McKinley, William

McKinley, William (1843–1901), Civil War veteran and twenty‐fifth president of the United States.
Born and raised in Ohio, McKinley enlisted in 1861 as a private in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment. A commissary sergeant at the Battle of Antietam (1862), he was later promoted to captain and ended his military service as brevet major. His career in law and Republican politics included terms as congressman, senator, and two‐term governor of Ohio before his election as president in 1896.

The president's own military experience and the opposition of big business made him reluctant to lead the nation into war, so he pressed the Spanish government to control a rebellion that had begun in Cuba in 1895. An astute politician, McKinley was aware of his countrymen's growing impatience as the conflict persisted, particularly after the sinking of the USS [The entire page is 503 words long]

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