The presidency of William McKinley began on March 4, 1897, when William McKinley was inaugurated and ended with his death on September 14, 1901. It includes the 1897 Dingley Tariff to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition, and the Gold Standard Act of 1900 that rejected free silver inflationary proposals. Rapid economic growth and a decline in labor conflict also marked the presidency. McKinley gave a lengthy inaugural address, in which he urged tariff reform, and stated that the currency issue would have to await tariff legislation. McKinley asked Sherman to resign in 1898, and Day became the new secretary of state. Later that year, Day was succeeded by John Hay, a veteran diplomat who had served as assistant secretary of state in the Hayes Administration. McKinley made two other changes to his Cabinet in 1898; Charles Emory Smith succeeded the ailing Gary as Postmaster General, while John W. Griggs replaced McKenna as Attorney General after McKenna joined the Supreme Court.