William McKinley: Imperial

01VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.

02Today we are talking about William McKinley.

03He took office in 1897 and was re-elected in 1900.

04He led the United States into the 20th century.

05One way to think of McKinley is as a transition president.

06In the 1800s, lawmakers were mostly concerned with how the country was growing in North America.

07But during McKinley's government, the U.S.

08looked beyond its borders.

09Congress declared war on Spain, the first time the U.S.

10had fought a European power since the War of 1812 against Britain.

11The U.S.

12also took control of overseas territories, annexed Hawaii, and tried to regulate the world's trade with China.

13Some historians say President McKinley himself wanted the U.S.

14to increase its international influence.

15Others argue that he was just answering the country's mood at the time.

16Either way, his presidency is often defined by the country's rise as an imperial power.

17McKinley was the sixth president to come from the state of Ohio.

18He was the seventh of eight children.

19Historians describe his childhood as loving and fun.

20His father owned a small iron factory.

21His mother raised her children to be honest and polite.

22McKinley was a hard-working student.

23He briefly attended Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, but he did not have the money to finish his education there.

24A few years after leaving that school, he volunteered for the Army on the side of the Union in the Civil War.

25He served under a man who would later become president himself, Rutherford B.

26Hayes.

27The two stayed close throughout their lives.

28After the war ended, McKinley studied law, became involved in Republican Party politics, married, and had two daughters.

29His wife, Ida, was an energetic, well-educated young woman from a wealthy family.

30For a while, she had worked in her father's bank.

31But Ida McKinley's health began to suffer.

32She was struck by seizures.

33Then her mother died.

34A few months later, her younger daughter died while still an infant.

35Ida McKinley clung to her older daughter, but the little girl soon developed a fever disease, and she died too.

36William and Ida McKinley were never the same.

37Ida McKinley remained sick her entire life.

38She spent most of her hours in a small rocking chair, sewing.

39William McKinley paid great attention to her.

40He organized his schedule to spend time near her, even as his political success grew.

41In time, McKinley served in Congress and as the governor of Ohio.

42He was known as a likable person and a skilled politician.

43His Republican Party nominated him on the first ballot at their convention.

44A few months later, voters elected McKinley into office in a landslide.

45He became the country's 25th president.

46The U.S.

47was just coming out of a severe economic depression.

48His government quickly approved a high protective tariff to help struggling workers.

49In general, his administration also permitted the growth of big business.

50But most of McKinley's attention as president was devoted to foreign policy.

51The main issue was Cuba.

52At that time, Spain controlled the island.

53Cubans revolted, and Spanish forces used violence and detainments to crush the rebellion.

54In the U.S., many Americans denounced the events in Cuba.

55They wanted McKinley and his government to intervene.

56At first, President McKinley was unwilling.

57He tried to use diplomacy.

58He even ordered a U.S.

59ship into Spanish waters near Havana to show his continued support of Spain.

60But the ship, called the Maine, exploded.

61Americans believed the Spanish were responsible.

62Relations between the two countries worsened fast.

63Spain declared war.

64The U.S.

65Congress answered in kind.

66For 100 days, U.S.

67and Spanish forces fought in Cuba and other areas under Spanish control.

68The war quickly turned in the Americans' favor.

69When the Spanish-American War ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1898, the U.S.

70took control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines from Spain.

71Cuba was made independent.

72However, the U.S.

73continued to occupy the island for several more years.

74Not everyone approved of the actions of McKinley's government.

75Even some members of Congress warned against the U.S.

76becoming an imperial power.

77But a majority of voters approved of McKinley as a victorious commander-in-chief.

78They also noted that the U.S.

79economy was getting stronger.

80In 1900, McKinley won re-election.

81As it turned out, McKinley's second term in office was short.

82In September, only six months after his swearing-in, the president was receiving visitors at a fair in the city of Buffalo, New York.

83One of the visitors in line was a 28-year-old man named Leon Szulgasz.

84His family was from Poland, but he lived in the city of Detroit, Michigan.

85He had worked in a factory, but at the time was unemployed.

86He supported the idea of anarchy.

87No government at all.

88When McKinley reached to shake the young man's hand, Szulgasz shot the president twice in the stomach.

89Although injured, McKinley spoke to his guards.

90He told them not to hurt the shooter.

91And he expressed concern about how his wife would feel when she learned he had been shot.

92Quickly, McKinley was taken to a hospital.

93Doctors predicted that he would survive.

94And for a few days, McKinley seemed to improve.

95But the wound became infected.

96And eight days after the attack, McKinley died.

97The president's murderer did not say he was sorry for his act.

98He defended it, saying McKinley was an enemy of working people.

99Within a few weeks of the shooting, Szulgasz was tried, found guilty, and executed.

100Both the nation and the world mourned when McKinley died.

101He had been one of the country's most popular presidents in many years.

102He left behind the beginning of what some called an American empire.

103He also marked a change in the U.S.

104presidency.

105When he first took office in the 19th century, most presidents acted primarily as administrators.

106But President McKinley began to act in ways that are more like a modern president.

107He prepared remarks to give to the media.

108He traveled across the country speaking to voters.

109He used the power of his office to direct the armed forces.

110McKinley laid the groundwork, but he did not completely change the presidency.

111He left that to the even more famous man who followed him into the White House.

112After McKinley's death, his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, took office and truly brought the country into modern times.

113I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

114Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

115Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

116Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

117Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

118Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

119Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

120Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

121Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

122Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

123Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

124Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

125Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

126Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

127Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.

128Theodore Roosevelt, took office and the American empire.