25. William McKinley

The two things that people probably know about President William McKinley is that he was assassinated in office and the Spanish American War took place during his administration.  McKinley is sometimes called the first modern president.  During his terms, the United States really emerged as a world leader from an industrial, economic and military standpoint.  Many of his policies continued well into the 20th century.  His view on the powers of the president was much broader than the presidents immediately before him.

Before becoming president, McKinley served as a congressman from Ohio and the Governor of Ohio.  It was while he was serving in Congress that he authored and was able to get the McKinley Tariff Act passed.  The act raised tariffs on most imported goods.  He felt that the domestic industries needed the tariff protection to allow them to compete with foreign goods.  The new tariffs were unpopular around the country as it meant that consumers would have to pay more for their goods.  The McKinley Tariff Act is credited with contributing to the loss of 93 Republican seats in the House of Representatives and giving the Democrats a large majority (238-86) in the midterm elections of 1890.  One of the Republican seats lost was McKinley’s as he lost a close race.  He served a total of 6 terms in the House, where he became very knowledgeable about the workings of the legislative branch and how to get laws passed.

Through both his congressional and gubernatorial career McKinley was a consistent supporter of a laissez-faire approach to the economy.  That means government for the most part did not interfere with business with unnecessary regulations or laws.  McKinley had flip-flopped on the issue of bimetallism, but in the presidential campaign of 1896 he came out strongly in favor of the gold standard.  This coupled with his consistent approach to tariffs made him very popular with businesses.  He easily beat William Jennings Bryan for the presidency.  Repeating the economic policies of McKinley, presidential candidates from the Republican Party would go on to win 7 of the next 9 presidential elections and hold the office for 28 of the next 36 years.

One of the biggest things that occurred during his presidency was the Spanish-American War.  The outcome of this war is still felt today.  Prior to the McKinley presidency, America was largely an isolationist country.  We occasionally rattled our sword to ward off European interests in South and Central America citing the Monroe Doctrine, but that was the extent.  However in the mid 1890s, the Cuban people started to revolt against the Spanish presence.  Stories, largely fabricated, about the treatment of the Cubans by the Spanish started to be printed in American newspapers.  This was the era of Yellow journalism and the competition to sell newspapers was heating up between William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.  The sensational stories fired up the public who now believed that military action was required against the Spanish on behalf of the Cuban people.  McKinley urged patience and diplomacy.  However, on the February 15th, 1898, the U.S.S. Maine, a U.S. Navy ship that was anchored at the harbor in Havana, exploded, killing 266 sailors on board.  McKinley continued to urge caution until the official cause of the explosion was known. To this day there doesn’t seem to be a clear explanation for the explosion on the Maine.  There are a couple theories: a naval mine planted by the Spanish Navy, an undetected fire in one her coal bunkers or that it was intentionally to bring the U.S. into the war.  At this point the cause was irrelevant. In April, McKinley asked Congress to declare war against Spain.  The war only lasted a little over four months, but there were several important outcomes:

• The rise of Teddy Roosevelt after his heroism at the Battle of San Juan Hill
• The emergence of the United States Navy as a world power (they won crucial battles in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines)
• The acquisition by the United States, as part of the peace treaty, of several Spanish holdings to include Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines

For the first time in history, the United States was in possession of lands that were not part of North America.  This led to the Democrats saying that McKinley was trying to create an American empire on the model of the European countries.

In the Philippines, insurrections were started by rebels that were no more interested in being ruled by the United States than they were by the Spanish.  Over the next several years McKinley sent 70,000 troops to put down the insurrection.  The fighting went on until 1902 when the rebels were finally defeated.  Additionally, McKinley’s Open Door Policy was threatened by the Boxer Rebellion.  The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising in China against foreign influence.  The Boxers (nicknamed by western diplomats and businesses) were a group that called themselves the Righteous and Harmonious Fists.  McKinley sent in U.S. Marines to fight alongside other Western Powers to put down the rebellion.

McKinley sailed to re-election in 1900, easily defeating William Jennings Bryan yet again.  In September 1901, only a few months into his second term, McKinley decided to visit the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.  On September 5, he went into the Temple of Music and greeted a line of people that wanted to shake hands with the president.  One of the people in line turned out to be Leon Czolgosz.  Czolgosz had his right hand bandaged to conceal the .32 caliber pistol that he was carrying.  When he reached the front of the line he shot McKinley twice.  The first bullet grazed his shoulder, but the second hit him in the stomach.  There were many ironies surrounding the operation. First, the recently invented x-ray machine was on display at the exposition, but doctors were concerned about using it because they didn’t know what side effects it would have. Also, despite the thousands of lights embellishing the exteriors of the exposition buildings, the operating room did not have one.  The doctors had to work by reflecting light off of metal pans. (They couldn’t use candles due to the use of ether) McKinley lived for eight days following the shooting.

McKinley’s biggest legacy in my opinion is the change in American foreign policy and the expansion of American influence around the world.  This is one of the primary reasons that he is referred to as the first modern president.

Trivia:

• He was the last president elected in the 19th century
• His first inauguration was the first presidential inauguration to be filmed
• He was the first president to appear on film extensively
• His face is on the $500 bill
• McKinley was the first president to ride in a self-propelled vehicle.  Unfortunately it was the electric powered ambulance that took him to the hospital after he had been shot.
• McKinley and Benjamin Harrison died the same year (1901).  On only two other occasions has more than one president died in the same year; 1826 Adams and Jefferson, 1862 Tyler and Van Buren
• Last Civil War veteran to become president.  He served under General Rutherford Hayes and eventually reached the rank of Captain.
• McKinley entered the Civil War as an enlisted soldier and was promoted to first lieutenant for bravery during the battle of Antietam
• His vice president during his first term, Garret Hobart, died in office in 1899.  For the remainder of his first term he did not have a vice president.
• One of his Secretaries of State was John Hay who had been Abraham Lincolns personal secretary
• After he was shot he was heard to say to his secretary George Cortelyou “My wife, Cortelyou, be careful how you tell her, oh be careful.”  His wife Ida was in very poor health at this time.
• After Leon shot McKinley the crowd jumped on him.  McKinley was heard to say “Boys!  Don’t let them hurt him.” because it appeared that the crowd was going to kill him on the spot.
• The building where he was shot was torn down, as was all of the exposition building.  There is a stone marker on a residential street in Buffalo that marks the approximate location of the shooting.
• There is some controversy around the naming of Mt. McKinley in Alaska.  In the late 1890’s a gold prospector, who was a McKinley supported, named the mountain Mt. McKinley.  The local people in the area call the mountain Denali.  In fact the officially registered name in the Alaska Board of Geographic Names is Denali while in the national Board of Geographic Names it is called Mt. McKinley.  Attempts by the Alaskan delegation in congress to change the name to Denali in the national register have been blocked several times by the Ohio delegation.

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Ida Saxton (1847-1907, m. 1871)
• Children: Katherine (1871-1876), Esther (1873-1873)
• Party affiliation: Republican Party 
• Presidency: 1897-1901
• Born: January 29th, 1843 (Niles, Ohio) 
• Died: September 14th, 1901 (Buffalo, New York)

23. Benjamin Harrison

It’s really no surprise that Benjamin Harrison went into politics.  He belonged to a prominent Virginia family that settled in America in 1630.  His great-grandfather, also named Benjamin Harrison, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence; his grandfather, William Henry Harrison was President of the United States; and his father was a congressman from Ohio. 

Harrison graduated from the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio in 1852.  Caroline Scott, his future wife, attended the Oxford Female Institute across town.  They were married by her father, a Presbyterian minister, in 1853.  They would eventually have two children.  In 1854, Harrison used some money that he inherited from an aunt to move to Indianapolis and began practicing law.

The newly formed Indiana Republican Party gave Harrison the political experience that he was looking for.  He was elected to the post of recorder for the Indiana Supreme Court in 1860.  When the civil war broke out, Harrison had a successful law firm going with William Fishback so he was hesitant to leave.  Ultimately, in 1862, he volunteered to raise a regiment at the urging of Governor Morton, who felt that Indiana was not doing its part to support the war effort.  Harrison’s unit, the 70th Indiana Infantry Regiment spent most of the time from 1862-1864 doing reconnaissance missions and guarding railroads.  In 1864, his unit was transferred to General Sherman and took part in key battles during Sherman’s March to the Sea campaign.  Before the end of the war in 1865, Harrison received his final promotion to brigadier general.  After the war Harrison returned to Indianapolis to continue his law practice.

His law practice continued to thrive and Harrison grew in stature in the Republican Party.  This increased stature did not equate to electoral success.  Harrison lost the election for Indiana Governor twice (1872 & 1876).  In 1881 the Indiana legislature elected Harrison to serve in the United States Senate.  Serving in the Senate from 1881-1887, he championed many of the causes that he would fight for during his presidency.  He lost his bid for re-election in 1886 when the newly Democratic legislature selected a Democrat to fill the seat.  The Democratic Party completed a redistricting of the state in 1885 which resulted in increased seats for democrats even though the overall state was heavily republican.

Harrison received the Republican nomination for President in 1888.  He was not the leading candidate; in fact he was fourth on the first ballot.  As so often has happened the support for the top candidates decreased and Harrison was able to secure the nomination on the eighth ballot.  Harrison defeated the incumbent president (Grover Cleveland) while losing the popular vote.

As president Harrison faced several international issues.  Fishing rights in the Bering Sea caused a conflict with Great Britain that had to be resolved through arbitration using a third party.  American soldiers were attacked in Chile leading Harrison to threaten to break diplomatic ties.  This was eventually resolved with an apology and reparations from the government of Chile.  The final international issue arose due in part to a rise in the Italian mafia in New Orleans.  A police officer was killed and this was followed by the killing of 11 Italians by an angry mob.  Harrison apologized to the Italian government.  The Italian government wanted the perpetrators charged in federal court, but Harrison explained that it would be unconstitutional for the federal government to step in.

Late in his presidency some Americans started a revolt in Hawaii against Queen Liliuokalani who had started to take actions that were not favorable to American businesses in Hawaii.  The insurrection was successful and the Americans asked that the United States annex Hawaii, Harrison was in favor of this since it would give the navy an increased presence in the Pacific Ocean.  Harrison started the process, but it was not completed before he left office and Cleveland withdrew the request from Congress.

On the domestic front Harrison, favored and signed the McKinley Tariff Act increasing tariffs on many imported goods.  This caused a problem with the federal budget because it was already running a surplus and this act just increased it.  The 51st Congress, often referred to as the Billion-dollar Congress, decided to dramatically increase spending.  Some of the spending went to increasing benefits to Civil War veterans, including people who didn’t even fight in the war, children of veterans and for injuries suffered after the war.

The other major piece of legislations was the Sherman Antitrust Act which forbade big companies from driving smaller companies out of business.

Harrison was generally viewed as a nice, honest person, but was not able to rally great enthusiasm for his causes.  By the end of his first term his popularity was declining, in part because the public did not approve of the McKinley Tariff Act and the increased government spending.  During the campaign of 1892 Harrison’s wife, Caroline, became very ill.  He refused to leave her bedside and did not campaign.  Out of respect Grover Cleveland did not campaign either.  In the end Cleveland beat Harrison both the popular vote and the Electoral College.  Caroline died shortly before the election.

Moving back to Indianapolis, Harrison stayed active in local and national politics.  It was an active retirement.  He lectured on constitutional law at Stanford University, wrote a book called This Country of Ours and remarried.  The second marriage was to Caroline’s niece, Mary Scott Lord Dimmick, who was a widow.  Mary was 25 years younger than Harrison and they had one child, Elizabeth.

In 1900, the nation of Venezuela hired Harrison to represent their interests at the International Court of Arbitration.  Venezuela was involved in a border dispute with Great Britain.  Harrison traveled to Paris to represent his client, but lost the case.  In early 1901 Harrison fell ill and died from pneumonia at his home in Indianapolis.

Harrison’s primary legacy is probably around his international affairs.  It was really during his administration that the United States started to emerge as a player on the international scene.

Party Conversation Starters:

• On of Benjamin Harrison’s nicknames was Centennial President because he took office 100 years after Washington (1889).  George H. W. Bush would be the Bicentennial President.
• In 1878, John Scott Harrison’s (Benjamin’s father) body was stolen and sold to the Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati.  It was eventually recovered and reburied.
• He had electricity installed in the White House for the first time; however, neither he nor Caroline would touch the light switches for fear of electrocution!
• The oldest known recording of a President’s voice is of Benjamin Harrison.  Hayes was the first to have his voice recorded, but no copy is believed to still exist.
• Queen Victoria had the Resolute Desk built and sent to Benjamin Harrison as a gift.  It was made from the timbers of the HMS Resolute, an English ship that was recovered and returned to the Queen.  An exact copy was placed in Windsor Castle.  Several Presidents have used this desk and it is currently in use by Barack Obama in the Oval Office.
• Neither of his children with Caroline attended his second wedding in 1896 to Caroline’s niece.
• It was raining during Harrison’s inauguration ceremony so Grover Cleveland held an umbrella over Harrison’s head.
• More states were added to the union during Harrison’s term (6) than any since Washington: North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, Idaho and Wyoming.
• During his retirement, he served on the Board of Trustees of Purdue University.  The dorm Harrison Hall is named after him.

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Caroline Lavinia Scott (1832-1892, m. 1853); Mary Scott Lord Dimmick (1858-1948, m. 1896) 
• Children: Russell Benjamin (1854-1936), Mary Scott (1858-1930), unnamed girl (died at birth in 1861), Elizabeth(1897-1955) 
• Party affiliation: Republican Party 
• Presidency: 1889-1893
• Born: August 20, 1833 (North Bend, Ohio) 
• Died: March13, 1901 (Indianapolis, Indiana)

22/24 Grover Cleveland

The two terms of Grover Cleveland cause some level of confusion to this day.  If anyone knows anything about the presidency of Grover Cleveland, it is that he is the only president with nonconsecutive terms.  So he is considered the 22nd and 24th president.  This throws the numbering off and during Obama’s inaugural address in 2009, he stated “Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.”  He was wrong.  He is the 44th president, but only the 43rd person to take the oath due to Cleveland’s nonconsecutive terms.

Grover Cleveland was born Stephen Grover Cleveland in New Jersey, the fifth of nine children.  His father, Richard, died when Grover was 16 years old.  He gave up plans for college and ended up moving to Buffalo, where his uncle owned a ranch.  While in Buffalo he studied for and passed the bar in 1859.  When the Civil War broke out Cleveland hired another man, George Benninsky, to take his place. This was legal under the Federal Conscription Act.

He practiced law on and off for the next 20 years, dabbling in politics along the way.  He lost an election for District Attorney in 1865 and was elected sheriff of Erie County in 1870.  His reputation was increasing and he was elected Mayor of Buffalo in 1881, where he earned the nickname “veto mayor”.  Cleveland found that most of the city contracts were being awarded to a few connected people and started to expose the practice.

This era in New York politics was a battle between entrenched party machines like Roscoe Conklings, and the reformers who felt that contracts and government jobs should be based on merit.  The battle was going on at the national level as well with James Garfield and, later, Chester Arthur fighting against the status quo.  In this environment Cleveland easily won the 1882 race for Governor of New York as a reformer.  In his first two months in office he vetoed eight bills.  The first one that received attention was a bill to reduce the fare on New York City trains.  The bill was popular in part because Jay Gould, who owned the trains, was unpopular.  However, Cleveland believed that it was unfair, Gould had taken over the failing trains and made the system profitable again.

Cleveland had built a reputation as a reformer, so he was the front runner for the Democratic nomination for president in the election of 1884.  James Blaine turned out to be his Republican opponent.  There were many shortcomings to the Blaine candidacy, including close ties to the railroads and big business.  In an age of reform these would be held against him.  The only thing that seems to have caused a bump in the road was a minor scandal. 

OK, maybe fathering an illegitimate child in 1874 isn’t a minor scandal.  He did have relations with the woman, but apparently so did several other men.  Cleveland took the high road and sent money to the woman to support the child.  Even during the election he admitted fathering the child despite lack of proof that the child was his.  It is believed that he did this because of all the men involved with her, he was the only bachelor.

Winning the election comfortably in the electoral college (219-182) Cleveland prepared to move to DC.  During his first term he supported the rights of Native Americans.  During the Arthur administration almost 500,000 acres of tribal land had been offered for sale.  Much of this land was returned during Cleveland’s term.  He was not, however, supportive of women’s rights.  It was during this time that Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton published the three volumes of The History of Women’s Suffrage and were pushing to get the right to vote.  Cleveland’s sister, who served as his hostess since he wasn’t married, was a strong supporter of the suffrage movement.  On a side note, The History of Women’s Suffrage is a free download on the Kindle!

During his first term he was faced with a budget surplus that members of Congress wanted to spend on pet projects in their districts.  Cleveland believed that the surplus was due to high tariffs and favored lowering the tariffs to bring relief to consumers.  The tariffs were supported by businesses because it made imported products more expensive.  Congress did not support his view and the tariff question became an issue in the 1888 election.

Also during his first term he supported the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission.  The ICC was originally created to regulate the railroads and ensure rates were fair.  Over time the reach of this agency was increased to cover telegraphs, telephones, trucking, wireless carriers and busing.  The ICC survived until 1995 when it was replaced by Surface Transportation Board. The telephone portion of the regulations were moved to the Federal Communications Commission in 1934.  The ICC was the first independent agency created by the federal government.

In 1886 Cleveland married Frances Folsom in the White House.  There was a 27 year difference in the newly married couples ages.  Francis was the daughter of an old law partner of Cleveland’s.  When Francis was born Grover bought the parents a baby carriage for her. In fact, when her father died, Grover even took over the upbringing of young Francis.  The public was aware of all of the circumstances around the couple, but didn’t seem to mind.

The election of 1888 remains the one of the closest in history.  In fact, Cleveland received 100,000 more popular votes than Harrison, but Harrison easily won the electoral count (233-168).  Harrison’s home state of Indiana was a key state in 1888 and Harrison won that state due in part to an infamous fraud called the Blocks of Five.  People essentially sold their votes.

Returning to his law practice, Cleveland continued to follow politics and voiced his opposition to bimetallism, which would allow silver to also be used to mint money.  The Harrison administration signed the McKinley Tariff Act of 1890 which raised taxes on imports.   This was very unpopular with the public and in the 1892 election they elected Cleveland to his second term.

The beginning of his second term was made difficult due to a financial crisis.  The financial crisis led to failed businesses, higher unemployment and labor unrest as the surviving companies looked to cut costs through wage and benefit cuts.  The  Pulman Strike in 1894 led to the shutdown of some of the railroad lines.  Cleveland, feeling that because the railroads carried U.S. Mail, sent in troops to Chicago to break the strike.

He also had to deal with international issues citing the Monroe Doctrine to support Venezuela and Cuba as they fought against European powers.  Viewing the attempted annexation of Hawaii by Harrison as American Imperialism he withdrew the treatise from congress only five days after taking office.

During his second term Cleveland faced a serious medical issue.  A tumor had formed on the roof of his mouth.  It was decided that the tumor would need to be removed.  Because the financial markets were still agitated and the midterm elections were approaching Cleveland decided to have the operation in secret.  The operation took place aboard a yacht (the Oneida) off Long Island.  It involved removing a portion of his upper jaw that left him disfigured; a hard rubber prosthetic was created to disguise it.

By the end of his second term his popularity was low so the democrats selected William Jennings Bryan (who lost to William McKinley).  He returned to private life, having two more children after leaving office and living until 1908.

Trivia:

• The city of Cleveland, Ohio is named for one of Grover Cleveland’s ancestors, General Moses Cleaveland.  The village of Cleaveland was founded in 1796 and named for the leader of the group.  A story is that in 1832 the local newspaper, The Cleveland Advertiser, dropped the ‘a’ because the full original spelling wouldn’t fit on the paper’s masthead.  Another story states that the original surveying party misspelled it on the original map.
• Grover Cleveland is the only president to have a job as a hangman.  He was once the sheriff of Erie County, New York and twice had to spring the trap at a hanging.
• Cleveland is on the $1,000 bill.  The $1,000 bill is still used as legal tender, but is no longer being printed.
• Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty on October 26th, 1886
• Cleveland won the popular vote in 3 consecutive presidential elections.  Only FDR exceeded that accomplishment.
• His second vice-president Adlai Stevenson I, is the grandfather of Adlai Stevenon III, the Democratic candidate for president in 1952 and 1956.
• When Cleveland won the presidential election in 1884 he was the first Democratic president in 24 years.
• Cleveland was the second of three presidents that were mayors at some point; A. Johnson (Greeneville, Tenn), Coolidge (Northampton, Mass)
• Because of the revelation about his fathering an illegitimate child Republicans would chant “Ma, Ma where’s my Pa” at campaign stops.  Once he won the election his supporters added “Gone to the White House, ha ha ha”
• One of the other men that was thought to be the possible father of the illegitimate child was Richard Folsom, his law partner and his future wife’s father!
• As president he vetoed more bills than any of his predecessors.
• At 21, Francis remains the youngest first lady
• Francis and Jackie Kennedy are the only first ladies to remarry after the death of their husbands
• There is a new book about the secret surgery called “The President is a Sick Man”.

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Francis Folsom (1864-1947, m. 1886)
• Children: Oscar Folsom (1874-?, the illegitimate child), Ruth (1891-1904), Esther (1893-1980), Marion (1895-1977), Richard Folsom (1897-1974), Francis Grover (1903-1995)
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party 
• Presidency: 1881-1885
• Born: March 18th, 1837 (Caldwell, New Jersey) 
• Died: June 24th, 1908 (Princeton, New Jersey)