Photographic History of the Spanish-American War
Moral and Political Ideals of William
McKinley
Photographic History of the Spanish-American War
Moral and Political Ideals of William
McKinley
William McKinley's moral and political crusade is a drama that suggests the complexity of both the man and the people he served. Born in January 29, 1843 in Niles, Ohio, McKinley rose to symbolize the spirit of his age. The aim of this paper is to find out the extent to which McKinley's moral and political ideals help us understand the man and the American society in which he lived. This paper is an attempt to clear a way out of the controversial web that most historians have already created around McKinley.
In the first part of this paper, I look at how McKinley's moral and political ideals are reflected in some of his actions while he was President of the United States. In the second part, I explore the political and religious foundations of McKinley's moral and political ideals. Third, I will suggest the extent to which McKinley's moral and political beliefs reveal strong characteristics of the American society of the 1890s. I hope to indicate the impact of some of the recent historiography about the way we could perceive McKinley in the next millennium.
I. Moral and Political Ideals of McKinley
A. Moral Ideal of McKinley
Most of the decisions that McKinley made in American politics and in during the Spanish-American reflected his moral and political ideals. This section of the paper focuses, first, on the moral significance of some of his decisions and attitudes. Next, I will emphasize the political significance of the decisions.
McKinley's moral philosophy was grounded on a puritanical and religious faith that aimed at leading mankind to the holiness of Christian civilization. He regarded himself as part of a covenant that had the moral responsibility to Christianize and civilize those who were not. This moral ideal is implicit in McKinley's action where it interweaves with political motives. For example, in 1898, McKinley's somewhat reluctant decision to occupy all the Philippines reveals both missionary and imperialist intentions. In The Oxford History of the American People, written in 1965, Samuel Eliot Morison pointed out:
Now that China seemed on the point of breaking up, it began to look like a good idea to many leaders of public opinion for the United States to obtain a base in the far East. And clearly all the Philippines must be taken, or none. McKinley hesitated long and prayerfully but finally decided, as he informed a Methodist delegation, "to take them all and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them" certainly influenced McKinley's decision to send missionaries to the Philippines in 1898. (805)
McKinley's support to American civilizing and christianizing mission in the Far East suggests his implicit belief in the moral superiority and perfectibility of the American people. McKinley was a moral crusader who believed that America had the moral and national responsibility to educate Filipinos. In America in the Gilded Age: From the Death of Lincoln to the Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, written in 1984, Dennis Cashman quotes McKinley's own words about the Philippines: "There was nothing left to do but to take them all, and to educate the Filipinos, and uplift and civilize and Christianize them, and by God's grace do the very best we could for them, as our fellowmen for whom Christ also died" (346).
To decide to go on a
civilizationist errand was one thing. To make the decision accepted
be the American people was a complicated matter. In order to annex
the Filipinos, McKinley needed a moral ideal that could serve two
purposes. First, the
ideal was supposed to be a means for convincing the American Congress
and people. Second, it was a rhetoric that masked the economic motive
which, in reality, led America to invade the Philippines. In "William
McKinley: Advocate of Imperialism," an article written in 1972,
Robert L. Ivie points out the rhetorical genius which McKinley used
in his speeches to mask a complex blend of moral and political
motives: "McKinley's method was to progressively [suggest] a
pattern of interrelated themes which provoked the intended response
by stimulating fundamental beliefs and implicitly associating them
with his proposed colonial policy. In the fashion, he was able to
give to imperialism the appearance of a truly moral adventure worthy
of the American people" (18). Moreover, according Robert Ivie,
McKinley was an excellent orator who skillfully combined stylistic
technique and patriotic incentive in order to convince the American
public about the moral value of US expansion. "In an exemplary
passage he proclaimed that the nation had challenged the attention of
the world by "turning doubt into conviction" and experiment into
demonstration" (Ivie 19).
The man
represented a Victorian morality that gave great importance to
moderation and gentility. Though he liked to smoke cigars, McKinley
never allowed his personal taste to affect the public morality that
he sought so dearly to preserve. "In an age of decorum and morality,
the President of the United States did not think it proper to set a
poor example, so he always put his cigar aside before the Camera's
eye"(Morgan 315).
Mr. and Mrs. McKinley (Brown Brothers)
B. Political ideal of McKinley.
William McKinley's political ideal could be summed up in two words: the people. His main interest was to secure the will and interest of the average working man. He defended this interest in both domestic and foreign affairs. In domestic affairs, McKinley proposed to reform the civil service system in the manner that open employment opportunities to most qualified people. "McKinley argued that technical posts ought to be open to experience as well as education." (Morgan 291). Moreover, despite the fact that he agreed in principle with the Republican support of big business, McKinley gave priority to labor unions. "His Chief concern was labor."(158). The fact that he was a self-made man who moved from poverty to the hall of fame gave him a perfect understanding of the working class needs. He made sure that his policies were aimed at saving the safety, civil rights and well being of the working class and middle class: "He favored civil service reform, federal protection of voting rights, regulation of business excesses and in general reflected the wishes and needs of an expanding middle and working class" (Wayne 421). Moreover, during most of his political career, McKinley fought hard for the implementation of policies that would administratively regulate the power of trusts and monopolies. He fervent supported the Anti-Sherman Act, which Congress had passed in 1890 to control monopolies and dissolve those that had already established themselves (Carr & Cayer 50).
Moreover, McKinley strongly believed in democratic ideal based on a respect of the public opinion and self-righteousness of the people. "If he developed a theory of democracy it was simply that the people were right" (Morgan 86). To McKinley, people have right to decent life, economic development and political representation. "The heart of his political thinking was a firm belief in democratic representative government" (Wayne 419). Besides, McKinley believed in racial equality. He demonstrated a remarkable sense of courage and intellectual determination by being one of the fervent defenders of civil rights for African-Americans in the 1890s: "He and many others favored enforcement of the Fourteenth Amendment by reducing Southern representation in Congress until the Negroes were enfranchised" (Morgan 67).
However, the most
important aspect of William McKinley's political ideal was his desire
to expand the American national frontier. McKinley's expansionist
vision was a complex blend of religious humanitarianism, economic
internationalism and
imperialism that developed through time and political practice.
Robert Ivie pointed out:
In his inaugural address McKinley assured Americans, "We want no wars of conquest; we must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression." As time went on, however McKinley's "steadily enlarging ideal of an America dominant in world commerce," his involvement with the Spanish-American War, and his belief in America's manifest destiny moved him to endorse internationalism and imperialism. Eventually he made the historic declaration, "Isolation is no longer possible or desirable" (16).
McKinley and Roosevelt (Morison, Samuel Eliot)
The statement above suggests that McKinley initiated the involvement of the United States in world affairs. Although his involvement was imperialist and economically motivated, McKinley did clear the path for the future global politics of the United States during the twentieth century. In order to understand the nature of McKinley's political vision, it is necessary to find out their source. What were the foundations of McKinley's moral and political ideal?
II. Origins of McKinley's Moral and Political Ideal.
McKinley's moral and political ideals did not grow out of a vacuum. The family and the public shaped the education that McKinley received before and during his presidency. In this section, I will look at the impact that each of these institution had on the moral and political philosophy of McKinley.
A. Social Origins of McKinley's ideal.
The Mckinleys came to the United States in the eighteenth century from Scotland. They family lived in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, before they settled in New Lisbon, Columbiana County, Ohio after the American Revolution. In 1783, James Stevenson and Mary Rose, McKinley's grandparents settled in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, where the father worked in the iron-foundry business to support his family. The McKinleys came from a line of hardworking people who had a good sense of living and a great respect for religion, law, culture and education. Their physical and moral stamina strongly influenced the young William McKinley's childhood: "McKinley drew strength and will from a long line of hardworking, God-fearing Scotch-Irishmen, the same hardly stock that populated and subdued the frontier" (Morgan 2). William McKinley was born in January 29, 1843, the son of James and Nancy McKinley. His childhood was deeply marked by the rural beauty of the old Youngstown and Niles Villages where he grew up (Morgan 6). At an early age, his family encouraged him to study hard, listen and observe. They also taught him to be industry, perseverance, religion, and sympathy for history and abolitionist literature. Such education later forged helped build the moral character of the Adult McKinley: "The active-positive character of McKinley, unmistakably find reinforcement in early adulthood" (Latcham 512). As a president, McKinley's moral character reflected the moral values of most Americans. His American imperialism and expansionism of the 1890s reflected not only McKinley's own moral crusade, but also a publicly and religiously shared "manifest destiny" ideal. This ideal was shared not only by McKinley's Methodists parents, but also by most Baptists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Episcopalians of the 1890s. As Julius W. Pratt pointed out in "Manifest Destiny and the American Century," written in 1955:
Just as business men prepared to take advantage of the opportunities for trade and investment in the former possessions of Spain, so the churches began laying plans for new missionary enterprise. If new career upon which the United States was about to enter was to be tinged with economic imperialism, it was also to be, as one religious writer remarked, "the imperialism of righteousness." (Pratt 336).
This statement is significant in the current historiography on McKinley because it contradicts the stereotype that McKinley was "an unsure president of moral weakness"(Gould 7-8). If McKinley was wrong, then we must also assume that the society that bred him and voted for him was wrong. As we can see, making such assumptions is beneficial to neither McKinley nor the American public that loved him so dearly. Therefore, in order to understand the man's character, we need to place him in a context that helps us see the significance of his political ideal.
B. Political origins of McKinley's ideal
McKinley's involvement in politics started during the Hayes Campaign of 1867 in Canton, Ohio. He had helped write a speech for Senator Charles Manderson who was supposed to address a Republican
constituency. Sure of
his talent as a speechwriter, he later decided to use his background
in law into public affairs. (Morgan 40). In 1869, McKinley ran for
the post of prosecuting attorney of Stark County. He won the election
thanks to the support of the Republicans of the county. (42). After
productive years in local politics, McKinley ran for Congress in
1886. In 1889, he ran for house speaker leadership of the Congress
and was defeated by the Democrat Thomas Brackett Reedin. (126). He
became Governor of
Ohio in 1891 and president of the United States from 1897 to 1901
when he was assassinated by an anarchist.
Early in his political career, McKinley adhered to the moral politics of the temperance movement. He declared: "It is poor logic indeed to say that because men drink and always have we will therefore license and protect dealers in the wicked traffic. Because there is sin and crime and wrong abroad in the land therefore we will legalize them. Enunciate such a principle and you may bid a long farewell to social, moral and political reform" (Morgan 46). This statement suggests that McKinley's early political vision, in part, at enforcing a sense of order, good mannerism and political correctness. The moral rhetoric that McKinley blended in his political activism was not only an influence of his Republican tradition, but also an impact of the conservative public thinking of the 1890s. This impact is visible in McKinley's policy. As Robert Ivie pointed out: "McKinley's policy appealed to the conservative mind by identifying fundamentals of the nation's tradition as the motive for his proposed policy" (23).
Western Reserve Historical Society
Conclusion
William McKinley embodies a complex blend of ideals. On the one hand, he was a symbol of a new Republican ideal that regarded the interest of the public as the foundation of political and economic motives. This ideal, blended in a puritanical belief in the Manifest Destiny of the American people, led McKinley to believe that America had the moral and political rights to free Filipinos from the grasp of the Spanish monarchy. By introducing such an atypical thought in nineteenth century America, McKinley laid the ground for a nascent idea that identifies America today. This groundwork prepared America to become the most powerful military and political authority in the twentieth century. America's remarkable participation in the eradication of Hitler is a testimony of this authority.
McKinley is a key figure in modern history because he was the first American president to put expansionism and imperialism in practice. He was the first American president to begin the "Passage to India" that Walt Whitman voiced so nicely over the rooftops of this country. In order to perceive all these remarkable influence that McKinley have on modern history, one needs to see the man in the context of the religious, Republican and moral sophistication of the America of the 1890s.
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Young William McKinley, Western Reserve Historical Society
Contributed by Babacar M'Baye, Computing in ACS course, Spring 1999.
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