USA HISTORY

The President that was reluctantly in charge during the Spanish American War.

(A) ** McKinley

(B) Nixon

(C) Roosevelt

(D) Carter

Concept note-1: -President McKinley attempted to prevent war and endeavored to persuade the Spanish government to adopt a conciliatory policy with the Cuban insurrectionists. The Spanish government yielded too late to restrain the popular demand in the United States for intervention.

Concept note-2: -Annotation: President William McKinley was reluctant to call for war against Spain in 1898. The last president to have served served in the Civil War said he had seen too much carnage at battles like Antietam to be enthusiastic about war with Spain.

Concept note-3: -William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination on September 14, 1901, after leading the nation to victory in the Spanish-American War and raising protective tariffs to promote American industry.

Concept note-4: -President McKinley found it impossible to resist the mounting public and political pressure for war against Spain. In requesting a declaration of war from the Senate on April 11, 1898, he listed several concerns but stressed the nation’s humanitarian sympathy for the Cuban independence movement.