Editing William McKinley (section)

===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}}