President McKinley

by Robert W. Merry

  issuing business loans: “Heavy Loans by Banks,” Washington Post, August 1, 1897.

  “general condition to-day”: “1897,” Philadelphia Inquirer, January 1, 1898.

  “one of the weakest characters”: “Disgraceful Weakness,” St. Louis Republic, October 21, 1897.

  she couldn’t speak: “Her Life Near Its End,” Washington Post, December 3, 1897.

  “Tell mother I will be there”: quoted in ibid.

  ten o’clock the next morning: Ibid.

  his mother still alive: “Back to Canton in Time,” Washington Post, December 8, 1897.

  “The President is almost constantly”: “Mrs. McKinley Still Alive,” New York Times, December 9, 1897.

  just after two o’clock: “President’s Mother Dead,” New York Times, December 11, 1897.

  “gave no outward evidence”: “Mrs. M’Kinley’s Funeral,” New York Times, December 15, 1897.

  “Still, Still with Thee”: Ibid.

  “It is not given”: quoted in ibid.

  a crowd of 3,000: Ibid.

  “very short and simple”: “Last Rites at Canton,” Washington Post, December 15, 1897.

  boarded an overnight train: Ibid.

  thwart any endorsement: “War Begun on Hanna,” Washington Post, April 8, 1897.

  “Mark Hanna is in grave danger”: “Warns the Hanna Men,” Washington Post, April 30, 1897.

  “This means the overthrow”: “M’Kisson Loses Control,” Washington Post, June 19, 1897.

  “I suppose they need”: quoted in “Senator Hanna Is Grateful,” Washington Post, June 21, 1897.

  But Bushnell argued: “Party Strife in Ohio,” Washington Post, June 22, 1897.

  “freely quoted”: Ibid.

  sought to ease tensions: “Dick Defeats Kurtz,” Washington Post, June 23, 1897.

  Dick won 2 to 1: Ibid.

  Foraker even praised: “Hanna Talks of Isms,” Washington Post, September 12, 1897.

  30,000-vote edge: “Hanna’s Fate in Ohio,” Washington Post, October 31, 1897.

  “Our position has greatly improved”: quoted in ibid.

  “I sympathize with you”: WMcK to MAH, October 14, 1897, McKinley Letters 1864–1901.

  “There was quite a smile”: “Hanna’s Fate in Ohio.”

  drubbing in Hamilton County: “Hanna’s Fate in Doubt,” Washington Post, November 3, 1897.

  five-vote legislative majority: “Five Majority in Ohio,” Washington Post, November 4, 1897.

  “Am just home”: WMcK to MAH, November 4, 1897, HMcCP.

  “The Foraker men have knives”: “Hanna’s Fate in Ohio.”

  thirty of them wouldn’t pledge: “Deal to Down Hanna,” Washington Post, November 9, 1897.

  “We have decided”: quoted in ibid.

  “The days of Hanna’s bossism”: quoted in “Hanna to Be Retired,” Washington Post, November 11, 1897.

  “So far as I can now foresee”: quoted in “Will Keep His Hands Off,” Washington Post, November 11, 1897.

  “I do not care to talk”: quoted in “Bushnell for Senate,” Washington Post, November 8, 1897.

  McKinley became alarmed: “Mr. M’Kinley Is Concerned,” Washington Post, November 12, 1897.

  until after three o’clock: “Grosvenor His Guest,” Washington Post, November 12, 1897.

  “Along the whole line”: “He Will Fight Hanna,” Washington Post, November 13, 1897.

  “I have had an extensive correspondence”: quoted in “More Troubles for Hanna,” Washington Post, December 2, 1897.

  “Senator Foraker, Mr. Hanna”: quoted in “Hobart and Foraker Exchanged Threats,” St. Louis Republic, December 19, 1897, reprinted from New York Journal.

  J. L. Carpenter might bolt: Charles Grosvenor to J. L. Carpenter, December 24, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 3.

  a testy letter to McKinley: J. L Carpenter to WMcK, December 28, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 3.

  A similar letter: O. P. Austin to WMcK, December 30, 1897, WMcKP, Reel 3.

  seventy-five Republicans: “Hanna Short 4 Votes,” Washington Post, January 2, 1898.

  ten Republicans and Fusionists: “Defeat for Hanna,” Washington Post, January 4, 1898.

  “Unless there is a material change”: Ibid.

  Hanna needed at least three: “Where Hanna Now Stands,” Washington Post, January 5, 1898.

  “is wearing on him”: J. G. Schmidlapp to WMcK, January 5, 1898, WMcKP, Reel 3.

  “I cannot tell you”: WMcK to MAH, January 7, 1898, McKinley’s Letters 1864–1901.

  “voters of Ohio arose”: “His Title in the People’s Will,” New York Press, January 13, 1898.

  “frost”: “Frost for Bushnell,” Washington Post, January 11, 1898. Other details on the inauguration come from the same source.

  promised if elected: “Hanna Gets 73 Votes,” Washington Post, January 12, 1898.

  seven Republicans who ultimately bolted: Ibid.

  one-vote victory: Ibid.

  “God reigns”: quoted in “They Stood by Hanna,” Washington Post, January 13, 1898.

  “one of the most sensational”: “The Ohio Victory,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, January 12, 1898.

  “Believers in fair play”: “Hanna and Popular Choice of Senators,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 12, 1898.

  “There has never been”: “Senator Hanna’s Victory,” New York Mail and Express, January 12, 1898.

  “in a maimed and enfeebled condition”: “Mr. Hanna’s Victory,” New York Daily Tribune, January 13, 1898.

  “The difficult task”: Ibid.

  16. AMERICA AND SPAIN

  “I have done all”: quoted in Woodford to WMcK, January 17, 1896, JBMP, Box 185. All quotes from Woodford’s report come from the same source.

  They smashed windows: “Army Riot in Havana,” Washington Post, January 13, 1898.

  part of a broader plot: Offner, p. 94.

  “pretext . . . to interfere”: “Spaniards Angered by Aid,” Washington Post, January 12, 1898.

  “that U.S. intermediation”: Fitzhugh Lee to William Day, January 15, 1895, William Day Papers, Box 35.

  “Those persons who have presumed”: “The McKinley Patience,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 6, 1898.

  When Russell Hastings sought consideration: Russell Hastings to WMcK, March 2, 1898, WMcKP, Reel 3.

  “I desire to thank you”: Russell Hastings to WMcK, March 27, 1898, WMcKP, Reel 3.

  “For the first time”: “A Scene of Splendor,” Washington Post, January 20, 1898.

  “vulgar mobs”: quoted in Leech, In the Days of McKinley, pp. 130–31.

  shut down Bingham’s program: Ibid., p. 131.

  “There is enough trouble”: quoted in Anthony, p. 140.

  a stream of actors: Ibid.

  character monologues: Ibid., p. 141.

  throne-like blue velvet chair: “A Scene of Splendor,” Washington Post, January 20, 1898.

  “elixir of ambition”: quoted in Anthony, notes, p. 320.

  “tenderness toward his patient”: “How Leonard Wood Rose,” New York Times, August 23, 1903.

  a $250 check: Anthony, p. 139.

  “not more devoted”: “How Leonard Wood Rose.”

  Speaking before 1,000: “To Pay Bonds in Gold,” Washington Post, January 28, 1898.

  would not violate the public faith: Ibid.

  The money of the United States: WMcK, speech before the National Association of Manufacturers, New York, January 27, 1898, in McKinley, Speeches and Addresses of William McKinley, from March 1, 1897 to May 30, 1900, p. 60.

  “rent in the same manner”: “The President’s Speech,” The Nation, February 3, 1898.

  “step-by-step” acquisition: quoted in Morgan, Pacific Gibraltar, p. 178.

  sixty Senate votes needed: “The Hawaiian Treaty,” Washington Post, January 6, 1898.

  eighty-eight-seat chamber: Morgan, Pacific Gibraltar, p. 179.

  three Republicans from beet sugar states: “Have Lost Two Votes,” Washington Post, Ja
nuary 12, 1898.

  “that the opening of the new century”: quoted in ibid.

  “In case the islands”: quoted in ibid.

  “the President has been appealed to”: “Still Lacks Enough Votes,” Washington Post, January 15, 1898.

  He debarked in San Francisco: “Mr. Dole Is Coming at Once,” Washington Post, January 19, 1898.

  Chicago on January 22: “Dole Has No Special Power,” Washington Post, January 23, 1898.

  occasional mood swings: Morgan, Pacific Gibraltar, p. 95.

  “I welcome you”: quoted in “President Dole Here,” Washington Post, January 27, 1898.

  nearly 3,000 guests: “The Social World,” Washington Evening Star, February 3, 1898.

  “to awe their way”: Ibid.

  “profusion of ferns”: “White House Crowded,” Washington Post, February 3, 1898.

  “extremely favorable”: quoted in “President Dole at Home,” Washington Post, March 14, 1898.

  circumvent his opposition: “To Checkmate Reed,” Washington Post, January 22, 1898.

  the speaker announced his support: “Reed and the Treaty,” Washington Post, February 7, 1898.

  Senate leaders decided to abandon the treaty: “Will Abandon the Treaty,” Washington Post, February 24, 1898.

  approved resolution language: “Treaty Abandoned,” Washington Post, March 17, 1898.

  “The President is anxious”: GBCD, June 8, 1898, Box 52.

  Under congressional authority: WMcK, Second Annual Message, December 5, 1897, Miller Center.

  the commission traveled to Nicaragua: “Nicaragua Canal Commission,” Washington Post, January 16, 1898.

  Godkin saw no problem: “The Nicaragua Canal,” Nation, May 26, 1898.

  a brazen challenge: William Day memo, January 20, 1898, William Day Papers, Box 35.

  “a fair opportunity”: William Day, “Memorandum,” undated, William Day Papers, Box 35.

  After the session: Ibid.

  324-foot, 6,682-ton Maine: Blow, pp. 73, 75.

  “came gliding into [Havana] harbor”: Fitzhugh Lee to William Day, January 26, 1898, William Day Papers, Box 35.

  cordial welcoming visit: “Maine Now at Havana,” Washington Post, January 26, 1898.

  “and all the ceremonies”: Ibid.

  “rattled” by the arrival: Fitzhugh Lee to William Day, January 26, 1898, William Day Papers, Box 35.

  reinforced police protection: “Increased the Guard,” Washington Post, January 27, 1898.

  “I see that we have only good news”: quoted in Musicant, p. 130.

  “sincere declaration”: quoted in ibid.

  “still very much excited”: Woodford to WMcK, January 28, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “hints of a change”: quoted in Musicant, p. 131.

  Spanish authorities had become pessimistic: Woodford to WMcK, February 7, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “They will do no more”: Ibid.

  “expressions humiliating to the President”: quoted in Musicant, p. 132.

  clerk at the Spanish embassy: “Cubans on Its Track,” Washington Post, February 14, 1898.

  “natural and inevitable coarseness”: quoted in “Branded as Forgery,” Washington Post, February 9, 1898. The full Dupuy de Lôme letter is reprinted here.

  “asked and accepted”: Woodford to John Sherman, February 11, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “The Spanish government”: quoted in “Wants Spain to Reply,” Washington Post, February 12, 1898.

  in a letter to Gullón: Woodford to WMcK, February 15, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “an open door”: quoted in ibid.

  “was not all that I could have wished”: Woodford to WMcK, February 19, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “the best comment one can make”: “The De Lome Letter,” Nation, February 17, 1898.

  17. PATH TO WAR

  bugler C. H. Newton: Blow, p. 38.

  “No,” replied Blandin: quoted in ibid., p. 96.

  “terrible roar”: quoted in “Saw Maine Blown Up,” Washington Post, February 22, 1898.

  “bursting, rending”: quoted in Blow, p. 96.

  “white forms”: quoted in ibid., p. 97.

  “Maine blown up”: Charles Sigsbee to John D. Long, cable message, reprinted in Blow, p. 101.

  It was approaching 1 a.m.: Blow, p. 102.

  “The Maine blown up!”: quoted in ibid., p. 105.

  chided him for being late: GBCD, January 22, 1899, Box 52.

  eventually hit 266: “266 the Total Loss,” Washington Post, March 23, 1898.

  “My duty is plain”: quoted in Olcott, p. 2:12.

  “semi-official statement”: “Administration Is Mystified,” Washington Post, February 17, 1898.

  “Every representative”: Ibid.

  “Being a Jingo”: quoted in Blow, p. 110.

  “other big news”: quoted in Nasaw, p. 131.

  “WAR! SURE!”: quoted in Blow, p. 111.

  the facts were “being concealed”: quoted in “Some Rash Talk,” Washington Post, February 19, 1898.

  Five days later: “War Talk in Senate,” Washington Post, February 24, 1898.

  “Calmness, silence”: quoted in ibid.

  “will not be jingoed”: quoted in “Will Not Be Jingoed into War,” Washington Post, February 27, 1898.

  “seek to delay”: “Memorandum of Feb. 26th, 1898,” unsigned but presumably written by William Day, William Day Papers, Box 35.

  once again pleaded: Woodford to WMcK, February 23, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  The same entreaty: Woodford to WMcK, February 26, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  But in a gesture of friendship: Ibid.

  a U.S. naval officer named “Brownsfield”: Woodford to WMcK, March 2, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “The President will not consider”: “Supports Lee,” Washington Post, March 7, 1898.

  “There was not, of course”: “Crowninshield Suspected,” Washington Post, March 9, 1898.

  “Moret is sincerely grateful”: Woodford to WMcK, March 4, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  On March 7 the president summoned: “If War Comes,” Washington Post, March 8, 1898.

  passed the bill unanimously: “Moved by Patriotism,” Washington Post, March 9, 1898.

  “We now propose”: quoted in “If War Comes.”

  “simply stunned”: Woodford to WMcK, March 9, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  two Brazilian cruisers: Gould, The Presidency of William McKinley, p. 76.

  exceeded $400 million: “The Situation in Spain,” Nation, March 3, 1898.

  “There can be no question”: Ibid.

  up to $200 million: “What Gomez Will Accept,” Washington Post, March 27, 1898.

  “The Spanish people are as patriotic”: “The Situation in Spain.”

  until eleven o’clock or later: GBCD, March 16, 1898.

  “careworn” and “haggard”: Ibid.

  “gentle and considerate”: GBCD, March 20, 1898, Box 52.

  “one of the plainest dictates”: quoted in “Senator Chandler for War,” Washington Post, March 8, 1898.

  “Torn from their homes”: quoted in “What He Saw in Cuba,” Washington Post, March 18, 1898.

  “The speech will undoubtedly”: quoted in “It Should Make Cuba Free,” Washington Post, March 18, 1898.

  coincided with a White House briefing: Gould, The Presidency of William McKinley, p. 78.

  “within a very few days”: Woodford to WMcK, March 22, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “The President approves”: William Day to Woodford, March 23, 1898, Day Papers, Box 35.

  Woodford repeated the warning: Woodford to WMcK, March 24, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  Spanish officials would consider further concessions: Woodford to WMcK, March 25, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  The President’s desire: Day to Woodford, March 25, 1895, Day Papers, Box 35.

  “Do the words”: Woodford to Day, March 27, 1898, Day Papers, Box 35.

  “Full self Government”: Day to Woodford, March 28, 1898, Day Paper
s, Box 35.

  a fuller rendition: Day to Woodford, March 27, 1898, Day Papers, Box 35.

  “It is of the utmost importance”: Day to Woodford, March 29, 1898, Day Papers, Box 35.

  discipline aboard ship had been “excellent”: “Summary of the report made March 21 by United States board of inquiry in case of the Maine,” unsigned, JBMP, Box 185.

  The president brought in Day and Long: GBC, transcript of shorthand notes, March 25, 1898, GBCP, Box 52.

  He spent most of Saturday: GBC, transcript of shorthand notes, March 26, 1898, GBCP, Box 52.

  “appalling calamity”: “The President’s Message,” Washington Post, March 29, 1898.

  “It is to speak moderately”: “Impatience in Congress,” New York Times, March 29, 1898.

  Joseph Bailey of Texas introduced a resolution: “Stood by the Speaker,” Washington Post, March 31, 1898.

  “the succession of events”: “Senate in a Ferment,” Washington Post, March 29, 1898.

  “Say no more”: quoted in Morgan, William McKinley and His America, p. 280.

  a day of “grave anxiety”: GBCD, March 31, 1898, Box 52.

  Sagasta said he would submit: Woodford to WMcK, March 31, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “was a sorrow to me”: Woodford to WMcK, April 1, 1898, JBMP, Box 185.

  “Spain’s only hope”: “War Now Seems Inevitable,” Washington Post, April 1, 1898.

  “Anxiety for prompt action”: “Action Is Delayed,” Washington Post, April 1, 1898.

  the president had “risen above politics”: “The President’s Due,” Washington Post, April 1, 1898, reprinted from Louisville Courier-Journal.

  “a patient and forbearing nation”: “President McKinley Is Right,” Washington Post, April 3, 1898, reprinted from Baltimore Sun.

  burning the president in effigy: “Enraged at McKinley,” Washington Post, March 31, 1898.

  “The Spanish fleet”: quoted in Kohlsaat, p. 66. Kohlsaat’s full rendition of the episode has McKinley breaking down in tears and expressing worry about whether his reddened eyes would be evident when he returned to his other guests in the Blue Room. Lewis L. Gould, doubting the veracity of this and other reports of such visible despair on the president’s part, writes, “Memoir accounts that have him in tears and despair seem, aside from the factual errors that they contain, to be unreliable in substance” (Gould, The Presidency of William McKinley, p. 78).

  “has shown a good deal”: Long, p. 175.