Talk:William McKinley

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[edit] Remotely Unlikely?

The sentence concluding Disputed Quotation makes no sense: "The conclusion of historians such as Lewis Gould is that it is entirely possible although remotely unlikely McKinley said the last part.[3]" What is remotely unlikely but likely.

Not a good use of the word "remotely" - if it were removed, the sentence would make a lot more sense. MagnesianPhoenix (talk) 05:53, 29 June 2007 (UTC) [signed retroactively]

[edit] Go Bears?

How does one get rid of that "Go Bears" comment below the policies? I went to edit the page to remove it, and it was not there, but it is still on the page itself.

More vandalism there in the first paragraph today. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.8.20.68 (talk) 02:02, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Commemorative Services

I've added a source tag to the statement relating to the commorative services held in the U.K. I find it more than a little odd that the Anglican King of Great Britain would order a memorial for an assassinated U.S. president, who was a Methodist, to be held in a Roman Catholic cathedral. CanadianMist 15:40, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] copyvio

[edit] first lady

The full maiden name of First Lady McKinley was Ida Saxton, but the linked article has her as Ida Saxton McKinley, so my change was obvious. --65.73.0.137

[edit] If he had died just 3 days earlier...

Imagine, if McKinley died just 3 days earlier, what would the people and the media have thought, regarding the same day of our time? --Shultz 17:22, 1 December 2005 (UTC) hi

I don't think they would have cared as much... people tend to care more when someone is assassinated then when they just die... --The MasterPedia 19:49, 16 April 2006 (UTC)^Talk

Agreed. My great-grandparents were married on September 11, 1911 and that's no big deal. The fact that a president died within a week of a date that will weigh heavy on our minds for another decade or two (ask the average person if they know the date of the Day of Infamy) is no reason to write a new section of a Wikipedia page. MagnesianPhoenix (talk) 05:53, 29 June 2007 (UTC) [signed retroactively]

[edit] McKinley redirect

Because "McKinley" links to the disambiguation page I cleared out the "The name "Mckinley" redirects here..." etc. part.

Naufana 22:55, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Middle name

Does anyone know his? VolatileChemical 14:12, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Monuments

he sure does have alot of monuments doesnt he? its crazy because i didnt know there was one in muskegon! I live really close to muskegon, so thats really weird... ^-^ can you feel the sunshine? does it brighten up your day? 18:53, 2 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] James "Big Ben" Parker

I think it's odd that there's no mention of this fellow in the assasination account, note that Parker is the African American fellow shown in the picture entitled "Leon Czolgosz shoots President McKinley with a concealed revolver" grabbing Czolgosz. Parker was considered something of a hero, and his actions prevented Czolgosz from firing a third and fatal shot.

[edit] Trivia, and Sensibility

What is meant by this sentence from the Trivia section?

McKinley was the last US Civil War veteran to be President-beginning with 
Andrew Johnson {excepting Grover Cleveland}.

Apart from the misshapen parenthesis and the broken punctuation, what is it supposed to mean? I would have corrected the cosmetics, but I don't understand the intent. - Corporal Tunnel 13:54, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

it doesn't mean much so I fixed it to say McK was the last veteran to be president. Rjensen 14:49, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Thanks! - Corporal Tunnel 15:06, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Those anarchist assassins, I tell ya...

The very first paragraph ends, "He was assassinated by an anarchist and succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt." Would it not be appropriate to substitute Czolgosz's name for "an anarchist"? I think that that would have a more neutral tone, whereas the current phrasing calls to mind stereotypes of anarchy (murder, destruction, chaos, etc.). Czolgosz was a wanna-be anarchist anyway. Obviously, that's my opinion, which should not be reflected in the article, but a neutral POV should be. MagnesianPhoenix (talk) 05:53, 29 June 2007 (UTC) [signed retroactively]

While many parts of the article are certainly not neutral, this one actually is. Strictly speaking, the term "anarchist" is correct in this context, but it is not referring to anarchy in the context that you are characterizing it.

The Anarchist movement is a philosophical movement based on the idea that acts of oppression are all derived from the ownership of private property. Since private property ownership is not possible with out a central government, the anarchist movement suggests that the solution is to eliminate the central government. Look up William Godwin for further explanation. Czolgosz was definitely an anarchist, and it was his commitment to this philosophy that motivated him to shoot McKinley. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.125.45.10 (talk) 19:03, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

Of course shooting McKinley was a manifestation of his anarchist beliefs, but not all anarchists believe in senselessly murdering politicians. Godwin certainly didn't. Anarchism is very diverse in belief and philosophy, and naming an individual by the name of such a group creates a generalization. It's tantamount to saying, "He was assassinated by a Christian." Out of context, many Christians would take offense at that. Fortunately, John has come up with a compromise, for which I thank him. (Thanks also to Murderbike for the typo correction.) See also the section Assassination of President McKinley of the article on Emma Goldman for a discussion (in which I had no part) of Czolgosz's affiliation with anarchism or lack thereof. MagnesianPhoenix (talk) 08:16, 19 November 2007 (UTC) [signed retroactively]

That's all true, but I want to note here that violence up to and including assasination as a way to influence the political process was a very popular idea among anarchists in the late 19th century, even if all of them didn't practice that extreme. I think a fair comparison would be to say how martyrdom was a very popular idea among early Christians; even though there are no real Christian martyrs today.

I also don't think if we were talking about a situation in a country divided by religion, that if a Protestant were assassinated by a Catholic, or a Muslim by a Christian; that it would be incredibly controversial to say that outright.

Just like I don't think if we were talking about Franz Ferdinand, it wouldn't be controversial to say Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Bosnian Serb.

It would only be insulting to say "he was assassinated by a Christian" if Christianity had little to do with the conflict that created the assassination.

[edit] Moved from article

[edit] Trivia

McKinley's portrait appeared on the U.S. $500 bill from 1928 to 1946.
At his inauguration, the only item of jewelry McKinley wore was his Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity badge that he received from Allegheny College.
After McKinley's assassination, the mandate of the Secret Service was altered to include protection of the president.
McKinley was the last U.S. Civil War veteran to be President.
A small area of McKinley's birthplace, Niles, Ohio, known as "McKinley Heights" is named after him.
McKinley was one of four presidents to be shot and killed by an assassin.
A major US military base in the Philippines was named Fort McKinley. It later became Fort Bonifacio, and is now a major real-estate development area called Bonifacio Global City. The major road leading from Ayala Avenue to its entrance is still called McKinley Road.
The house in which he died is now commemorated by a plaque which stands at the original place of the house. That plaque stands next to a parking lot for Canisius High School and Delaware Avenue.

[edit] Baby, you can ride my car

Worth mentioning he was first President to ride in an automobile? (It was a Stanley Steamer, FYI.) Trekphiler 23:17, 19 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Domestic Policy

This portion of the article is very poorly written, or was very poorly edited. I find it difficult to understand what's going on in a few places.

In Civil Service administration, McKinley took one long and unfortunate step backward. The Republican platform, adopted after President Cleveland's extension of the merit system, emphatically endorsed this, as did McKinley himself. Against extreme pressure, particularly in the United States Department of War, the President resisted until 29 May 1899.

What did the Republican platform endorse? And what did McKinley resist? Also, "long and unfortunate" doesn't sound NPOV

His order of that date withdrew from the classified service 4,000 or more positions, removed 3,500 from the class theretofore filled through competitive examination or an orderly practice of promotion, and placed 6,416 more under a system drafted by the Secretary of War. The order declared regular a large number of temporary appointments made without examination, besides rendering eligible, as emergency appointees, without examination, thousands who had served during the Spanish War.

2 very long sentences, the first should maybe be a list with links. What is classified service, etc?

Republicans pointed to the deficit under the Wilson Law with much the same concern manifested by President Cleveland in 1888 over the surplus. A new tariff law must be passed, and, if possible, before a new Congressional election.

What's the Wilson law, and are we suddenly in the past?

An extra session of Congress was therefore summoned for 15 March 1897. The Ways and Means Committee, which had been at work for three months, forthwith reported through Chairman Nelson Dingley the bill which bore his name. With equal promptness the Committee on Rules brought in a rule, at once adopted by the House, whereby the new bill, in spite of Democratic pleas for time to examine, discuss, and propose amendments, reached the Senate the last day of March.

???

More deliberation marked procedure in the Senate. This body passed the bill after toning up its schedules with some 870 amendments, most of which pleased the United State Conference Committee and became law. The act was signed by the President 24 July 1897. The Dingley Act was estimated by its author to advance the average rate from the 40 percent of the Wilson Bill to approximately 50 percent, or a shade higher than the McKinley rate. As proportioned to consumption the tax imposed by it was probably heavier than that under either of its predecessors.

Why is it only explained at the end of the paragraph what the bill is trying to achieve? And it's not really explained at all, except that it changes the "average rate" in comparison to the "Wilson Bill" and the "McKinley rate." What rate, and again what is the Wilson Bill? Presumably the same as the Wilson law mentioned above.

I don't have the knowledge to correct this article, but it should certainly be done. Miken32 (talk) 03:29, 21 November 2007 (UTC)

"In Civil Service administration, McKinley took one long and unfortunate step backward. The Republican platform, adopted after President Cleveland's extension of the merit system, emphatically endorsed this, as did McKinley himself." That McKinley's step was "unfortunate" is not a fact but one person's opinion. Arguably, a civil service employee could be a poor worker protected by rules preventing his/her dismissal, while a political employee might be excellent, motivated by the realization that he can be fired quickly if he doesn't perform. [User: dweinkrant]

[edit] 19th Century techniques?

It seems odd to say "19th century techniques" in reference to an operation that occurred in 1901. I guess the techniques may have been developed in the 19th century, but they were occurring in the 20th. Maybe something like "the surgical techniques of the time" would be a better phrasing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.160.246.219 (talk) 20:48, 20 February 2008 (UTC)