Editing William McKinley (section)

==Election of 1896==
{{Further|1896 United States presidential election|William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign}}

===Obtaining the nomination===
[[File:Mark Hanna by WJ Root, 1896 cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|McKinley's close friend and adviser, [[Mark Hanna]]]]

It is unclear when William McKinley began to seriously prepare a run for president. As McKinley biographer [[Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Kevin Phillips]] notes, "No documents, no diaries, no confidential letters to Mark Hanna (or anyone else) contain his secret hopes or veiled stratagems."{{sfn|Phillips|p=61}} From the beginning, McKinley's preparations had the participation of Hanna, whose biographer William T. Horner noted, "What is certainly true is that in 1888 the two men began to develop a close working relationship that helped put McKinley in the White House."{{sfn|Horner|p=81}} Sherman did not run for president again after 1888, and so Hanna could support McKinley's ambitions for that office wholeheartedly.{{sfn|Horner|p=92}}

Backed by Hanna's money and organizational skills, McKinley quietly built support for a presidential bid through 1895 and early 1896. When other contenders such as Speaker Reed and [[Iowa]] Senator [[William B. Allison]] sent agents outside their states to organize Republicans in support of their candidacies, they found that Hanna's agents had preceded them. According to historian Stanley Jones in his study of the 1896 election:

{{blockquote|Another feature common to the Reed and Allison campaigns was their failure to make headway against the tide which was running toward McKinley. In fact, both campaigns from the moment they were launched were in retreat. The calm confidence with which each candidate claimed the support of his own section [of the country] soon gave way to&nbsp;... bitter accusations that Hanna by winning support for McKinley in their sections had violated the rules of the game.{{sfn|Jones|p=103}}}}

Hanna, on McKinley's behalf, met with the eastern Republican [[political boss]]es, such as [[Thomas C. Platt|Thomas Platt]] of New York and Senator [[Matthew Quay]] of Pennsylvania, who were willing to guarantee McKinley's nomination in exchange for promises regarding patronage and offices. McKinley, however, was determined to obtain the nomination without making deals, and Hanna accepted that decision.{{sfn|Jones|p=105}} Many of their early efforts were focused on the South; Hanna obtained a vacation home in southern Georgia where McKinley visited and met with Republican politicians from the region. McKinley needed 453½ delegate votes to gain the nomination; he gained nearly half that number from the South and [[border states (American Civil War)|border states]]. Platt lamented in his memoirs, "[Hanna] had the South practically solid before some of us awakened."{{sfn|Williams|p=57}}

[[File:Coronation of McKinley.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|[[Louis Dalrymple]] cartoon from [[Puck (magazine)|''Puck'' magazine]], June 24, 1896, showing McKinley about to crown himself with the Republican nomination. The "priests" are Hanna (in green) and Representative [[Charles H. Grosvenor]] (red); [[H. H. Kohlsaat]] is the page holding the robe.]]

Quay and Platt still hoped to deny McKinley a first-ballot majority at [[1896 Republican National Convention|the convention]] by boosting support for local [[favorite son]] candidates such as Quay himself, New York Governor (and former vice president) [[Levi P. Morton]], and Illinois Senator [[Shelby Cullom]]. Delegate-rich Illinois proved a crucial battleground, as McKinley supporters, such as Chicago businessman (and future vice president) [[Charles G. Dawes]], sought to elect delegates pledged to vote for McKinley at the national convention in St. Louis. Cullom proved unable to stand against McKinley despite the support of local Republican machines; at the state convention at the end of April, McKinley completed a near-sweep of Illinois' delegates.{{sfn|Jones|pp=119–25}} Former president Harrison had been deemed a possible contender if he entered the race; when Harrison made it known he would not seek a third nomination, the McKinley organization took control of Indiana with a speed Harrison privately found unseemly. Morton operatives who journeyed to Indiana sent word back that they had found the state alive for McKinley.{{sfn|Jones|pp=117–19}} Wyoming Senator [[Francis E. Warren|Francis Warren]] wrote, "The politicians are making a hard fight against him, but if the masses could speak, McKinley is the choice of at least 75% of the entire [body of] Republican voters in the Union".{{sfn|Phillips|pp=71–72}}

By the time the national convention began in [[St. Louis]] on June 16, 1896, McKinley had an ample majority of delegates. The former governor, who remained in Canton, followed events at the convention closely by telephone, and was able to hear part of Foraker's speech nominating him over the line. When Ohio was reached in the roll call of states, its votes gave McKinley the nomination, which he celebrated by hugging his wife and mother as his friends fled the house, anticipating the first of many crowds that gathered at the Republican candidate's home. Thousands of partisans came from Canton and surrounding towns that evening to hear McKinley speak from his front porch<!-- I want to save the link to "front porch campaign" for the next section -->. The convention nominated Republican National Committee vice chairman [[Garret Hobart]] of New Jersey for vice president, a choice actually made, by most accounts, by Hanna. Hobart, a wealthy lawyer, businessman, and former state legislator, was not widely known, but as Hanna biographer [[Herbert Croly]] pointed out, "if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it".{{sfn|Horner|pp=159–62}}{{sfn|Williams|p=59}}

===General election campaign===
{{for|additional information on the currency question|Cross of Gold speech#Background}}
[[File:McKinley straddle.jpg|thumb|left|Before the 1896 convention, McKinley tried to avoid coming down on one side or the other of the currency question. [[William Allen Rogers]]'s cartoon from ''[[Harper's Weekly]]'', June 1896, showing McKinley [[Riding a rail|riding the rail]] of the currency question.|alt=A political cartoon. An imperially confident-looking man in an exaggerated military officer's uniform is [[Riding a rail|riding a plank of wood]] marked "Financial question," which is balanced between two saw-horses. The man's weight is bending the wood rather dramatically.]]

Before the Republican convention, McKinley had been a "straddle bug" on the currency question, favoring moderate positions on silver such as accomplishing [[bimetallism]] by international agreement. In the final days before the convention, McKinley decided, after hearing from politicians and businessmen, that the platform should endorse the gold standard, though it should allow for bimetallism through coordination with other nations. Adoption of the platform caused some western delegates, led by Colorado Senator [[Henry M. Teller]], to walk out of the convention. However, compared with the Democrats, Republican divisions on the issue were small, especially as McKinley promised future concessions to silver advocates.{{sfn|Phillips|pp=52, 81–82}}{{sfn|Cherny|pp=55–56}}{{sfn|Jones|p=177}}

The bad economic times had continued and strengthened the hand of forces for [[free silver]]. The issue bitterly divided the Democratic Party; President Cleveland firmly supported the gold standard, but an increasing number of rural Democrats wanted silver, especially in the South and West. The silverites took control of the [[1896 Democratic National Convention]] and chose [[William Jennings Bryan]] for president; he had electrified the delegates with his [[Cross of Gold speech]]. Bryan's financial radicalism shocked bankers—they thought his inflationary program would bankrupt the railroads and ruin the economy. Hanna approached them for support for his strategy to win the election, and they gave $3.5&nbsp;million for speakers and over 200&nbsp;million pamphlets advocating the Republican position on the money and tariff questions.{{sfn|Gould|pp=10–11}}{{sfn|Leech|pp=85–87}}

{{listen
| filename     = William McKinley campaign speech 1896.ogg
| title        = McKinley speaks from his front porch
| description  = Historic recording of William McKinley. The final 1:08 of this sound file (starting at 5:40) contains an excerpt from one of his 1896 campaign speeches.
}}

[[William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign|Bryan's campaign]] had at most an estimated $500,000. With his eloquence and youthful energy his major assets in the race, Bryan decided on a [[Whistle stop train tour|whistle-stop]] political tour by train on an unprecedented scale. Hanna urged McKinley to match Bryan's tour with one of his own; the candidate declined on the grounds that the Democrat was a better [[stump speech|stump speaker]]: "I might just as well set up a trapeze on my front lawn and compete with some professional athlete as go out speaking against Bryan. I have to ''think''<!-- italics in original --> when I speak."{{sfn|Williams|pp=130–31}} Instead of going to the people, McKinley would remain at home in Canton and allow the people to come to him; according to historian R. Hal Williams in his book on the 1896 election, "it was, as it turned out, a brilliant strategy. McKinley's '[[Front Porch Campaign]]' became a legend in American political history."{{sfn|Williams|pp=130–31}}

[[File:Flower delegation.jpg|thumb|left|William and Ida McKinley (to her husband's left) pose with members of the "Flower Delegation" from [[Oil City, Pennsylvania]], before the McKinley home. Although women could not vote in most states, they might influence male relatives and were encouraged to visit Canton.]]

McKinley made himself available to the public every day except Sunday, receiving delegations from the front porch of his home. The railroads subsidized the visitors with low excursion rates—the pro-silver [[Cleveland Plain Dealer|Cleveland ''Plain Dealer'']] disgustedly stated that going to Canton had been made "cheaper than staying at home".{{sfn|Leech|pp=88–89}}{{sfn|Harpine|p=52}} Delegations marched through the streets from the railroad station to McKinley's home on North Market Street. Once there, they crowded close to the front porch—from which they surreptitiously whittled souvenirs—as their spokesman addressed McKinley. The candidate then responded, speaking on campaign issues in a speech molded to suit the interest of the delegation. The speeches were carefully scripted to avoid extemporaneous remarks; even the spokesman's remarks were approved by McKinley or a representative. This was done as the candidate feared an offhand comment by another that might rebound on him, as [[1884 United States presidential election#Campaign|had happened to Blaine in 1884]].{{sfn|Leech|pp=88–89}}{{sfn|Williams|pp=131, 226}}{{sfn|Jones|p=285}}

[[File:Man of Mark.png|thumb|right|upright|''A Man of Mark'' 1896 [[Homer Davenport]] cartoon of McKinley as Hanna's creature, from [[William Randolph Hearst]]'s ''[[New York Journal]]''|alt=A political cartoon. A closed fist protrudes from a jacket-sleeve covered in dollar signs; a cuff-link is marked "MARK $ HANNA". The hand tightly grasps a chain from which hangs a tiny, sorry-looking figure marked "McKinley". "A Man of Mark!" concludes the cartoon's caption.]]

Most Democratic newspapers refused to support Bryan, the major exception being the New York ''Journal'', controlled by [[William Randolph Hearst]], whose fortune was based on silver mines. In biased reporting and through the sharp cartoons of [[Homer Davenport]], Hanna was viciously characterized as a [[Plutocracy|plutocrat]], trampling on labor. McKinley was drawn as a child, easily controlled by big business.{{sfn|Jones|pp=176–77}} Even today, these depictions still color the images of Hanna and McKinley: one as a heartless businessman, the other as a creature of Hanna and others of his ilk.{{sfn|Horner|pp=272, 318}}

The Democrats had pamphlets too, though not as many. Jones analyzed how voters responded to the education campaigns of the two parties:

{{blockquote|For the people it was a campaign of study and analysis, of exhortation and conviction—a campaign of search for economic and political truth. Pamphlets tumbled from the presses, to be read, reread, studied, debated, to become guides to economic thought and political action. They were printed and distributed by the million&nbsp;... but the people hankered for more. Favorite pamphlets became dog-eared, grimy, fell apart as their owners laboriously restudied their arguments and quoted from them in public and private debate.{{sfn|Jones|p=332}}
}}

McKinley always thought of himself as a tariff man and expected that the monetary issues would fade away in a month. He was mistaken, silver and gold dominated the campaign.{{sfn|Morgan|p=170}}

The battleground proved to be the Midwest—the South and most of the West were conceded to Bryan—and the Democrat spent much of his time in those crucial states.{{sfn|Kazin|p=68}} The Northeast was considered most likely safe for McKinley after the early-voting states of Maine and [[Vermont]] supported him in September.{{sfn|Phillips|p=75}} By then, it was clear that public support for silver had receded, and McKinley began to emphasize the tariff issue. By the end of September, the Republicans had discontinued printing material on the silver issue and were entirely concentrating on the tariff question.{{sfn|Morgan|p=184}} On November 3, 1896, the voters had their say. McKinley won the entire Northeast and Midwest; he won 51% of the vote and an ample majority in the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]. Bryan had concentrated entirely on the silver issue and had not appealed to urban workers. Voters in cities supported McKinley; the only city outside the South of more than 100,000 population carried by Bryan was [[Denver]], Colorado.{{sfn|Kazin|pp=76–77}}

[[File:ElectoralCollege1896.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|1896 Electoral vote results]]

===Realignment of 1896===

The 1896 presidential election was a [[realigning election]], in which McKinley's view of a stronger central government building American industry through protective tariffs and a dollar based on gold triumphed.<ref>Kevin Phillips, ''William McKinley'' (2003) pp 57-85.</ref><ref>R. Hal Williams, ''Realigning America: McKinley, Bryan, and the Remarkable Election of 1896'' (2010) pp 169-170.</ref> The voting patterns established then displaced the near-deadlock the major parties had seen since the Civil War in the [[Third Party System]]. The new Republican dominance began the [[Fourth Party System]] that would end [[1932 United States presidential election|in 1932]], another realigning election with the ascent of [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and the [[New Deal coalition]].<ref>Walter Dean Burnham, "The system of 1896: An analysis" in Paul Kleppner et al. ''The Evolution of American Electoral Systems'' (Greenwood, 1981) pp. 147-202.</ref> Phillips argues that McKinley was probably the only Republican who could have defeated Bryan—he concludes that Eastern candidates would have done badly against the Illinois-born Bryan in the crucial Midwest. While Bryan was popular among rural voters, "McKinley appealed to a very different industrialized, urbanized America."{{sfn|Phillips|pp=73–77}}