×

McKinley’s birthday celebrated

012817...R MCKINLEY B-DAY 1...Niles...01-28-17... Nicole Straub of Boardman, McKinley Home coordinator, pours refreshments and provides cupcakes to celebrate William McKinley's birthday Saturday afternoon...by R. Michael Semple

NILES — President William McKinley was born in a little house in Niles 174 years ago and in a replica of the home, people gathered Saturday to learn about him and his political beliefs.

While McKinley only lived in Niles until the age of 9, long before becoming the last veteran of the Civil War to serve as president, his “front porch” approach to campaigning and promises of full dinner pails were formed in Ohio’s northeast.

Before moving to Niles where McKinley was born, his father worked as a blast furnace manager in New Lisbon. After the family left Niles to find more educational opportunities for their children, they settled in Poland for some time, said Nicole Straub, a coordinator at the McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center, 42 S. Main St.

Although not much is known about those nine years McKinley lived in Niles, residents of the city today said they are happy the replica is there to help them learn about the man. The first floor has shelves stocked with texts describing the 25th president, while the rooms are decorated in the style they might have been in 1843.

Walking through the halls helps a person understand what it means to host the birthplace of a president, said Mike Hudzik, a lifetime Niles resident on his first visit to the house with his great-granddaughter.

“I don’t know if the younger generations realize what this means, there is so much that isn’t taught in school,” Hudzik said.

Places like the replica house are where members of the community can go to “learn what you didn’t learn in school,” said Evie Rice, also a Niles resident.

Studying the history helps one to understand the similarities between today’s world and back then, Rice said. While the styles of the political cartoons might be different, their purpose remains the same, Rice said as she looked at the examples on the wall.

McKinley enlisted in the Union Army and fought in the Civil War, including the Battle of Antietam.

Although McKinley didn’t graduate from the law school he attended in Canton, he launched his political career there and considered it his hometown, Straub said.

The Republican went on to serve in Congress, was elected governor of Ohio in 1891 and won the presidency in 1896.

McKinley’s campaign was full of new ideas. It was one of the first to have a campaign manager and mass marketed pamphlets sent through the nation. But, McKinley campaigned in a way that might not reach modern voters — from his front porch.

McKinley and his wife received visitors and held discussions, and the strategy worked. Even though his opponent, William Jennings Bryan, spoke to a record number of audiences for a presidential candidate and he traveled a record-breaking 18,000 miles by train, the man lost out to cartoon drawings of buckets of food and differences about how the U.S. should handle its currency, according to information provided at the replica home.

McKinley’s promise of a “Full dinner pail” for all brought voters out in record numbers, and became a blueprint for future campaigns, the history books state.

McKinley’s life came full-circle in Ohio, when, shortly after starting his second term, an anarchist from Cleveland shot and killed him as McKinley shook hands with people who gathered to see him.

rfix@tribtoday.com

Starting at $2.99/week.

Subscribe Today