Editing William McKinley (section)

==Presidency (1897–1901)==
{{Main|Presidency of William McKinley}}

===Inauguration and appointments===
[[File:McKinley sworn in.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Chief Justice of the United States|Chief Justice]] [[Melville Fuller]] swears in William McKinley as president; outgoing President [[Grover Cleveland]] at right]]
McKinley was [[First inauguration of William McKinley|sworn in as president]] on March 4, 1897, as his wife and mother looked on. The new president gave a lengthy inaugural address; he urged tariff reform and stated that the currency issue would have to await tariff legislation. He warned against foreign interventions, "We want no wars of conquest. We must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression."{{sfn|Phillips|pp=207–08}}

McKinley's most controversial Cabinet appointment was that of John Sherman as Secretary of State. Sherman had an outstanding reputation, but old age was fast reducing his abilities. McKinley needed to have Hanna appointed to the Senate, so Senator Sherman was moved up.{{sfn|Gould|pp=17–18}} Sherman's mental faculties were decaying even in 1896; this was widely spoken of in political circles, but McKinley did not believe the rumors.{{sfn|Gould|pp=17–18}} Nevertheless, McKinley sent his cousin, William McKinley Osborne, to have dinner with the 73-year-old senator; he reported back that Sherman seemed as lucid as ever.{{sfnm|Morgan||1pp=194–95, 285|Leech||2pp=152–53}} McKinley wrote once the appointment was announced, "the stories regarding Senator Sherman's 'mental decay' are without foundation&nbsp;... When I saw him last I was convinced both of his perfect health, physically and mentally, and that the prospects of life were remarkably good."{{sfnm|Morgan||1pp=194–95, 285|Leech||2pp=152–53}}

Maine Representative [[Nelson Dingley Jr.]] was McKinley's choice for Secretary of the Treasury; he declined it, preferring to remain as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Charles Dawes, who had been Hanna's lieutenant in Chicago during the campaign, was considered for the Treasury post but by some accounts Dawes considered himself too young. Dawes eventually became [[Comptroller of the Currency]]; he recorded in his published diary that he had strongly urged McKinley to appoint as secretary the successful candidate, [[Lyman J. Gage]], president of the [[First Chicago Bank|First National Bank of Chicago]] and a [[Gold Democrat]].{{sfnm|Gould||1p=15|Horner||2pp=236–38}} The [[United States Department of the Navy|Navy Department]] was offered to former Massachusetts Congressman [[John Davis Long]], an old friend from the House, on January 30, 1897.{{sfn|Gould|p=14}} Although McKinley was initially inclined to allow Long to choose his own assistant, there was considerable pressure on the President-elect to appoint [[Theodore Roosevelt]], head of the New York City Police Commission and a published naval historian. McKinley was reluctant, stating to one Roosevelt booster, "I want peace and I am told that your friend Theodore is always getting into rows with everybody." Nevertheless, he made the appointment.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=199–200}}

In addition to Sherman, McKinley made one other ill-advised Cabinet appointment,{{sfn|Phillips|p=127}}<!-- "McKinley had made a few unwise appointments in 1897, especially Russell Alger at the War Department and John Sherman at State" --> that of [[United States Secretary of War|Secretary of War]], which fell to [[Russell A. Alger]], former general and [[Michigan]] governor. Competent enough in peacetime, Alger proved inadequate once the conflict with Spain began. With the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] plagued by scandal, Alger resigned at McKinley's request in mid-1899.{{sfn|Gould|pp=16–17, 174–76}} Vice President Hobart, as was customary at the time, was not invited to Cabinet meetings. However, he proved a valuable adviser both for McKinley and for his Cabinet members. The wealthy Vice President leased a residence close to the White House; the two families visited each other without formality, and the Vice President's wife, [[Jennie Tuttle Hobart]], sometimes substituted as Executive Mansion hostess when Ida McKinley was unwell.{{sfn|Connolly|pp=29–31}} For most of McKinley's administration, [[George B. Cortelyou]] served as [[Secretary to the President of the United States|his personal secretary]]. Cortelyou, who served in three Cabinet positions under Theodore Roosevelt, became a combination [[White House Press Secretary|press secretary]] and [[White House Chief of Staff|chief of staff]] to McKinley.{{sfn|Horner|pp=139–40, 240–41}}

===Cuba crisis and war with Spain===
{{Main|Spanish–American War}} {{Further|Presidency of William McKinley#Spanish–American War}}
[[File:Judge-2-6-1897.jpg|thumb|Editorial cartoon promoting intervention in Cuba. [[Columbia (name)|Columbia]] (the American people) reaches out to help oppressed Cuba in 1897 while [[Uncle Sam]] (the U.S. government) is blind to the crisis and will not use its powerful guns to help. [[Judge (magazine)|''Judge'' magazine]], February 6, 1897.]]

For decades, rebels in [[History of Cuba|Cuba]] had waged an intermittent campaign for freedom from Spanish colonial rule. By 1895, the conflict had expanded to a [[Cuban War of Independence|war for Cuban independence]].{{sfn|Gould|p=60}} As war engulfed the island, Spanish reprisals against the rebels grew ever harsher. American public opinion favored the rebels, and McKinley shared in their outrage against Spanish policies.{{sfn|Leech|p=148}} However while public opinion called for war to liberate Cuba, McKinley favored a peaceful approach, hoping that through negotiation, Spain might be convinced to grant Cuba independence, or at least to allow the Cubans some measure of autonomy.{{sfn|Gould|pp=65–66}} The United States and Spain began negotiations on the subject in 1897, but it became clear that Spain would never concede Cuban independence, while the rebels (and their American supporters) would never settle for anything less.{{sfn|Gould|pp=68–70}}<ref>Recent historiography emphasizes the humanitarian motivations for the initial war decision.  Jeffrey Bloodworth,  "For Love or for Money?: William McKinley and the Spanish–American War" ''White House Studies'' (2009) 9#2 pp. 135–57.</ref>

In January 1898, Spain promised some concessions to the rebels, but when American [[Consul (representative)|consul]] [[Fitzhugh Lee]] reported riots in [[Havana]], McKinley agreed to send the battleship [[USS Maine (ACR-1)|USS ''Maine'']].{{sfn|Gould|pp=71–72}} On February 15, the ''Maine'' exploded and sank with 266 men killed.{{sfn|Gould|p=74}} Public attention focused on the crisis and the consensus was that regardless of who set the bomb, Spain had lost control over Cuba. McKinley insisted that a [[Naval Board of Inquiry|court of inquiry]] first determine whether the explosion was accidental.{{sfn|Leech|pp=171–72}} Negotiations with Spain continued as the court considered the evidence, but on March 20, the court ruled that the ''Maine'' was blown up by an [[Naval mine|underwater mine]].{{sfnm|Leech||1p=173|Gould||2pp=78–79}} As pressure for war mounted in Congress, McKinley continued to negotiate for Cuban independence.{{sfn|Gould|pp=79–81}} Spain refused McKinley's proposals, and on April 11, McKinley turned the matter over to Congress. He did not ask for war, but Congress made the decision and declared war on April 20, with the addition of the [[Teller Amendment]], which disavowed any intention of annexing Cuba.{{sfn|Gould|pp=86–87}} Nick Kapur says that McKinley's actions were based on his values of arbitrationism, pacifism, humanitarianism, and manly self-restraint, and not on external pressures.<ref>Nick Kapur, "William McKinley's Values and the Origins of the Spanish‐American War: A Reinterpretation." ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 41.1 (2011): 18–38 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/23884754 online].</ref>

The expansion of the telegraph and the development of the telephone gave McKinley greater control over the day-to-day management of the war than previous presidents had enjoyed, and he used the new technologies to direct the army's and navy's movements as far as he was able.{{sfn|Gould|pp=91–93}} McKinley found Alger inadequate as Secretary of War, and did not get along with the Army's commanding general, [[Nelson A. Miles]].{{sfn|Gould|pp=102–03}} Bypassing them, he looked for strategic advice first from Miles's predecessor, General [[John Schofield]], and later from [[Adjutant general#United States|Adjutant General]] [[Henry Clarke Corbin]].{{sfn|Gould|pp=102–03}} The war led to a change in McKinley's cabinet, as the president accepted Sherman's resignation as Secretary of State. [[William R. Day]] agreed to serve as secretary until the war's end.{{sfnm|Gould||1p=94|Leech||2p=191}}

Within a fortnight, the navy had its first victory when [[Commodore (United States)|Commodore]] [[George Dewey]] destroyed the Spanish fleet at the [[Battle of Manila Bay]] in the Philippines.{{sfn|Leech|pp=203–07}} Dewey's overwhelming victory expanded the scope of the war from one centered in the Caribbean to one that would determine the fate of all of Spain's Pacific colonies.{{sfn|Gould|p=96}} The next month, McKinley increased the number of [[Eighth Army Corps (Spanish-American War)|troops sent to the Philippines]] and granted the force's commander, Major General [[Wesley Merritt]], the power to set up legal systems and raise taxes—necessities for a long occupation.{{sfn|Gould|pp=97–98}} By the time the troops arrived in the Philippines at the end of June 1898, McKinley had decided that Spain would be required to surrender the archipelago to the United States.{{sfn|Gould|p=101}} He professed to be open to all views on the subject; however, he believed that as the war progressed, the public would come to demand retention of the islands as a prize of war.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=467–68}}

Meanwhile, in the Caribbean theater, a large force of regulars and volunteers gathered near [[Tampa, Florida]], for an invasion of Cuba.{{sfn|Leech|pp=214–15}} After lengthy delays, the army, led by Major General [[William Rufus Shafter]], on June 22, landed near [[Santiago de Cuba]].{{sfn|Gould|pp=107–09}} Shafter's army engaged the Spanish forces on July 2 in the [[Battle of San Juan Hill]].{{sfn|Leech|pp=249–52}} In an intense day-long battle, the American force was victorious, although both sides suffered heavy casualties.{{sfn|Gould|pp=109–10}} The next day, Spain's Caribbean squadron, which had been sheltering in Santiago's harbor, broke for the open sea and was destroyed by the North Atlantic Squadron in the [[Battle of Santiago de Cuba|largest naval battle of the war]].{{sfn|Leech|pp=253–58}} Shafter laid siege to the city of Santiago, which surrendered on July 17, placing Cuba under effective American control.{{sfn|Gould|pp=110–12}} McKinley and Miles also ordered an invasion of [[Puerto Rico]], which met little resistance when it landed in July.{{sfn|Gould|pp=110–12}} The distance from Spain and the destruction of the Spanish navy made resupply impossible, and the Spanish government began to look for a way to end the war.{{sfn|Gould|pp=112–13}}

===Peace and territorial gain===
{{See also|Philippine–American War}}
[[File:Jules Cambon signs Treaty of Paris, 1899.JPG|thumb|left|Signing of the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]]]]

McKinley's cabinet agreed with him that Spain must leave Cuba and Puerto Rico, but they disagreed on the Philippines, with some wishing to annex the entire archipelago and some wishing only to retain a naval base in the area.{{sfn|Gould|p=117}} Although public sentiment seemed to favor annexation of the Philippines, several prominent political leaders—including Democrats Bryan, and Cleveland, and the newly formed [[American Anti-Imperialist League]]—made their opposition known.{{sfn|Gould|p=116}}

McKinley proposed to open negotiations with Spain on the basis of Cuban liberation and Puerto Rican annexation, with the final status of the Philippines subject to further discussion.{{sfn|Gould|pp=118–19}} He stood firmly in that demand even as the military situation in Cuba began to deteriorate when the American army was struck with [[yellow fever]].{{sfn|Gould|pp=118–19}} Spain ultimately agreed to a ceasefire on those terms on August 12, and treaty negotiations began in Paris in September 1898.{{sfn|Gould|pp=120–21}} The talks continued until December 18, when the [[Treaty of Paris (1898)|Treaty of Paris]] was signed.{{sfn|Gould|pp=142–43}} The United States acquired Puerto Rico and the Philippines as well as the island of [[Guam]], and Spain relinquished its claims to Cuba; in exchange, the United States agreed to pay Spain $20&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|20|1899|r=0}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}}).{{sfn|Gould|pp=142–43}} McKinley had difficulty convincing the Senate to approve the treaty by the requisite two-thirds vote, but his lobbying, and that of Vice President Hobart, eventually saw success, as the Senate voted in favor on February 6, 1899, 57 to 27.{{sfnm|Gould||1pp=144–50|Morgan||2p=320}}

====Hawaii====
[[File:Annexation Here to Stay (edit).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|[[Newlands Resolution|Annexation]] of the [[Republic of Hawaii]] in 1898]]

During the war, McKinley also pursued the annexation of the [[Republic of Hawaii]]. The new republic, dominated by business interests, had [[Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii|overthrown the Queen]] in 1893 when she attempted to restore the powers of the monarchy by nullifying the [[1887 Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom|bayonet constitution]].{{sfn|Gould|p=48}} There was strong American support for annexation, and the need for Pacific bases in wartime became clear after the Battle of Manila.{{sfn|Gould|pp=49–50}} McKinley came to office as a supporter of annexation, and lobbied Congress to act, warning that to do nothing would invite a royalist counter-revolution or a Japanese takeover.{{sfn|Gould|pp=49–50}} Foreseeing difficulty in getting two-thirds of the Senate to approve a treaty of annexation, McKinley instead supported the effort of Democratic Representative [[Francis G. Newlands]] of Nevada to accomplish the result by [[joint resolution]] of both houses of Congress.{{sfn|Gould|pp=98–99}} The resulting [[Newlands Resolution]] passed both houses by wide margins, and McKinley signed it into law on July 8, 1898.{{sfn|Gould|pp=98–99}} McKinley biographer H. Wayne Morgan notes, "McKinley was the guiding spirit behind the annexation of Hawaii, showing&nbsp;... a firmness in pursuing it";{{sfn|Morgan|p=223}} the president told Cortelyou, "We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is [[manifest destiny]]."{{sfn|Morgan|p=225}}

===Expanding influence overseas===
====Open door in China====
Even before peace negotiations began with Spain, McKinley asked Congress to set up a commission to examine trade opportunities in Asia and espoused an "[[Open Door Policy]]", in which all nations would freely trade with China and none would seek to violate that nation's territorial integrity.{{sfn|Gould|p=201}}

[[File:Siege of Peking, Boxer Rebellion.jpg|thumb|left|alt=painting of U.S. Army soldiers defending a fort in Peking while a zhengyangmen in the background burns|American soldiers scale the walls of Beijing to relieve the [[siege of the International Legations]], August 1900]]

American missionaries were threatened with death when the [[Boxer Rebellion]] menaced foreigners in China.{{sfn|Gould|pp=220–22}} Americans and other westerners in [[Peking]] were besieged and, in cooperation with other western powers, McKinley ordered 5000 troops to the city in June 1900 in the [[China Relief Expedition]].{{sfn|Lafeber|p=714}} The westerners were rescued the next month, but several Congressional Democrats objected to McKinley dispatching troops without consulting the legislature.{{sfn|Gould|pp=220–22}} McKinley's actions set a precedent that led to most of his successors exerting similar independent control over the military.{{sfn|Lafeber|p=714}} After the rebellion ended, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to the Open Door policy, which became the basis of American policy toward China.{{sfn|Gould|p=233}}

====Panama canal====
Closer to home, McKinley and [[John Hay|Hay]] engaged in negotiations with Britain over the possible construction of a canal across Central America. The [[Clayton–Bulwer Treaty]], which the two nations signed in 1850, prohibited either from establishing exclusive control over a canal there. The war had exposed the difficulty of maintaining a two-ocean navy when the Navy had to sail all the way around South America to reach the Pacific.{{sfn|Gould|pp=196–98}} Now, with American business and military interests even more involved in Asia, a canal seemed more essential than ever, and McKinley pressed for a renegotiation of the treaty.{{sfn|Gould|pp=196–98}} Hay and the British ambassador, [[Julian Pauncefote, 1st Baron Pauncefote|Julian Pauncefote]], agreed that the United States could control a future canal, provided that it was open to all shipping and not fortified.{{sfn|McCullough|pp=256–59}} McKinley was satisfied with the terms, but the Senate rejected them, demanding that the United States be allowed to fortify the canal.{{sfn|McCullough|pp=256–59}} Hay was embarrassed by the rebuff and offered his resignation, but McKinley refused it and ordered him to continue negotiations to achieve the Senate's demands.{{sfn|McCullough|pp=256–59}} He was successful, and [[Hay–Pauncefote Treaty|a new treaty]] was drafted and approved, but not before McKinley's assassination in 1901.{{sfn|McCullough|pp=256–59}} The result under Roosevelt was the [[Panama Canal]].

===Tariffs and bimetallism===
[[File:McKinley Prosperity.jpg|thumb|upright|1900 reelection poster with the theme that McKinley has returned prosperity to America]]

McKinley had built his reputation in Congress on high tariffs, promising protection for American business and well-paid U.S. factory workers. With the Republicans in control of Congress, Ways and Means chairman Dingley introduced the [[Dingley Act]], which would raise tariff rates on wool, sugar, and luxury goods. Congress passed the legislation with McKinley's support, and he signed it into law on July 24, 1897, less than five months into his presidency.{{sfn|Gould|pp=44–45}}<ref name="ucsb">{{cite web | title=William McKinley Event Timeline | website=The American Presidency Project | date=November 10, 2021 | url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/william-mckinley-event-timeline | access-date=May 24, 2024}}</ref>

American negotiators soon concluded a reciprocity treaty with France, and the two nations approached Britain to gauge British enthusiasm for [[bimetallism]].{{sfn|Gould|pp=44–45}} Prime Minister [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]] and his government showed some interest in the idea and told American envoy [[Edward O. Wolcott]] that he would be amenable to reopening the mints in [[British Raj|India]] to silver coinage if the [[Viceroy's Executive Council]] there agreed.{{sfn|Gould|pp=45–46}} News of a possible departure from the gold standard stirred up immediate opposition from its partisans, and misgivings by the Indian administration led Britain to reject the proposal.{{sfn|Gould|pp=45–46}} With the international effort a failure, McKinley turned away from silver coinage and embraced the gold standard.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=217–18}} Even without the agreement, agitation for free silver eased as prosperity began to return to the United States and gold from recent strikes in the [[Klondike Gold Rush|Yukon]] and [[Australian gold rushes|Australia]] increased the monetary supply even without silver coinage.{{sfnm|Nichols||1p=586|Gould||2p=46}} In the absence of international agreement, McKinley favored legislation to formally affirm the gold standard, but was initially deterred by the silver strength in the Senate.{{sfn|Morgan|pp=218–19}} By 1900, with another campaign ahead and good economic conditions, McKinley urged Congress to pass such a law, and signed the [[Gold Standard Act]] on March 14, 1900, using a gold pen to do so.{{sfn|Gould|pp=169–71}}

===Civil rights===
[[File:McKinley at Atlanta.jpg|thumb|right|McKinley, (right of center) flanked by Georgia Governor [[Allen D. Candler]] (front row to McKinley's right) and Gen. [[William Rufus Shafter]], reviewing the Atlanta Peace Jubilee parade, December 15, 1898]]

In the wake of McKinley's election in 1896, black people were hopeful of progress towards equality. McKinley had spoken out against [[lynching]] while governor, and most black people who could still vote supported him in 1896. McKinley's priority, however, was in ending [[sectionalism]], and they were disappointed by his policies and appointments. Although McKinley made some appointments of black people to low-level government posts, and received some praise for that, the appointments were less than they had received under previous Republican administrations.{{sfn|Gould|pp=153–54}}

The McKinley administration's response to racial violence was minimal, causing him to lose black support.{{sfn|Gould|pp=153–54}} When black postmasters at [[Hogansville, Georgia]], in 1897, and at [[Lake City, South Carolina]], the following year, were assaulted, McKinley issued no statement of condemnation. Although black leaders criticized McKinley for inaction, supporters responded by saying there was little that the president could do to intervene. Critics replied by saying that he could at least publicly condemn such events, as Harrison had done.{{sfn|Gould|p=155}}

When a group of white supremacists violently overthrew the duly elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10, 1898, in an event that came to be recognized as the [[Wilmington insurrection of 1898]], McKinley refused requests by black leaders to send in federal marshals or federal troops to protect black citizens,<ref name=Time>{{cite news|title=The 1898 Wilmington Massacre Is an Essential Lesson in How State Violence Has Targeted Black Americans
|url=https://time.com/5861644/1898-wilmington-massacre-essential-lesson-state-violence/|date=July 1, 2020|newspaper=Time Magazine}}</ref> and ignored city residents' appeals for help to recover from the widespread destruction of the predominantly black neighborhood of Brooklyn.<ref name=LearnNC>{{cite news|title=Letter from an African American citizen of Wilmington to the President|url=http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newsouth/4714|date=November 13, 1898|newspaper=Learn NC, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill}}</ref>

According to historian [[Clarence A. Bacote]], "Before the Spanish–American War, the Negroes, in spite of some mistakes, regarded McKinley as the best friend they ever had."{{sfn|Bacote|p=234}} Under pressure from black leaders, McKinley required the War Department to commission black officers above the rank of lieutenant. McKinley toured the South in late 1898, promoting sectional reconciliation. He visited [[Tuskegee Institute]] and the famous black educator [[Booker T. Washington]]. He also visited Confederate memorials. In his tour of the South, McKinley did not mention the racial tensions or violence. Although the president received a rapturous reception from Southern whites, many blacks, excluded from official welcoming committees, felt alienated by the president's words and actions.{{sfn|Gould|pp=156–57}}{{sfnm|Bacote||1pp=235–37|Leech||2p=348}} Gould concluded regarding race, "McKinley lacked the vision to transcend the biases of his day and to point toward a better future for all Americans".{{sfnm|Gould||1pp=159–60|Phillips||2p=149}}

===1900 election===
{{Main|1900 United States presidential election}}
[[File:The Administration's Promises Have Been Kept.jpg|thumb|McKinley ran on his record of prosperity and victory in 1900, winning easy re-election over William Jennings Bryan.]]

Republicans were generally successful in state and local elections around the country in 1899, and McKinley was optimistic about his chances at re-election in 1900.{{sfn|Gould|pp=207–08}} McKinley's popularity in his first term assured him of renomination for a second.{{sfn|Gould|pp=213–14}} The only question about the Republican ticket concerned the vice presidential nomination; McKinley needed a new running mate as Hobart had died in late 1899.{{sfn|Gould|pp=215–17}} McKinley initially favored [[Elihu Root]], who had succeeded Alger as Secretary of War, but McKinley decided that Root was doing too good a job at the War Department to move him.{{sfn|Gould|pp=215–17}} He considered other prominent candidates, including Allison and [[Cornelius Newton Bliss]], but none were as popular as the Republican party's rising star, [[Theodore Roosevelt]].{{sfn|Phillips|pp=120–22}} After a stint as [[Assistant Secretary of the Navy]], Roosevelt had resigned and raised [[Rough Riders|a cavalry regiment]]; they fought bravely in Cuba, and Roosevelt returned home covered in glory. Elected governor of New York on a reform platform in 1898, Roosevelt had his eye on the presidency.{{sfn|Gould|pp=215–17}} Many supporters recommended him to McKinley for the second spot on the ticket, and Roosevelt believed it would be an excellent stepping stone to the presidency in 1904.{{sfn|Gould|pp=215–17}} McKinley remained uncommitted in public, but Hanna was firmly opposed to the New York governor.{{sfn|Leech|pp=531–33}} The Ohio senator considered the New Yorker overly impulsive; his stance was undermined by the efforts of political boss and New York Senator Thomas C. Platt, who, disliking Roosevelt's reform agenda, sought to sideline the governor by making him vice president.{{sfn|Horner|pp=260–66}}

When the [[1900 Republican National Convention|Republican convention]] began in [[Philadelphia]] that June, no vice presidential candidate had overwhelming support, but Roosevelt had the broadest range of support from around the country.{{sfn|Gould|pp=215–17}} McKinley affirmed that the choice belonged to the convention, not to him.{{sfn|Gould|p=218}} On June 21, McKinley was unanimously renominated and, with Hanna's reluctant acquiescence, Roosevelt was nominated for vice president on the first ballot.{{sfn|Leech|pp=540–42}} The [[1900 Democratic National Convention|Democratic convention]] convened the next month in [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]] and nominated William Jennings Bryan, setting up a rematch of the 1896 contest.{{sfn|Gould|pp=219–20}}

The candidates were the same, but the issues of the campaign had shifted: free silver was still a question that animated many voters, but the Republicans focused on victory in war and prosperity at home as issues they believed favored their party.{{sfnm|Gould||1pp=226–27|Leech||2pp=543–44}} Democrats knew the war had been popular, even if the imperialism issue was less sure, so they focused on the issue of trusts and corporate power, painting McKinley as the servant of capital and big business.{{sfnm|Gould||1pp=227–28|Leech||2pp=544–46}} As in 1896, Bryan embarked on a speaking tour around the country while McKinley stayed at home, this time making only one speech, to accept his nomination.{{sfn|Leech|pp=549–57}} Roosevelt emerged as the campaign's primary speaker and Hanna helped the cause by working to settle a [[Coal strike of 1902#The 1899 and 1900 strikes|coal miners strike in Pennsylvania]].{{sfn|Gould|p=228}} Bryan's campaigning failed to excite the voters as it had in 1896, and McKinley never doubted that he would be re-elected.{{sfnm|Gould||1p=229|Leech||2p=558}} On November 6, 1900, he was proven correct, winning the largest victory for any Republican since 1872.{{sfn|Leech|p=559}} Bryan carried only four states outside the [[solid South]], and McKinley even won Bryan's home state of Nebraska.{{sfn|Leech|p=559}}

===Second term===
[[File:President McKinley Taking the Oath.webm|thumb|McKinley's inauguration, filmed by [[Thomas Edison]]]]
Soon after [[Second inauguration of William McKinley|his second inauguration]] on March 4, 1901, William and Ida McKinley undertook a six-week tour of the nation. Traveling mostly by rail, the McKinleys were to travel through the South to the Southwest, and then up the Pacific coast and east again, to conclude with a visit on June 13, 1901, to the [[Pan-American Exposition]] in [[Buffalo, New York]].{{sfn|Miller|pp=289–90}} However, the first lady fell ill in California, causing her husband to limit his public events and cancel a series of speeches he had planned to give urging trade reciprocity. He also postponed the visit to the fair until September, planning a month in Washington and two in Canton before the Buffalo visit.{{sfn|Gould|pp=247–49}}