Greatness of William McKinley

                    I consider William McKinley to have been a great President of the United States because he led with conservative principles and common sense and treated his wife with love and respect.  He "led the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War, raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection inflationary proposal."  

                    William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio.  He married Ida Saxton on January 25, 1871, and the couple became parents of two daughters.  Both daughters died at very young ages.

                    McKinley was elected President of the United States in the campaign of 1896 and won re-election four years later.  He was shot on September 6, 1901 and died September 14, 1901, about six months into his second term of office.  More information on President McKinley can be found here.  

                    The greatness of President McKinley and his conservative principles can be seen in his quotes, some of which are as follows, and more quotes can be found here.  

                    "Let us ever remember that our interest is in concord, not in conflict; and that our real eminence rests in the victories of peace, not those of war."

                    "In the time of darkest defeat, victory may be nearest."

                    "Our differences are policies; our agreements, principles."

                    "A free man cannot be long an ignorant man."

                    "That's all a man can hope for during his lifetime - to set an example - and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history."

                    "The mission of the United States is one of benevolent assimilation."

                    "Cuba ought to be free and independent, and the government should be turned over to the Cuban people."

                    "War should never be entered upon until every agency of peace has failed."

                    "We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California.  It is Manifest Destiny."

                    There are lots of sites with quotes by President McKinley.  Here are a few more quotes that show his greatness comes from his faith in God and his love for his fellowmen, and others can be found here.  

                    "I do not prize the word `cheap.'  It is not a badge of honor.  It is a symbol of despair.  Cheap prices make for cheap goods; cheap goods make for cheap men; and cheap men make for a cheap country."

                    "Business life, whether among ourselves or with other people, is ever a sharp struggle for success.  It will be none the less so in the future.  Without competition we would be clinging to the clumsy antiquated processes of farming and manufacture and the methods of business of long ago, and the twentieth would be no further advanced than the eighteenth century."

                    "Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe prosperity, happiness, and peace to all our neighbors, and like blessings to all the peoples and power of the earth."

                    "Good-bye - good-bye, all.  It is God's way.  His will, not ours, be done.  Nearer my God to Thee, nearer to Thee."

                    I was greatly impressed with President McKinley when I read of his care and concern for his wife, Ida Saxton McKinley.  William and Ida lost both of their daughters, as well as Ida's mother, within about two years.   Ida had a fragile disposition, developed epilepsy, and became totally dependent on her husband.   He accommodated her condition with great care and concern.  Breaking with tradition, he insisted that his wife be seated beside him at state dinners rather than at the other end of the table.  William was known to place a napkin or handkerchief over Ida's face in order to conceal her contorted face during public seizures.  When the seizure passed, he would remove the napkin and resume whatever he was doing before the seizure occurred.  His "patient devotion and loving attention was the talk of the capital."