William McKinley was an American statesman who served as the 25th president of the United States from 1897 until his assassination in 1901.

When the Southern states seceded from the Union and the American Civil War began, thousands of men in Ohio volunteered for service. Among them were eighteen-year-old William McKinley and his cousin William McKinley Osbourne, who enlisted as privates in the newly formed Poland Guards in June 1861. The men left for Columbus where they were consolidated with other small units to form the 23rd Ohio Infantry.

Rutherford B. Hayes served as commander of the 23rd Ohio Infantry, while William McKinley was a commissary sergeant. The 23rd was the first regiment to encounter the Confederates at the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862. After severe losses, Union forces drove back the Confederates and continued to Sharpsburg, Maryland, where they engaged Robert E. Lee's army at the Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The 23rd was also in the thick of the fighting at Antietam, and McKinley himself came under heavy fire when bringing rations to the men on the line.

In 1876, McKinley undertook a high-profile case defending a group of striking coal miners arrested for rioting after a clash with strikebreakers. Taking the case pro bono, he was successful in getting all but one of the miners acquitted by highlighting the dangers of the industry which produced 250 fatalities in the state every year, and another 700 injuries. The case raised McKinley's standing among laborers, a crucial part of the Stark County electorate, and also introduced him to Cleveland businessman Mark Hanna, who would become his strongest backer in years to come.

He was elected governor of Ohio 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, prevailing by a wide margin on the first ballot of the Republican National Convention.

He defeated his Democratic rival William Jennings Bryan after a front porch campaign in which he advocated "sound money" (the gold standard) and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity.

The practice of campaigning by telephone dates back to the Presidential Election of 1896 when McKinley ran his campaign from his house on North Market Street in Canton, Ohio.

McKinley gave a lengthy inaugural address, urging tariff reform. As president, he would go on to raise protective tariffs in an effort to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition.

President McKinley took great care to accommodate his wife's epilepsy. In a break with tradition, he insisted that she be seated next to him at state dinners rather than at the other end of the table. And guests noted that whenever Mrs. McKinley was about to undergo a seizure, the President would gently place a napkin or handkerchief over her face to conceal her contorted features. When it passed, he would remove it and resume whatever he was doing as if nothing had happened.