The Presidency of William McKinley (American Presidency Series)

All I knew about President McKinley was that he was in office before the charismatic Teddy Roosevelt. This book really gave me an insight on the McKinley Administration. The book, begins with his origins, mostly covers his presidency, and exposes the reader to McKinley, the man and the president. After reading this book I have another opinion of our 25th President, Major William McKinley (he liked to be addressed that way). Highly Recommended. Now I'm going to read Gould's Theodore Roosevelt.

This book serves up a history of the McKinley Administration. This administration is interesting because it is the first modern presidency. McKinley was the first to deal with America's place on the world stage, and modern communications. He was the first to deal with the modernization of industry and its affect on governmental structure. All these experiences are detailed in this book, and it is done so in a way that reflects the lack of certainty with which McKinley faced these issues. What we see is that many of today's traditions and structures rests on the informed opinion of a man dealing with a lack of complete knowledge. This happens time and time again during this administration and Gould gets it. This book is enjoyable and very readable, so get it and enjoy.

The impact of McKinley's presidency is widespread but the last couple of pages of this book summarize the problem.. TR was just too widely known and basically blurred out McKinley's impact on today's memory. From Cuba to the Phillipines, from Hawaii to US society as a whole, this president had a wide net of influence across the globe. The writer did an great job of summarizing these obstacles and challenges. I have a goal to read a book about every president and this one was a great source for a president that is hard to find a lot of information about. Summary, please read it!!

America emerged as a world power. After the Civil War, the idea spread that it is better to fight abroad. America fought the Spanish-American War in 1898 under McKinley. Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Philippines were freed from Spain. Hawaii was annexed. Alaska's highest mountain and the highest in North America was named after McKinley although the state of Alaska prefers to call it by its Indian name, Denali. McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist named Leon Franz Czolgosz.

This is one of the best in the UKanss Presidency series. Gould makes an effective argument that McKinley was the first modern president. This account helps to dispell the notion that McKinley was no different than the other Gilded Age Presidents. A really good read!

This academic book examines, in detail, the policies and actions of the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. McKinley was in office from 1897 to 1901. Many readers will know that the second term of the President was cut short when he was shot by an anarchist in September 1901 and died a few days later. However, my interest was more concerned with the fact that during his short term of office McKinley annexed Hawaii, and following victory in the Spanish American War, assumed control of the former Spanish colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines.McKinley personally directed activities in these three territories with little reference to Congress, and in doing so, prefigured actions of later Presidents in the 20th century. Then, as now, America set about activities, particularly in the Philippines, that it considered good for the civilisation of the indigenous people but had no local mandate and simply behaved as a colonial occupier. The Teller Amendment of 1898 ensured that Cuba was granted independence (albeit having to cede a large naval base), however, the Amendment did not mention the Philippines and as a result this archipelago was made a colony by McKinley to serve growing American interests in the Far East, particularly with China. The detailed political reasoning put forward by the McKinley administration makes really interesting reading.This is an academic book, it contains no illustrations, and sections on the gold standard and anti-trust law are decidedly dry. However, the sections in which the development of foreign policy is described are lucid and make fascinating reading.