William McKinley defeated fiery orator Williams Jennings Bryan in 1896 by campaigning from his front porch in Canton, Ohio. The main issue was whether U.S. currency would be backed by gold or silver.

Elected after the closing of the American frontier to the west, McKinley found new ways to expand in the Pacific and Caribbean following the Spanish American War. ... William McKinley. Terms: 1897 ...

Born in 1843 in Niles, Ohio, William McKinley was working as a school teacher when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He enlisted in the Union Army and quickly climbed the ranks.