William McKinley was the twenty-fifth President of the United States, and the last Civil War veteran to reach that position.
During the 1880s he was an important member of the Republican Party. As a congressman, he was responsible for the increase of import tariffs (McKinley Tariff), as a measure of prosperity. In his candidacy for the presidential elections of 1896 he promoted pluralism among ethnic groups. His campaign was designed by Mark Hanna, who introduced new advertising techniques that revolutionized political campaigns, and defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan. With his mandate a period of Republican dominion began, in which the mercantile activity was fomented. The United States, moreover, became a world power after its victory in the Spanish-American War. This allowed McKinley to be elected President again in 1900 after another intense campaign against Bryan as well. Regarding international politics, he supported the independence of Cuba; the war with Spain gave the United States control of Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
