Editing Mark Hanna (section)

== Senator (1897–1904) ==

=== McKinley advisor (1897–1901) ===

==== Securing a Senate seat ====
{{main|United States Senate election in Ohio, 1898}}
[[File:Hanna turkey.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|left|1896 ''Puck'' cover showing Hanna (left) and McKinley's Thanksgiving dinner—carving up the presidency.|alt=A political cartoon in color. Two caricatured gentlemen in suits sit at a table with large, exaggerated cutlery, a colossal turkey before them, marked "Presidency". The plate bears the words, "Sound money vote". "For what we are about to receive," says the man on the left, holding the carving knife with a look of deceitful intrigue, "May the Lord make us truly thankful."]]

In the wake of McKinley's election, according to historian [[James Ford Rhodes]] (who was also Hanna's brother-in-law, though a Democrat),{{sfn|Horner|p=25}} "Mark Hanna occupied an enviable position.  Had it been usual, the freedom of Cleveland would have been conferred upon him."{{sfn|Rhodes|p=30}} According to [[John Hay]], who would later become Secretary of State under McKinley,  "What a glorious record Mark Hanna has made this year!  I never knew him intimately until we went into this fight together, but my esteem and admiration for him have grown every hour."{{sfn|Rhodes|p=30}}

Hanna stated that he would accept no office in the McKinley administration, as he feared it would be seen as a reward for his political efforts.{{sfn|Rhodes|p=30}}  He had long wished to be a senator, speaking of this desire as early as 1892.{{sfn|Croly|pp=231–232}}  Senator Sherman, now aged almost 74, would face a difficult re-election battle with the Democrats and the Foraker faction in 1898.  On January 4, 1897, McKinley offered Sherman the office of Secretary of State; he immediately accepted.  The poor record Sherman posted prior to his departure from office in 1898 led to attacks on Hanna, suggesting that a senile man had been placed in a key Cabinet position to accommodate him.{{sfn|Rhodes|p=31}} Foraker, in his memoirs, strongly implied that Sherman was moved out of the way to allow Hanna to have his Senate seat.  An embittered Sherman stated in a letter after his departure as secretary, "When [McKinley] urged me to accept the position of Secretary of State, I accepted with some reluctance and largely to promote the wishes of Mark Hanna.  The result was that I lost the position both of Senator and Secretary&nbsp;... They deprived me of the high office of Senator by the temporary appointment as Secretary of State."{{sfn|Rhodes|pp=31–32}}

Horner argues that the position of Secretary of State was the most important non-elective post in government, then often seen as a stepping stone to the presidency, and though Sherman no longer sought to be president, he was aware of the prestige.{{sfn|Horner|p=220}} According to Rhodes, "Sherman was glad to accept the Secretaryship of State.  He exchanged two years in the Senate with a doubtful succession for apparently a four years' tenure of the Cabinet head of the new Republican administration, which was undoubtedly a promotion."{{sfn|Rhodes|p=33}}  Rhodes suggested that Hanna did not give credence to warnings about Sherman's mental capacity in early 1897, though some of those tales must have been told by New York businessmen whom he trusted.{{sfn|Rhodes|p=32}}  The stories were not believed by McKinley either; the President-elect in February 1897 called accounts of Sherman's mental decay "the cheap inventions of sensational writers or other evil-disposed or mistaken people".{{sfn|Rhodes|p=32}}
[[File:Hanna button.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|A promotional button from Mark Hanna's U.S. Senate campaign.]]
Sherman's acceptance of the post of Secretary of State did not assure Hanna of succeeding him as senator.  A temporary appointment to the Senate was to be made by Ohio's governor, Republican [[Asa S. Bushnell (Governor)|Asa Bushnell]]; the legislature would then, in 1898, hold elections both for the final portion of Sherman's term (expiring in March 1899) and for the full six-year term to follow.  Bushnell was of the Foraker faction—Foraker was by then a senator-elect, selected by the legislature to fill Ohio's other Senate seat for the term 1897 to 1903.  Sherman, who was at that time still grateful for his Cabinet appointment, used his influence on Hanna's behalf; so did McKinley. Governor Bushnell did not want to appoint a leader of the opposing faction and authorized Foraker to offer the place to Representative [[Theodore E. Burton]], who declined it.  Rhodes suggests that the difficulty over obtaining a Senate seat for Hanna led McKinley to persist in his offer to make his friend [[United States Postmaster General|Postmaster General]] into mid-February 1897.{{sfn|Rhodes|p=34}}{{sfn|Croly|p=233}}{{sfn|Horner|p=222}}  Bushnell was a candidate for renomination and re-election in 1897; without Hanna's support his chances were smaller, and on February 21, Bushnell wrote to Hanna that he would appoint him in Sherman's place.{{sfn|Rhodes|p=35}}  Foraker, in his memoirs, stated that Hanna was given the Senate seat because of McKinley's desires.{{sfn|Horner|p=218}}

The 1897 legislative elections in Ohio would determine who would vote on Hanna's bid for election for a full six-year term, and were seen as a referendum on McKinley's first year in office—the President visited Ohio to give several speeches, as did Bryan.  McKinley was active behind the scenes, urging Republicans both inside and outside Ohio to support the senator.  The 1897 Ohio Republican convention voted to support Hanna, as did county conventions in 84 of Ohio's 88&nbsp;counties.  The Republicans won the election, with the overwhelming number of Republican victors pledged to vote for Hanna.{{sfn|Horner|pp=222–227}}  However, a number of Republicans, most of the Foraker faction, did not want to re-elect Hanna and formed an alliance with the Democrats.{{sfn|Horner|pp=222–227}}

When the legislature met on January 3, 1898, the anti-Hanna forces succeeded in organizing both houses of the legislature,  The dissidents had not yet agreed upon a candidate; after several days of negotiation, they settled on the Republican mayor of Cleveland, [[Robert McKisson]].{{sfn|Croly|pp=254–255}} The Cleveland mayor was the insurgents' candidate for both the short and long Senate term and had been elected in 1895 to his municipal position despite the opposition of Hanna and the Cleveland business community.  Rumors flew in [[Columbus, Ohio|Columbus]] that legislators had been kidnapped by either or both sides, and allegations of bribery were made.  [[James Rudolph Garfield]], the late president's son, stated that he had been told by one Republican from Cleveland that he had to vote for McKisson because if he did not, his contracts to sell the city brick pavers would be cut off.{{sfn|Horner|pp=222–227}}  According to Horner,

{{blockquote|
Given Hanna's determination to win and his willingness to play by the rules as they existed, money may have changed hands during the campaign, but if it did, it is important to remember the context.  If Hanna engaged in such behavior, that was the way the game was played on both sides&nbsp;... Hanna, of course, was not without resources.  It is helpful, for example, when you are good friends with the president of the United States, a man also personally very influential in Ohio politics.{{sfn|Horner|p=230}}
}}

In the end, "Hanna's tactics—whatever they really were" succeeded; he was re-elected with the barest possible majority.{{sfn|Croly|pp=253, 259}}{{sfn|Horner|p=231}}

==== Relationship with the President ====
Mark Hanna and William McKinley continued their friendship as they assumed their offices in March 1897.  Senator Hanna was looking for a residence; President McKinley suggested that he stay at the Executive Mansion (as the White House was still formally known) until he found one.  According to Hearst's New York ''Journal'', "the Senator doubtless feels that if anyone has the right to make himself at home in the White House he is the man".{{sfn|Horner|pp=235, 237}}{{sfn|McCullough|p=248}}  Hanna soon moved into the [[Arlington Hotel (Washington, D.C.)|Arlington Hotel]], close to the White House, where he occupied a large suite.{{sfn|Croly|pp=458–459}}  After the death of Vice President Hobart in November 1899, Hanna took over the lease on his house on [[President's Park#Lafayette Square|Lafayette Square]], across [[Pennsylvania Avenue (Washington, D.C.)|Pennsylvania Avenue]] from the White House.{{sfn|Hatfield|pp=289–293}}

Despite [[Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act|civil service reform]], a president had a large number of posts to fill.  It was customary at the time to fill many of the lower level positions with party political workers. Hanna had a voice in some of McKinley's appointments, but the President made the final decision.  Hanna was allowed to recommend candidates for the majority of federal positions in Ohio and was permitted a veto over Foraker's candidates.  Hanna was also dominant in the South, where there were few Republican congressmen to lobby the President.  He and McKinley decided on a system where many southern appointees were recommended by the state's member of the Republican National Committee and the defeated Republican congressional candidate for the area in question.  Hanna and McKinley gave few places to those who had served under Harrison, as the two presidents were not friendly.  "Silver Republicans", who had bolted the party at the convention or later, received nothing.{{sfn|Gould|p=51}}

Although Hanna was reputed to control the administration's patronage, in fact, other men were more influential.  McKinley's friend Joseph Smith, who had served as State Librarian of Ohio during McKinley's tenure as governor,  probably had more influence over federal jobs until his death in 1898.{{sfn|Gould|p=52}}  Charles Dawes, who was slated to be [[Comptroller of the Currency]] as soon as the incumbent left office, was also a McKinley confidant.{{sfn|Horner|pp=237–239}}  [[Joseph L. Bristow|Joseph Bristow]], whose duties as Fourth Assistant Postmaster General under McKinley involved patronage appointments, later wrote that the President "gave Hanna's requests great consideration and had confidence in the clearness of his opinion, but in the end he always followed his own judgment".{{sfn|Gould|p=52}}

As the year 1900 began, Hanna hinted that he might not want to run McKinley's [[1900 United States presidential election|re-election campaign]], stating that he was suffering from [[rheumatism]].  In spite of his statement, the senator did want to run the campaign, but McKinley (who apparently saw an opportunity to show the public that he was not Hanna's creature) was slow to ask him.  This was a source of great stress to Hanna, who was concerned about the campaign and his relationship with McKinley; the senator fainted in his office during the wait and may have suffered a heart attack.  In late May, the President announced that Hanna would run his campaign.{{sfn|Horner|pp=258–259}} Margaret Leech suggested that McKinley was angry at Hanna for unknown reasons, thus the President's "uncharacteristic coldness".{{sfn|Leech|p=533}}  Morgan, in contrast, wrote that "the president was using his usual indirect pressure and the power of silence.  He wanted and needed Hanna, but on his own terms."{{sfn|Morgan|p=372}}

==== Spanish–American War ====
{{main|Spanish–American War}}

Even during the second Cleveland administration, Americans took keen interest in [[Cuban War of Independence|the ongoing revolt]] in Cuba, then a Spanish colony.  Most Americans believed that Cuba should be independent and that Spain should leave the Western Hemisphere.  Beginning in 1895, Congress passed a number of resolutions calling for Cuban independence.  Although Cleveland pursued a policy of neutrality, his Secretary of State, [[Richard Olney]], warned Spain that the patience of the United States was not inexhaustible.  Sherman, then a senator, favored neutrality but believed that the US would inevitably go to war over Cuba.{{sfn|Morgan|p=250}}  Soon after Hanna was appointed to the Senate, McKinley called Congress into special session to consider [[Dingley Act|tariff legislation]].  Despite the stated purpose of the session, a number of resolutions were introduced calling for independence for Cuba, by force if necessary.  When the press asked Hanna if he felt there would be action on Cuba during the session, he responded: "I don't know.  You can't tell about that.  A spark might drop in there at any time and precipitate action."{{sfn|Morgan|pp=252–253}}

Through 1897, McKinley maintained neutrality on Cuba, hoping to negotiate autonomy for the island.  Nevertheless, pro-war elements, prominently including the Hearst newspapers, pressured McKinley for a more aggressive foreign policy.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=254–255}}  On May 20, 1897, the Senate passed a resolution favoring intervention in Cuba, 41–14, with Hanna in the minority.{{sfn|Croly|p=274}}  As the crisis slowly built through late 1897 and early 1898, Hanna became concerned about the political damage if McKinley, against popular opinion, kept the nation out of war.  "Look out for Mr. Bryan.  Everything that goes wrong will be in the Democratic platform in 1900.  You can be damn sure of that!"{{sfn|Horner|p=245}}  Nevertheless, the Ohio senator believed that McKinley's policy of quietly pressing Spain for colonial reform in Cuba had already yielded results without war, and would continue to do so.{{sfn|Phillips|p=91}}

On February 15, 1898, the American warship [[USS Maine (ACR-1)|''Maine'']] sank in Havana harbor. Over 250&nbsp;officers and men were killed.{{sfn|Leech|p=166}}  It was (and is){{sfn|Gould|p=74}} unclear if the explosion which caused ''Maine''{{'}}s sinking was from an external cause or internal fault.  McKinley ordered a board of inquiry while asking the nation to withhold judgment pending the result, but he also quietly prepared for war.  The Hearst newspapers, with the slogan, "Remember the ''Maine'' and to hell with Spain!" pounded a constant drumbeat for war and blamed Hanna for the delay.  According to the Hearst papers, the Ohio senator was the true master in the White House, and was vetoing war as bad for business.{{sfn|Gould|pp=74–75}}  Hearst's ''New York Journal'' editorialized in March 1898:

{{blockquote|
Senator Hanna, fresh from the bargain for a seat in the United States Senate, probably felt the need of recouping his Ohio expenses as well as helping his financial friends out of the hole when he began playing American patriotism against Wall Street money&nbsp;... Hanna said there would be no war.  He spoke as one having authority.  His edict meant that Uncle Sam might be kicked and cuffed from one continent to another.{{sfn|Horner|pp=251–252}}
}}

As the nation waited for the report of the board of inquiry, many who favored war deemed McKinley too timid.  Hanna and the President were [[burned in effigy]] in [[Virginia]].  Assistant Secretary of the Navy [[Theodore Roosevelt]] shook his fist under Hanna's nose at the [[Gridiron Dinner]] and stated, "We will have this war for the freedom of Cuba in spite of the timidity of the commercial classes!"{{sfn|Morgan|p=277}}  Nevertheless, Hanna supported McKinley's patient policy and acted as his point man in the Senate on the war issue.{{sfn|Horner|p=248}}

The Navy's report blamed an external cause, believed by many to be a Spanish mine or bomb, for the sinking of ''Maine'' (modern reports have suggested an internal explosion within a coal bunker).  Despite the increased calls for war, McKinley hoped to preserve peace.  However, when it became clear that the United States would accept nothing but Cuban independence, which the Spanish were not prepared to grant, negotiations broke off.  On April 11, McKinley asked Congress for authority to secure Cuban independence, using force if necessary.{{sfn|Gould|pp=73–85}}  Hanna supported McKinley in obtaining that authority, though he stated privately, "If Congress had started this, I'd break my neck to stop it."{{sfn|Beer|p=202}}  Spain broke off diplomatic relations on April 20; Congress declared war five days later, retroactive to April 21.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=86–88}}

The war resulted in a complete American victory.  Nevertheless, Hanna was uncomfortable with the conflict.  He stated during the war to a member of the public, "Remember that my folks were Quakers.  War is just a damn nuisance."{{sfn|Beer|pp=205–206}}  After the [[Battle of El Caney]], he viewed the American casualty lists and stated, "Oh, God, now we'll have this sort of thing again!"{{sfn|Beer|p=205}}  After the war, Hanna supported McKinley's decision to annex Spanish colonies such as [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Guam]].{{sfn|Croly|p=256}}

==== Campaign of 1900 ====
[[File:Two Bills.png|thumb|upright|Although the currency question was not as prominent in 1900 as in 1896 this ''Judge'' magazine cover shows it still played its part in the campaign.|alt=An illustrated magazine cover. Two dollar "Bills" are shown; the top one bears the face of Bill McKinley, and is marked "1 gold dollar. Worth 100 cents or one dollar in gold, prosperity, gold standard". The other shows Bill Bryan, and is denoted "16 to 1 1 dollar. Worth 53 cents only, hard times, free silver".]]

Vice President Hobart had died in late 1899.  President McKinley was content to leave the choice of a vice presidential candidate for 1900 to [[1900 Republican National Convention|the upcoming Republican convention]].  New York Senator Platt disliked his state's governor, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy Theodore Roosevelt, who had pursued a reformist agenda in his year and a half in office.  Platt hoped to sideline Roosevelt politically  by making him vice president.  Roosevelt was a popular choice in any event because of his well-publicized service during the Spanish–American War, and Platt had little trouble persuading state delegations to vote for Roosevelt after McKinley's renomination.  Quay was a close Platt ally in the effort to make Roosevelt vice president.  Hanna, who felt Roosevelt was overly impulsive, did not want him on the ticket, but did not realize that the efforts were serious until he was already at the convention in Philadelphia.  As many of the delegates were political appointees, Hanna hoped to persuade McKinley to use patronage to get the delegates to vote for another candidate.  After emerging from the telephone booth from which he had tried and failed to get McKinley to agree, Senator Hanna stated, "Do whatever you damn please! I'm through! I won't have anything more to do with the convention! I won't take charge of the campaign! I won't be chairman of the national committee again!"{{sfn|Dunn|pp=334–335}}{{sfn|Horner|pp=260–266}}  When asked what the matter was, Hanna replied,

{{blockquote|
Matter! Matter! Why, everybody's gone crazy! What is the matter with all of you? Here's this convention going headlong for Roosevelt for Vice President. Don't any of you realize that there's only one life between that madman and the Presidency? Platt and Quay are no better than idiots! What harm can he do as Governor of New York compared to the damage he will do as President if McKinley should die?{{sfn|Dunn|pp=334–335}}
}}

On his return to Washington after the convention nominated McKinley and Roosevelt, Hanna wrote to the President, "Well, it was a nice little scrap at Phila[delphia].  Not exactly to my liking with my hand tied behind me.  However, we got through in good shape and the ticket is all right.  Your duty to the country is to live for four years from next March."{{sfn|Horner|p=266}}

The Democrats nominated Bryan a second time [[1900 Democratic National Convention|at their convention]].  This time, Bryan ran with a broader agenda, and attacked McKinley as an imperialist for taking the Spanish colonies.  The Democratic candidate also urged increased use of the [[antitrust]] laws, and alleged that McKinley had been lax in their enforcement.{{sfn|Horner|pp=270–271}}  Hanna summed up the Republican campaign in four words, "Let well enough alone."{{sfn|Croly|p=304}}

Hanna was called upon to do only small amounts of fundraising this time:  no great educational campaign was required, and the corporations were willing to give.{{sfn|Leech|p=543}} The President gave only one speech, the formal acceptance of his nomination in Canton in July.{{sfn|Morgan|p=381}}  Roosevelt, on the other hand, traveled widely across the nation giving speeches.{{sfn|Gould|p=229}}  The New Yorker traveled {{convert|21000|mi}} in the campaign, reaching 24 of the 45&nbsp;states.{{sfn|McCullough|p=247}}  Hanna was now a public figure, and wanted to campaign for the Republicans in the western states.  McKinley, however, was reluctant, as Hanna had varied from the administration's position on trusts in a recent speech.  McKinley sent Postmaster General [[Charles Emory Smith]] to Chicago, where Hanna then was, to talk him out of the trip.  Hanna rapidly discerned that Smith had been sent by the President, and told him, "Return to Washington and tell the President that God hates a coward."  McKinley and Hanna met in Canton several days later and settled their differences over lunch.  Hanna made his speaking tour in the West.{{sfn|Leech|pp=554–557}}  According to Hanna biographer Thomas Beer, Hanna's tour was a great success, though many viewers were surprised he did not wear suits decorated with the "dollar mark".{{sfn|Beer|pp=230–233}}

Hanna spent much of his time based at the campaign's New York office, while renting a seaside cottage in [[Elberon, New Jersey]].{{sfn|Leech|p=553}}  In September, a [[Coal strike of 1902#The 1899 and 1900 strikes|strike by the United Mine Workers]] threatened a crisis which might cause problems for McKinley.  Hanna believed that the miners' grievances were just, and he persuaded the parties to allow him to arbitrate.  With Hanna's aid, the two sides arrived at a negotiated settlement.{{sfn|Gould|p=228}}

On November 6, 1900, the voters re-elected McKinley, who took 51.7% of the popular vote, a slight increase from 1896.  He won 292 electoral votes to Bryan's 155.  McKinley took six states that Bryan had taken in 1896 while holding all the states he had won.  Although the majority was not large by later standards, according to historian [[Lewis L. Gould]] in his study of the McKinley presidency, "in light of the election results since the Civil War, however, it was an impressive mandate."{{sfn|Gould|p=229}}

==== Assassination of McKinley ====
{{main|Assassination of William McKinley}}

McKinley traveled much during his presidency, and in September 1901, journeyed to the [[Pan-American Exposition]] in [[Buffalo, New York]].  On September 6, 1901, while receiving the public in the [[Temple of Music]] on the Exposition grounds, McKinley was shot by an anarchist, [[Leon Czolgosz]].  Hanna, along with many of the President's close allies, hurried to his bedside.{{sfn|Croly|pp=358–360}}

As the President lay, wounded, he enquired "Is Mark there?"; the doctors told him that Senator Hanna was present, but that he should not exert himself with an interview.  McKinley appeared to be improving, and Hanna, with the doctors' reassurance, left Buffalo for an encampment of the [[Grand Army of the Republic]] in Cleveland, at which Hanna was to speak.  While there, he received a telegram stating that the President had taken a turn for the worse, and hurried back to Buffalo.  There he found an unconscious McKinley, whose sickbed had become a deathbed.  On the evening of September 13, Hanna was allowed to see the dying man, as were others close to the President, such as his wife and his brother, Abner McKinley.  Hanna, weeping, went to the library in the Milburn House where the President lay, and as he awaited the end, made the necessary plans and arrangements to return his friend's remains to Canton.  At 2:15&nbsp;am on September 14, President McKinley died.{{sfn|Croly|pp=358–360}}{{sfn|Miller|p=320}}

=== Roosevelt years and death (1901–04) ===
[[File:President Theodore Roosevelt, 1904.jpg|thumb|upright=0.95|Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States (1901–1909)]]
McKinley's death left Hanna devastated both personally and politically.  Although the two had not been allies, the new president, Roosevelt, reached out to Hanna, hoping to secure his influence in the Senate.  Hanna indicated that he was willing to come to terms with Roosevelt on two conditions:  that Roosevelt carry out McKinley's political agenda, and that the President cease from his habit of calling Hanna "old man", something which greatly annoyed the senator. Hanna warned Roosevelt, "If you don't, I'll call you Teddy."{{sfn|Brands|p=492}}  Roosevelt, who despised his nickname, agreed to both terms, though he imperfectly carried out the second condition.{{sfn|Brands|p=492}}

==== Panama Canal involvement ====
{{main|History of the Panama Canal}}

Hanna was a supporter of building a canal across [[Central America]] to allow ships to pass between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans without making the lengthy journey around [[Cape Horn]].  The senator believed a route across the [[Colombia]]n province of [[Panama]] to be superior to its [[Nicaragua]]n rival.  How he came to support this route is uncertain, though attorney and lobbyist [[William Nelson Cromwell]] later claimed to have personally converted Hanna to the Panama cause in 1901.{{sfn|McCullough|p=276}}  This was disputed by the French canal promoter, [[Philippe Bunau-Varilla]], who stated that at the end of his meeting with Hanna at the Arlington Hotel, the senator exclaimed, "Monsieur Bunau-Varilla, you have convinced me."{{sfn|McCullough|p=286}}

The [[History of the Nicaragua Canal|Nicaragua route]] had many supporters and a bill sponsored by Iowa Congressman [[William Peters Hepburn]], which would authorize the construction of a canal on the Nicaragua route, had passed the House of Representatives.  In June 1902, it was considered by the Senate, and on June 5 and 6, Hanna made a speech against the Hepburn Bill.  In his speech, he referred to enormous maps, which were displayed in the Senate Chamber as he spoke.  This was a novel technique, especially as he referred to the possibility of active volcanoes on the Nicaragua route in his speech, and the maps showed  active volcanoes marked with red dots and extinct ones with black.  There was an almost continuous band of black dots through Nicaragua, with eight red ones; no dots were placed on the map of Panama.  Hanna pointed out many advantages of the Panama route:  it was shorter than the Nicaraguan route, would require much less digging, and had existing harbors at either end.  Hanna was in poor health as he gave the speech; [[Alabama]] Senator [[John Tyler Morgan]], the Senate sponsor of the Hepburn Bill, tried to ask Hanna a question, only to be met with, "I do not want to be interrupted, for I am very tired."{{sfn|McCullough|pp=319–324}}  At the end, Hanna warned that if the US built the Nicaragua canal, another power would finish the Panama route.  One senator stated that he had been converted to the "Hannama Canal".  The bill was amended to support a Panama route, according to some accounts in part because Cromwell remembered that Nicaragua depicted volcanoes on its [[postage stamp]]s, and combed the stock of Washington stamp dealers until he found enough to send to the entire Senate.  The House afterwards agreed to the Senate amendment, and the bill authorizing a Panama canal passed.{{sfn|McCullough|pp=319–324}}

The US entered into negotiations with Colombia for rights to build a canal; a treaty was signed but was rejected by the [[Senate of Colombia|Colombian Senate]].  In November 1903, Panama, with the support of the United States, [[Separation of Panama from Colombia|broke away from Colombia]], and Bunau-Varilla, the representative of the new government in Washington, signed [[Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty|a treaty]] granting the US [[Panama Canal Zone|a zone]] in which to build a canal.{{sfn|Estill}}  The United States Senate was called upon to ratify the treaty in February 1904; the debate began as Hanna lay dying.  The treaty was ratified on February 23, 1904, eight days after Hanna's death.{{sfn|McCullough|pp=397–398}}

==== Re-election, rumors of a presidential run, and death ====
[[File:Satterfield cartoon about Mark Hanna hiding from a presidential candidacy.jpg|thumb|left|220px|January 1904 political cartoon depicting Hanna hiding from presidential candidacy]]
At the 1903 Ohio Republican convention, Foraker filed a resolution to endorse Roosevelt for re-election.  This would normally have been introduced at the 1904 convention, but Foraker hoped to use the resolution to take control of the Ohio party from Hanna.  The resolution placed Hanna in a difficult position:  if he supported it, he proclaimed he would not run for president; if he opposed it, he risked Roosevelt's wrath.  Hanna wired Roosevelt, who was on a western trip, that he intended to oppose it and would explain all when both men were in Washington.  Roosevelt responded that while he had not requested support from anyone, those friendly to  his administration would naturally vote for such a statement.  Hanna resignedly supported the resolution.{{sfn|Morris|pp=232–233}}

The 1903 convention also endorsed Hanna for re-election to the Senate, and nominated Hanna's friend [[Myron Herrick]] for governor.  The Foraker faction was allowed the nomination for lieutenant governor, given to [[Warren G. Harding]], who later became president.  Hanna campaigned for several weeks for the Republicans in Ohio, and was rewarded with an overwhelming Republican victory.  With no drama, Hanna was re-elected in January 1904 for the term 1905–1911 by a legislative vote of 115–25, a much larger margin than Foraker had received in 1902.{{sfn|Croly|p=433}}
[[File:Mark Hanna cph.3a02233.jpg|thumb|upright=0.95|A photo of Senator Hanna taken roughly a year before his death.]]
Despite the differences between the two men, Roosevelt in November 1903 asked Hanna to run his re-election campaign.  Hanna saw this as an unsubtle attempt by the President to ensure that Hanna would not oppose him, and was slow to respond to his request.  In the interim, he allowed talk of a Hanna for president campaign to continue, although he did not plan to run.{{sfn|Morris|p=299}}  Financier [[J. P. Morgan]], who disliked Roosevelt's policies, offered to finance the Hanna presidential campaign when he hosted the Hannas at [[Thanksgiving]], though the senator remained silent at the offer.{{sfn|Morris|pp=299–300}}  In December, Hanna and Roosevelt had a lengthy meeting and resolved many of their differences.  Roosevelt agreed that Hanna would not have to serve another term as chairman of the Republican National Committee.  This in theory freed Hanna to run for president, but Roosevelt could see that Hanna was an exhausted man and would not run.{{sfn|Morris|p=300}}

On January 30, 1904, Hanna attended the [[Gridiron Club]] dinner at the Arlington Hotel.  He neither ate nor drank, and when asked how his health was, responded "Not good."{{sfn|Morris|p=309}}  He never again left his Washington residence,{{sfn|Morris|p=309}} having fallen ill with [[typhoid fever]].{{sfn|Croly|p=454}}  As the days passed, politicians began to wait in the Arlington lobby, close to Hanna's house, for news; a letter from the President, "May you soon be with us, old fellow, as strong in body and as vigorous in your leadership as ever" was never read by the recipient.{{sfn|Morris|p=311}}  Hanna drifted in and out of consciousness for several days; on the morning of February 15, his heart began to fail.  Roosevelt visited at 3&nbsp;pm, unseen by the dying man.  At 6:30&nbsp;pm, Senator Hanna died, and the crowd of congressional colleagues, government officials, and diplomats who had gathered in the lobby of the Arlington left the hotel, many sobbing.  Roosevelt biographer [[Edmund Morris (writer)|Edmund Morris]] noted Hanna's achievement in industry and in politics, "He had not done badly in either field; he had made seven million dollars, and a President of the United States."{{sfn|Morris|p=311}}