A watan Satumbar 1901, William McKinley ya kasance a tsayin daka na ikonsa a matsayin shugaban kasa. An zabe shi a shekara ta 1896, a lokacin da ake fama da mummunan tattalin arziki wanda ya haifar da Panic na 1893, ya kayar da abokin hamayyarsa na Democrat, William Jennings Bryan. McKinley ya jagoranci al'umma zuwa ga dawowa ga wadata da nasara a cikin Yakin Mutanen Espanya da Amurka a 1898, ya mallaki irin wannan mulkin mallaka na Mutanen Espanya kamar Puerto Rico da Philippines. An sake zabarsa a cikin wani rikici da Bryan a 1900, a cewar marubucin tarihi Eric Rauchway, "ya yi kama da cewa Gwamnatin McKinley za ta ci gaba da zaman lafiya har tsawon shekaru hudu, gwamnatin da aka sadaukar da ita ga wadata".
Shekara ta 1898