Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 07.djvu/189

 Mckinley

McivlNLEY

dential canvass of 1896 he remained in Canton and received between June 19 and November 2 over 750,000 visitors, who journeyed from all pai'ts of the Union to make liis acquaintance and listen to informal speeches delivered from his piazza, Mr. McKinley speaking in this way over 300 different times. He was elected President of the United States, Nov. 3, 1896, the McKinley and Hobart electors receiving 7,106,199 votes to 6,502,685 for the Bryan and Sewall electors, and the electors of the minority candidates, Levering and Johnson, Prohibition, receiving 132,000 votes; Palmer and Buckner, National Democrat, 133,148 votes; Matchett and Maguire, Social Labor, 36,274 votes, and Bentley and Southgate, Nationalist, 13,969 votes. William McKinley was formally announced by the elec- toral college as the choice of that body for Presi- dent of the United States by a vote of 271 to 176 for W. J. Bryan, and he was inaugurated March 4, 1897, Chief-Justice Fuller administering the oath of office. He at once announced his cab- inet as follows: John Sherman of Ohio, secre- tary of state; Lyman J. Gage of Illinois, secre- tary of the treasury; Russell A. Alger of Michigan, secretary of war; Cornelius N. Bliss of New York, secretary of the interior; John D. Long of Massachusetts, secretary of the navy; James Wilson of Iowa, secretary of agriculture; James A. Gary of Maryland, postmaster-general,

and Joseph McKenna of California, attorney- general. On Dec. 17, 1897, Attorney-General McKenna resigned to accept the position of associate justice of the U.S. supreme court and President McKinley appointed John W. Griggs of New Jersey attorney-general, Jan. 21, 1898. The administration was represented at foreign courts as follows: ambassador to Great Britain, John Hay of Ohio, succeeded in 1899 by Joseph H. Choate of New York; to France, Horace Porter of New York; to Austria and Austria- Hungary, Charlemagne Tower of Pennsylvania, succeeded in 1899 by Addison C. Harris of In- diana; U.S. minister to Russia, Ethan A. Hitch- cock of Missouri, raised to ambassador in 1898 and succeeded in 1899 by Charlemagne Tower; ambassador to Germany, Andrew D. White of

New York; ambassador to Italy, William F. Draper of Massachusetts, succeeded in 1901 by George von L. Meyer of Ma.ssachusetts; ambas- sador to Spain, Stewart L. Woodford of New York, who served till official relations were broken off. April, 1898, and in April, 1899. he was succeeded by Bellamy Storer of Ohio. The changes in President McKinley's cabinet were the resignation of John Sherman from the state department, April 27, 1898, and the promotion of William R. Day, assistant secretary of state, wljo resigned Sept. 16, 1898, and was succeeded by John Hay, recalled from the court of St. James; the resignation of Gen. Russell A. Alger from the war department, Aug. 1, 1899, and the ap- pointment of Elihu Root of New York as his successor; the resignation of Cornelius N. Bliss from the interior department, Dec. 22, 1898, to be succeeded by Ethan A. Hitchcock, recalled from St. Petersburg; the resignation of James A. Gary from the post-office department, April 21, 1898, and the appointment of Charles Emory Smith of Pennsylvania to that office, and the res- ignation of John W. Griggs from the office of attorney-general in March, 1901, to be succeeded by Philander Chase Knox of Pennsylvania. The President called an extra session of congress to assemble March 15, 1897, and the Dingley tariff bill was passed and became a law by receiving his signature July 24, 1897. On May 17 he sent to congress a special message asking for an ap- propriation for the aid of suffering American citizens in Cuba and secured $50,000 for that purpose. The treatment of the Cuban patriots then struggling for freedom aroused the sym- pathies of the people of the United States and the demands of the U.S. minister at Madrid for more humane treatment were disregarded. The destruction of the U.S. cruiser Maine in Havana harbor, Feb. 15, 1898, resulting in the death of 264 U.S. officers and men and in the wounding of 60 others, aggravated the condition of affairs and on March 8-9, 1898, congress authorized the raising of two new regiments of artillery; voted $50,000,000 for national defence, placing the amount in the hands of the President for/lisi)osal at his discretion, and authorized the contingent increase of the army to 100,000 men. On Marcli 23, 1898, the President sent his ultimatum to Spain respecting the treatment of the Cubans, and on March 28 he officially reported to congress the destruction of the U.S. battlesliip Maine. He advised congress on April 11 not to recognize the Cuban government, but advocated interven- tion to put a stop to Spanish cruelt}'. On April 13, 1898, congress gave the President full author- ity to act in the matter of the difficulties with Spain, and on April 16 passed a resolution nc- knowledging Cuban independence. The Presi-