William McKinley (redirected from President William McKinley)

McKinley, William 

Born Jan. 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio; died Sept. 14, 1901, in Buffalo, N.Y. American statesman. Member of the US Congress from 1877.

In 1890, on McKinley’s initiative, a law increasing customs tariffs on imported goods (by an average of 50 percent) was passed that led to price increases on goods of mass demand and promoted the growth of monopolies and an increase in their profits. A member of the Republican Party, he was president of the USA from 1897 to 1901. Practicing the politics of imperialist expansion, McKinley’s administration unleashed the Spanish-American War of 1898 and in 1899 advanced the doctrine of the Open Door in China. On Sept. 6, 1901, McKinley was wounded by an anarchist and died on September 14.