Years in Office: 1897 to 1901

When the Civil War broke out McKinley was the first man in his home town to volunteer. He first served in a regimen command of another future president, Rutherford B. Hayes. After the war he entered law school. Early in life McKinley developed a love for politics. He served two terms as governor of Ohio and seven terms as a U.S. Congressman.
<P>His political career almost came to an end when banks came to him to collect notes for 100,000.00 which he signed to a friend who went bankrupt. Threatened with bankruptcy himself, he appealed to his wealthy political sponsor, Marcus Hanna. Hanna and some other wealthy men paid off the notes and saved McKinley's future.

When McKinley ran for president, he conducted most of his campaign from his front porch. His wife was an invalid and he refused to leave her to go on campaign trips. Mr. Hanna arranged for thousands of visitors to go to McKinley's home in Ohio to hear his speeches. McKinley was just six months into his second term when he was assassinated by Leon T. Czolgosz at a public reception in Buffalo, New York.

When McKinley was president, we fought and won the Spanish-American war. This victory made U.S. a world power. Guam, Hawaii, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa all became states.