William McKinley served as president.
 As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment, McKinley is generally ranked as an above-average president, although his take-over of the Philippines is often criticized as an act of imperialism
 McKinley had difficulty convincing the Senate to approve the treaty by the requisite two-thirds vote, but his lobbying, and that of Vice President Hobart, eventually saw success, as the Senate voted in favor on February 6, 1899, 57 to 27

