war on Spain. The United States quickly defeated Spain and took over the Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippine Islands.
During the war with Spain, Filipino nationalists led by Emilio Aguinaldo fought along side the Americans. However, after the war as the Filipinos realized that the Americans would not allow them independence, a grass-roots insurgency rose up against American control.
McKinley sent troops to the Philippines and began a bloody war. During the Philippine War the United States slaughtered some 200,000 Filipino civilians. In 1902 the United States overcame the nationalist resistance and established a firm grip on the Philippines.
In 1901 McKinley visited the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The Expo housed many exhibits including of which depicted Filipino culture, showing how the primitive land was well served by American guidance. At the Exposition, McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz, a Detroit-born Anarchist. Of McKinley, Czolgosz said,"I didn’t believe one man should have so much service, and another man have none." Czolgosz was executed seven weeks later.