William McKinley

William McKinley, regardless of what you or anyone else believes about him, was inarguably one of the most important presidents in US history. He sponsored the enactment of the Treaty of Paris, the final brick to be laid in the construction of America as a global superpower. Press conferences, a major means of communication between politicians and journalists, were invented by the McKinley Administration. Being one of only 4 presidents to be successfully assassinated, his death propelled Theodore Roosevelt to the White House - a name Roosevelt created - and thus commencing the Progressive Era. Hundreds of people throughout history have constructed the world we live in today and William McKinley was one of the foremost participants in that clique. But despite this, I would not describe him as a good president. In fact, I consider him one of the worst presidents in American history.

The main source of McKinley's flaws as president was his handling of the Spanish-American War. About 2 years before McKinley replaced Grover Cleveland as president of the United States, the Cuban War for Independence began on February 24, 1895. The Spanish government, desperate to maintain one of its remaining colonies in a world increasingly appalled by imperialism, worked to brutally suppress the rebellion. For example, since Cuba was a major source of sugar for Spain, Cuban independence activists would burn down sugarcane farms to prevent the importation of sugar into Spain and thus place pressure on Madrid to let Cuba be independent. Spain responded to this by imprisoning entire villages if that village happened to possess a sugarcane farm. As a result, no one could burn the farm down and Spanish spies would be sent to till the soil instead.

News of these atrocities soon reached American shores and infuriated the US population, thus creating tensions between Madrid and Washington DC. Also in 1895, Joseph Pulitzer, the owner of The New York World, grew upset with William Randolph Hearst and his New York Journal for publishing the former's comic strip The Yellow Kid without Pulitzer's permission. The pair then became rivals and challenged each other to see who could make the most money off their newspaper. In order to obtain more profits, Pulitzer and Hearst began publishing hyperbolic accounts of Spanish atrocities as a way of capturing the public's attention. For example, the papers would claim that Cuban women were forced to strip nude in order to show that they weren't carrying weapons with which to aid the independence movement. These accounts worsened the growing tensions between Spain and America.

In December 1897, 9 months after McKinley moved into the White House on March 4, 1897, Spanish ambassador to the US Enrique Dupuy de Lome wrote a private letter in which he insulted the new president. On February 9, 1898, the letter was uncovered by Cuban rebels and sent to the press. News of the message, known as the De Lome Letter, further irritated the tensions between Spain and the US. Just under a week later, on February 15, 1898, an American ship known as the USS Maine exploded. Instantly, the explosion was blamed on the Spanish government, resulting in numerous calls by the American people, the press, and Congress for McKinley to declare war on Spain.

McKinley, to his credit, was uncomfortable with these demands for war and wanted to avoid an armed conflict. In fact, after Congress drafted and approved a declaration of war in April, McKinley sent an ultimatum to Spain on April 19, 1898: Agree within 48 hours to give Cuba its independence or face war with the United States. Since Spain didn't want to give up its lone Caribbean colony, the deadline of April 21, 1898, came and passed with the terms left unfulfilled. I think that this ultimatum was a brilliant move by McKinley, as it could have both averted war and established Cuba as a free and sovereign nation. But unfortunately, since Spain didn't comply, McKinley had to sign a declaration of war on April 25, 1898, beginning the Spanish-American War.

Not even a week into the war, the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898, saw a massive and decisive American victory. 370 Spanish soldiers died, compared to just 10 American soldiers. Combined with future-President Theodore Roosevelt leading troops to victory at the Battle of San Juan Hill, the destruction of numerous Spanish weapons at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba, and the acquisition of all Spanish military bases in Cuba by the US, that fact caused Spain to realize it had no way of winning the war. On August 13, 1898, before even 6 months had passed by, Spain surrendered.

On December 10, 1898, the Spanish-American War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris. Under the terms of this agreement, Spain was required to cede Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the US. I strongly disagree with and oppose these policies. For reasons I outlined in my articles on Franklin Pierce and Andrew Johnson, I dislike practically all territorial expansion, as it tends to take place regardless of what the people living in those territories desire. Hence, I obviously despise the Treaty of Paris and hold it against McKinley. The sole positive of the Treaty of Paris is that it also required Spain to give Cuba its independence. However, even this came with an enormous, absurd caveat.

Between the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898 and the incarnation of Cuba as an independent nation, American troops were required to occupy Cuba. In 1901, just before this brief occupation was meant to expire, McKinley signed the Army Appropriations Act, which contained the Platt Amendment. Under the Platt Amendment, American forces were obligated to stay in Cuba until Cuban officials agreed both to permit the re-entry of US troops at any point for "the preservation of Cuban independence" (a codeword for repealing any policy Washington DC didn't like) and to give none of its land to foreign countries with the exception of the United States. The main reason we even fought the Spanish-American War was our sympathies toward the Cuban independence activists, and yet through the Platt Amendment, McKinley selfishlessly betrayed the Cuban people. It was vile and deceptive.

Cuba, the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico weren't the only victims of McKinley's imperialist appetite. In 1890, then-President Benjamin Harrison signed a bill - ironically, a bill written by McKinley himself, who was a delegate to the House of Representatives at the time - raising tariffs to an unprecedented high. This made life very difficult for American sugar farmers living in Hawaii, who now saw their products become far more expensive and thus less appealing to Americans. To eliminate the tariff issue, the farmers revolted on January 17, 1893, and took control of the Hawaiian government. From there, they set up a shell government that demanded annexation by the US. On July 7, 1898, McKinley obliged, destroying Hawaii's independence and letting it be gobbled up by imperialists. Although McKinley only did this at first to better access Spanish bases during the ongoing war, he never rescinded the decision even after Spain's surrender and the Hawaiian people continue to be oppressed.

In terms of domestic policy, McKinley did have a few accomplishments. He raised tariffs, which I support as a protectionist. In fact, the tariffs signed by McKinley were the highest ever enacted in US history up until that point. He also appointed record numbers of black government officers and government employees, which is certainly a plus. However, on all other domestic issues - including race relations and the civil service - McKinley was a failure. For example, he fired thousands of perfectly-qualified government employees and patronage officers solely because he, McKinley, was a Republican and the employees in question were Democrats. During his first term, an enormous spike in lynchings occurred, which McKinley, all so that he wouldn't lose the southern vote when running for reelection in 1900, refused to address.

Lastly, McKinley had a negative impact on the economy. Having had his 1896 campaign largely financed by the wealthy Mark Hanna out of fear toward the populist, progressive Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan, McKinley opposed financial reform. For instance, he refused to enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act - the law banning monopolies - on multiple occasions. Despite the statute being an overall ban on monopolies, McKinley only used its contents against "interstate" monopolies, i.e. monopolies that existed in two or more states. McKinley also adopted the gold standard and encouraged numerous other nations to do the same.

Many would consider McKinley's support for the gold standard a positive. Their logic is that the gold standard requires the government to have a bit of gold to back up all the money it produces, thus keeping the money supply in check and maintaining the value of the dollar. While this is true, there are other, less damaging ways to tackle inflation. Additionally, moderate inflation isn't always bad. In fact, overproduction in the farming sector due to WW1 - and so deflation - was a major cause of the Great Depression. Furthermore, during a recession, the government producing more money and thus driving up prices encourages people to buy all their wants and needs then and there before prices increase even more, which could create the economic activity needed to resolve said recession.

Despite his long-lasting influence. William McKinley was a wretched president. At home, he ignored the needs of his impoverished constituents and of black Americans as they faced renewed persecution and prejudice. He dragged government employees into petty squabbles over minor political differences that damaged the efficiency of federal mechanisms. Abroad, he was a vicious carnivore that ate entire nations in pursuit of nebulous nationalism. He transformed America, but not for the better. He stabbed the Cuban people in the back and betrayed the Lockean bedrock of the American Revolution. Consent of the governed was shattered by Manifest Destiny. Life, liberty, and property were clouded out by imperialism, by the desire for other nation's property.