William McKinley Biography

William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, the last one to have served in the American Civil War. Having worked as a school teacher before the war, he decided to study law once the war was over. He proceeded to study at the Albany Law School in New York and opened his own practice following his admission to the bar. Eventually he entered politics and was elected to the Congress. He went on to hold the office of Ohio’s governor and set his eyes on the country’s presidency. He ran for presidency as a Republican nominee in 1896. The country was in the throes of an economic depression, and he promised to restore prosperity to the economy through high tariffs. He defeated his Democratic rival, William Jennings Bryan and assumed the presidency in 1897. His administration was marked by rapid economic growth and he secured the passage of the Gold Standard Act. He also imposed certain tariffs to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition and this move made him popular with the organized labor. He was easily re-elected in 1900, but within six months into his second term, he was shot by an unemployed man named Leon Czolgosz, and died a few days later