The Waterstraut Waterspout: Happy 172nd Birthday, William McKinley!

Today we celebrate all things William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States. I really didn't know much about the man, even though I've visited his tomb (it's probably one of --if not THE--most impressive ones we've been to). But, as I read about him, the more I read, the more I liked the guy. So, Millard Fillmore was boring and uninspiring, Richard Nixon was sneaky and a cheater, and William McKinley was just a REALLY nice guy. People loved him. And he was so nice to everyone. Teddy even once said "McKinley has no more of a backbone than a chocolate eclair", but he STILL picked Teddy to be his Vice President, because that's what everyone wanted, and he was a people pleaser. For real, everyone just LOVED him. I kind of want to vote for him, and he's been dead for over 113 years. Now, most people know he was assassinated. Or, at least I think most people know that. But, in case you didn't. He was, and he saved his assasins life (for a bit, he was eventually killed in the electric chair for his crime) by telling the mob "don't hurt him!" as he was laying down with two bullets in him. And man, was the guy an AWESOME husband. People in Washington talked about how devoted he was to Ida. Yet somehow, he doesn't quite have the legacy I'm sure he hoped to have had.

He wasn't too fancy in his food tastes though. He was a big fan of breakfast, and always made sure to eat breakfast with Ida everyday before he left for work. (As governor, he made sure his office was across the street from his house, so he could cross the street, and wave to Ida from the porch before he went to work. Then everyday at 3 o'clock, he would stop whatever he was doing to wave from her from the window-- such a nice guy!)

Calib and Peyton helped make brunch.

To make it more accurate, we should have had bacon instead of sausage. But, bacon wasn't on sale. Sorry, William. He didn't have any favorite deserts that were well known, but a Congressman from Georgia once sent McKinley a prize winning 80 pound watermelon!

And we had some ketchup from the Phillipines on our eggs. Why the Phillipines you ask? Well, the U.S acquired it after the Spanish-American War, even though they didn't really want it--- Or know where it was! McKinley had to have someone bring him a globe to find it, and even said "I could not have told where those damned islands were within two thousand miles"

After breakfast, we got to celebrating!

First up, the toy-timeline. We're going to speed go through this though, because TGIT comes back tonight. I might be a very smart girl, into history and geography, but I also love some good Thursday Night girly TV my friends.

Thanks to the photography of Asa, I have the time line all documented.

So, William grew up in Ohio, he was the 7th of 8 kids. He liked camping, swimming, hunting, and loved books. (Not Millard Fillmore I'd save the Library of Congress from burning love, but he and his father did wear his fair share of books thin.)

He went to college in PA, but had to come home after one year because he worked and studied so hard he was suffering from physical exhaustion. By then the Civil War broke out, and 18 year old William, sick and pale, went off to fight. He got put in the kitchen basically serving the guys who were serving, but earned respect from soldiers by bringing rations to the front lines. He was sure he was going to die. But, he said at least he would die (literally) serving his country. I mean, he brought rations to the guys at the Battle of Antietam. That's some serious stuff. He worked his way up the ladder though, and when the Civil War ended, he went home a strong, confident guy. Oh, and he worked under a guy you might have hear of, Rutherford Birchard Hayes! (My pez of him seems to be MIA, so I had to make do with Gandolf. They had similar beards!) McKinley would end up becoming a lawyer, and campaigning for Hayes when he ran for president. Which opened up the world of politics to him.

When he returned home, he met Ida, and they got married. They had two daughters, Katie and baby Ida. But, baby Ida died shortly after her birth. This nearly broke Ida, and she became VERY protective over Katie, hardly letting her out of the house. But, then Katie got Typhoid Fever and died too. Which, just sent Ida into a deep depression, and she developed epilepsy, among other things. She was basically just a mess. But, she wanted William to keep going with his political career, so he did. But he was always there for Ida.

William worked for Congress for 15 years, before becoming the governor of Ohio and then running for president in 1896. (He's seen here wearing his carnation, which pleased his wife, and everyone thought of as a good luck charm, while Ida is seen here sporting a campaign button- because his ticket was the first to do so!) He won, beating poor William Jennings Bryan (seen here as Dr. Dufenshmirtz). Why do I feel bad for this guy? Well, because he ran for president three times.

And Ida? Well, she did ok in the White House. McKinley tried to take special care of her in her fragile state. He broke with tradition, and made sure Ida sat next to him at state dinners. And, when she would have a seizure in public, he'd put a handkerchief over her head to spare her from the embarrassment of having people see her like that, and then simply remove it when it was over, and go on as though nothing had happened.

McKinley's Vice President was a guy named Garrett Hobart (seen here as Woody). They were buddies, but Garrett didn't even make it through his first term. He died (heart issues, I believe) and McKinley was pretty heartbroken.

The biggest presidential issue of William McKinley's first term was the Spanish-American War. Google it if you don't know- but long story short Cuba was fighting for its independence from Spain, and America (McKinley) didn't want to get involved. He basically exhausted all options, and the media had worked up Americans so much they wanted to help out the Cubans.

(And a guy named Teddy Roosevelt was totally on top of that!)

With McKinley's guidance, the war lasted four months. FOUR. Actually a little less. So, it might have taken McKinley awhile to act, but once he did, he kicked the crap right out of the Spanish. And, then poor William Jennings Bryan didn't really have a chance, but ran again anyway. And McKinley's new VP: Well, Teddy of course.

So, he's re-elected, things are going well, and he tours the country. After a delay because of Ida's health (seriously, he couldn't just leave poor Ida!), he attended the Expo in Buffalo, New York. He gave a speech to a cheering crowd, and next day was all set for a meet and greet with the public. On September 6, 1901 he bent down and gave his lucky carnation to a little girl. A few people behind her was Leon Czolgosz, a guy who was pissed about government in general. He didn't even have a problem with McKinley specifically. He just wanted to do something he saw as 'noble' for his cause. Leon (seen here as the storm trooper) hid a gun in his bandage and when he got to the president, he shot him, twice, in the stomach.

When he fell to the ground, he pleaded with the crowd not to harm Leon (they were seriously pummeling him!), and then immediately thought of Ida and told his men around him "Be careful how you tell her". He was taken by ambulance to the hospital, but the only doctor was an OB doctor who couldn't find the bullet and stitched McKinley up, with the bullet still inside.

Leon meanwhile was captured in a near-death state from being beaten from the crowd, and sent to jail. He was sentenced to death in the electric chair just a couple weeks later.

McKinley looked to be on the mend, and everyone was pretty optimistic he would be fine. But, the bullet caused an infection, and on September 14, six days after being shot, McKinley died. He became the third president to be assassinated. (After this the secret service were put in charge of protecting presidents)

Making Teddy our 26th president. And, the youngest president at that. (JFK was the youngest ELECTED, Teddy was the youngest to ever hold the office at age 42)

McKinley's funeral train took him home to Canton, Ohio where he was buried. Poor Ida was so distraught, she didn't even attend his funeral. She died nearly 6 years later, just a month before the completion of the large marble monument in Canton was completed.

McKinley ranks in the middle of the pack by historians. He's kind of over-shadowed now by Teddy's administration. And, he comes off as having acted on what the people wanted, not what he wanted. (Which, I'm not sure how that's a terrible thing, but thats what historians say). But he was called the "Idol of Ohio" and today over 20 Ohio schools are named in his honor. He even has a mountain in Alaska named after him!

My gosh, that wasn't really warp speed at all, was it?

Anyway, our activities today included making our own Campaign Buttons (since his was the first Campaign to use them)

And we planted some carnations, in red (for republican) pots.

The boys twitter update for McKinley: Gave my lucky carnation to a little girl #Giveitback #Wherethemdoctorsat

Then they got to work on their birthday cards.

Hayden's card...

Calib's card...

Peyton's card...

My sad attempt to draw a chocolate eclair, the Cuban flag, and his pet parrot (named Washington Post)

And a carnation, Mount McKinley, a button, a globe (for the Philippines), and an X-ray (an x-ray machine was on display at the expo, had the doctors had one, they could have located the bullet)