30 Spanish-American hostilities ceased just after 4 p.m. on August 12, 1898, when U.S. secretary of state William Day and French ambassador to the United States Jules Cambon (representing Spain) signed a “protocol” setting the terms of the American victory, with McKinley looking on. As McKinley protégé and devotee Charles Dawes wrote, “The President has had his way as usual.” The terms were stark: Spain lost nearly its entire overseas empire, while America became a global power to be reckoned with.
31 After America acquired the Philippines in Asia, McKinley sent to the islands the highly regarded federal judge William Howard Taft with a mandate to build democratic institutions and foster a program of local Filipino “autonomy,” but not independence. Taft’s policy of firm tolerance ultimately meshed with U.S. military efforts against a persistent anti-American insurgency. When the insurrection leader, Emilio Aguinaldo, was captured in a bold U.S. action in March 1901, it marked the beginning of the end of his movement.
32 When war broke out, Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt found glory and fame in leading his troops on a hazardous assault upon the San Juan Heights just outside Santiago. That led to a successful bid to become New York governor and a frenzied movement at the 1900 Republican convention to make him McKinley’s vice presidential candidate. McKinley remained neutral on the matter but welcomed the impetuous younger man after the convention swept him onto the ticket. In succeeding McKinley, Roosevelt never gave him credit for his many presidential accomplishments.
33 McKinley and Ida traveled to Buffalo in September 1901 for the heralded Pan-American Exposition, where the president planned to deflect history by announcing a new trade initiative. The next day, while in a receiving line, he was shot by an obscure anarchist named Leon Czolgosz. He died on September 14, 1901. Among his last words: “It is God’s way. His will, not ours, be done.”
34
35 When McKinley was shot and placed upon a chair, he exclaimed to his secretary, George Cortelyou, “My wife—be careful, Cortelyou, how you tell her—oh, be careful.” The president’s solicitousness toward his lifelong companion, who could be brittle and difficult due to her infirmities and psychological challenges, became the stuff of legend in Washington and around the country. She died on May 26, 1907, at age fifty-nine.
— ACKNOWLEDGMENTS —
The impetus for this book came from Jonathan Karp, head of editorial and publishing activities at Simon & Schuster, who deflected me from a different historical exploration and kept me focused on presidents and the presidency after two previous books in that realm. Given the richness of the McKinley story—and the American story of that era—I begin this expression of acknowledgment and appreciation by noting Jonathan’s contribution and thanking him for it.
I was blessed on this project, as with three previous ones with Simon & Schuster, in having the penetrating editorial guidance and extensive historical judgment of the well-known and highly regarded Alice Mayhew, whose contribution to my literary pursuits has been incalculable. It would be impossible to give adequate expression to my gratitude. Stuart Roberts, assistant editor under Alice, performed invaluable service in keeping all aspects of the project on track. The vaunted Simon & Schuster copyediting team provided its usual meticulous ministrations.
As always I express appreciation to my agent, Philippa (“Flip”) Brophy of Sterling Lord Literistic Inc., who secured the contract for this work with her usual smooth efficiency and guided me through the change of topics suggested by Jonathan Karp.
I extend my gratitude to three valued friends who read the manuscript and provided good counsel on words, facts, and interpretations. David Ignatius of the Washington Post, whose own ten books testify to his credentials for the task, perceived how elements of the story meshed into what became one of its underlying themes—the mystery of William McKinley. David Brewster, whose Seattle civic and journalistic career has inspired many in and around that city, was particularly adept in identifying unanswered questions and gaps in the narrative. And the late James M. Perry, longtime friend and once a colleague in the game of political reporting, brought an invaluable historical perspective, derived in part through his own sterling book on the five Civil War veterans who became president.
Dr. John Ryan of Seattle, medical historian and former surgeon, generously provided expertise on the medical activities that ensued after William McKinley was shot in Buffalo.
Research assistance came in many forms from many quarters, starting with Kaity Bergert of Canton, Ohio, who performed research duties at McKinley’s hometown. I thank also Mark Holland and his colleagues at the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum at Canton; the good folks at the Documents Room at the Library of Congress; and the helpful people at the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center at Fremont, Ohio.
I was the beneficiary of the usual abundant encouragement and rah-rah spirit from the extended Merry family, including children Rob Merry, Johanna Derlega, and Stephanie Merry, along with their spouses, Kristin Merry, John Derlega, and Matt McFarland. Maisie, Elliott, Genevieve, and Colton contributed what they could, which mostly amounted to perspective on what’s important in life.
Finally, a reiteration of previous expressions of appreciation and affection to Susan Pennington Merry, best friend through triumphs and tribulations, who read chapters (or submitted to having them read to her), offered advice, criticism, and occasional praise; relieved me of household duties; and generally buoyed my life through the project, as she has done in general for forty-eight years.
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— ABOUT THE AUTHOR —
© GREGORY STROM
Robert W. Merry has spent nearly forty-five years as a Washington, D.C., journalist and publishing executive, including Wall Street Journal correspondent and CEO of Congressional Quarterly Inc. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller and Notable Book A Country of Vast Designs, a biography of James K. Polk; Where They Stand, on presidential rankings; Sands of Empire, a foreign policy treatise; and Taking on the World, about prominent twentieth-century journalists Joseph and Stewart Alsop. He lives with his wife, Susan P. Merry, in Langley, Washington, and Washington, D.C.
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