Focus on William McKinley
| This article first appeared in issue thirteen of
Buttons and Ballots, in October 1997. |
This page is dedicated to the man who managed the feat of defeating both
Joshua Levering and Charles E. Bentley, while also beating that fellow named
Bryan.
Facts about McKinley
- A member of the 23rd Ohio regiment during the Civil War, McKinley served
under a colonel named Rutherford B. Hayes. No other regiment produced two
such prominent Americans.
- McKinley was the last Civil War veteran to be elected President.
- McKinley is well-known for his 1896 "front porch campaign."
What is not so well known is that he was the first president to make regular
use of the telephone in his campaign.
- McKinley's presidency may be most important for its imperialism. Success
in the Spanish-American war added Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines
to the American empire. American Samoa was acquired by an unrelated treaty,
and Congress annexed Hawaii during the McKinley years too. In the Philippines,
rebels started an insurrection against American rule.
- McKinley's second inaugural seemed star-crossed. His audience fled
the ceremony because of heavy showers, and the evening's fireworks had
to be canceled for the same reason. His invalid wife had an epileptic seizure
at the inaugural ball.
- McKinley was the 25th president. He was the fifth president to die
in office, and the third to die by gunshot.
- McKinley died at age 59 when an assassin, hiding a gun in his handkerchief,
shot the president. The assassin was executed six weeks later—the
wheels of justice turned swiftly.
- Theodore Roosevelt served the greater part of the second presidential
term McKinley had been elected to. Roosevelt served 3 1/2 years of this
term, then served a four year term of his own. He would later fail when
he tried to win yet another term, as the Bull Moose candidate in 1912.
Below is an advertisement taken from the pages of the New York Times
during the 1896 campaign. This advertisement is like hundreds of others
from 1896—it used the gold and silver issue to gain the voter's attention,
then switched the subject to the item being advertised. It may be similar
to perfume makers nowadays using naked youthful bodies to get our attention,
before showing us a picture of the perfume bottle.
Interesting how our attention seems to have shifted over the years—from
the political to the prurient. It's hard to imagine Coca-cola or IBM "getting
our attention" by using school prayer, abortion, or welfare reform,
before shifting the attention to the product at hand. Yet in 1896 politics
and advertising seemed to mix quite readily. Beginning collectors may shun
McKinley buttons that have the backpaper of a cigarette company, or a stud
that says "The Buffalo Express for McKinley." Yet these
were among the most important political buttons of their time, because they
were so widely distributed—and widely worn. The wonderful jugate button
that has Roosevelt on the left and a bar of Zig Zag on the right is so valued
by collectors that it often sells for over $2,000.
Well, anyhow, here's the ad:
Collectors who are thinking about narrowing their collecting interests
might do well to consider William McKinley. Although the 1896 and 1900 pins
are the oldest of the modern pinback buttons, they can prove surprisingly
affordable. A beginner could assemble a set of twelve different McKinley
buttons for $12 to $18 dollars each, in excellent condition.
The reason for the cheapness—despite their age—is that buttons
were a great national fad in 1896 and 1900, manufactured in vast numbers
and worn by millions of Americans. Since they were attractive, of historic
interest, and durable, these buttons were saved by the tens of thousands
and many can be had inexpensively today. Even unlisted McKinley items can
sometimes be found for under $40.
Of course, as the collector became more advanced and wanted to purchase
some of the scarcer 1.25 inch buttons, and the uncommon jugates, the prices
would rise. Yet one of the nice things about the political hobby is this:
Since no one is ever likely to have a "complete" collection, even
of a single candidate, each collector can relax and decide how little or
how much he or she wants to acquire.
| © 1997 by Stephen Cresswell |
