Claim: William McKinley was an American.

William McKinley Jr. -LRB- January 29 , 1843 -- September 14 , 1901 -RRB- was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 25th President of the United States from March 4 , 1897 until his assassination in September 1901 , six months into his second term . McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish -- American War , raised protective tariffs to promote American industry , and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals .   McKinley was the last president to have served in the American Civil War , and the only one to have started the war as an enlisted soldier , beginning as a private in the Union Army and ending as a brevet major . After the war , he settled in Canton , Ohio , where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton . In 1876 , he was elected to Congress , where he became the Republican Party 's expert on the protective tariff , which he promised would bring prosperity . His 1890 McKinley Tariff was highly controversial ; which together with a Democratic redistricting aimed at gerrymandering him out of office , led to his defeat in the Democratic landslide of 1890 . He was elected Ohio 's governor in 1891 and 1893 , steering a moderate course between capital and labor interests . With the aid of his close adviser Mark Hanna , he secured the Republican nomination for president in 1896 , amid a deep economic depression . He defeated his Democratic rival , William Jennings Bryan , after a front-porch campaign in which he advocated `` sound money '' -LRB- the gold standard unless altered by international agreement -RRB- and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity .   Rapid economic growth marked McKinley 's presidency . He promoted the 1897 Dingley Tariff to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition , and in 1900 , he secured the passage of the Gold Standard Act . McKinley hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict , but when negotiation failed , he led the nation into the Spanish -- American War of 1898 ; the U.S. victory was quick and decisive . As part of the peace settlement , Spain turned over to the United States its main overseas colonies of Puerto Rico , Guam , and the Philippines ; Cuba was promised independence , but at that time remained under the control of the U.S. Army . The United States annexed the independent Republic of Hawaii in 1898 and it became a U.S. territory .   Historians regard McKinley 's 1896 victory as a realigning election , in which the political stalemate of the post -- Civil War era gave way to the Republican-dominated Fourth Party System , which began with the Progressive Era . McKinley defeated Bryan again in the 1900 presidential election , in a campaign focused on imperialism , protectionism , and free silver . However , his legacy was quickly cut short when he was shot on September 6 , 1901 by Leon Czolgosz , a second-generation Polish-American with anarchist leanings ; McKinley died eight days later , and was succeeded by his Vice President Theodore Roosevelt . As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment , McKinley 's presidency is generally considered above average , though his universally positive public perception was soon overshadowed by Roosevelt .