Ku dhameystir weedha soo socota: McKinley wuxuu madaxweyne ahaa intii lagu jiray dagaalkii Spain iyo Mareykanka ee 1898, kaasoo uu guushii Mareykanka ay ahayd mid degdeg ah oo go'aan qaadasho leh. Heshiiskaas nabadeed, Spain waxay Mareykanka ku wareejisay Puerto Rico, Guam, iyo Filibiin. Markii uu dalku barwaaqoobay, McKinley wuxuu mar kale ka adkaaday Bryan doorashadii madaxtinimada ee 1900.
Madaxweyne McKinley waxaa dilay Leon Czolgosz bishii Sebtember 1901, waxaana beddelay Madaxweyne ku xigeen Theodore Roosevelt.