William McKinley (1897-1901) 3

President McKinley was the first President to preside over a war in the post-Reconstruction era. Due to Spain's repressive rule over Cuba, the Cubans revolted in 1895. Many Americans began to actively raise money and even fight alongside with the Cuban nationalists. McKinley used diplomatic pressure to gain some concessions from Spain, but nonetheless, it became clear that Spain would never give up Cuba without a fight. Following the explosion of the USS Maine which killed 266 crewmembers, circumstantial evidence suggested that Spain may have been behind the attack. At McKinley's request, Congress declared war on April 25, 1898. Events happened fast, with the U.S. pulling out several cunning naval victories and Theodore Roosevelt's notorious Rough Riders raid on Cuba. Spain pleaded for peace and a cease-fire was declared on August 12, 1898. Only around 400 soldiers died in action. McKinley's cunning leadership during the war proved too much for the Spanish. He authorized only those naval raids which he believed would be successful, and took a very active role in managing the war. As a result of his diplomatic pressure, Cuba gained its independence and Spain ceded several other territories to the United States. Among these concessions was the Phillipines. Almost immediately, Filipino insugrgents, resentful of U.S. rule, rebelled. McKinley responded by sending thousands of American marines and sailors to the Islands in what would become a guerilla war much like that of Korea and Vietnam nearly a half-century later. The war continued into the administration of Theodore Roosevelt. McKinley also sent two thousand marines to China to put down a rebellion there that had resulted in the deaths of hundreds of western missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity. So, in the final analysis, despite his cunning war-time management, McKinley had his faults with regards to criss management. Like most of his predacessors, McKinley failed to address the continuing suppression of African American rights. His intervention in the Filipino revolt cost the lives of thousands of marines over the course of four years. Ironically, his activites with regards to the Phillipines was much like that of Spain with regards to Cuba, and McKinley personally authorized the internment of hundreds of Filipino rebels who were simply seeking their own democratic government. In the final analysis, although his wartime management was quite cunning, McKinley did have his faults with regards to wartime management. His motives for intervention in the Filipino rebellion are questionable and arguably the guerilla war was not worth the thousands of lives that it claimed. A peace agreement or a compromise calling for the establishment of an elected government to ensure stability would have saved countless lives.