• William McKinley
    Bureau of Engraving and Printing
    portrait
    engraving
    This engraving of President William McKinley was produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Before the presidency, McKinley worked as a lawyer in Canton, Ohio, fought as a brevet major of volunteers with the Union Army, distinguished himself as a tariff expert during his 14-year career with the United States House of Representatives, and served as governor of Ohio. As president, McKinley oversaw United States involvement in the Spanish-American War, which led to the United States annexation of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. Six months into his second term, McKinley was assassinated while standing in a receiving line at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
  • William M. McKinley for President
    Northwestern Litho. Co.
    campaign
    This is a poster promoting the reelection of President William McKinley. He was a proponent of the gold standard whereas his opponent William Jennings Bryan advocated for the policy of "free silver." The success of the economy and winning the Spanish-American War propelled him to reelection. In the poster, men from different professions are holding McKinley up. Bryan would run for president several times over the course of his career and would serve as secretary of state under President Woodrow Wilson.
  • William McKinley
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    portrait
    This portrait photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston shows President William McKinley seated at his desk in the Treaty Room. The Treaty Room, also historically called the Cabinet Room, is located in the Second Floor residence of the Executive Mansion. The desk McKinley is seated at was acquired during the Ulysses S. Grant administration and historically resides there in the room's contemporary use as the president's private study. Johnston was one of the earliest female photographers and photojournalists, and had her own studio in Washington, D.C.
  • William McKinley
    Unknown
    portrait
    This portrait photograph shows President William McKinley writing at his desk.
  • William McKinley
    Emily Drayton Taylor
    portrait
    This black and white version of an 1899 watercolor portrait by Emily Drayton Taylor is of President William McKinley. The portrait was painted on ivory at the White House. Taylor also painted President McKinley's wife, First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley, that same year in the same medium.
  • President McKinley with John Addison Porter
    Unknown
    staff
    Treaty Room
    Second Floor
    This photograph shows President William McKinley at work with his secretary, John Addison Porter, in the Cabinet Room of the White House. Porter was the first person to hold the official title of "Secretary to the President." During the William McKinley administration, the Cabinet Room was located on the Second Floor of the White House, in what would later be called the Treaty Room.
  • William McKinley
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    portrait
    This portrait photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston shows President William McKinley standing by his desk in the Treaty Room. The Treaty Room, also historically called the Cabinet Room, is located in the Second Floor residence of the Executive Mansion. The desk behind McKinley was acquired during the Ulysses S. Grant administration and historically resides there in the room's contemporary use as the president's private study. Johnston was one of the earliest female photographers and photojournalists, and had her own studio in Washington, D.C.
  • McKinley State Dinner for the Diplomatic Corps
    Thure de Thulstrup
    Head of State
    Cross Hall
    State Floor
    This illustration shows a January 17, 1900 State Dinner hosted by President William McKinley and First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley in the White House Cross Hall. Dignitaries from Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, Norway, Guatemala, Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, Denmark, Haiti, Korea, Belgium, China, Brazil, Japan, Costa Rica, Colombia, Spain, Nicaragua, France, Chile, Venezuela, Portugal, Turkey, the Argentine Republic, and the Dominican Republic were in attendance. The famous Tiffany glass screen, commissioned by Chester A. Arthur in 1882, that separated the Cross Hall from the Entrance Hall, is seen in the background.
  • Peace Protocol of the Spanish-American War
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    Treaty Room
    Second Floor
    Spanish-American War
    In this photograph taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston on August 12, 1898, Secretary of State William R. Day signs the peace protocol between Spain and America, as President William McKinley and others look on. The peace protocol suspended the fighting, but the war officially ended with the Treaty of Paris on December 10 of the that year.
  • President William McKinley Delivering His Inaugural Address
    Frances Benjamin Johnston
    inauguration
    U.S. Capitol
    In this photograph taken by Frances Benjamin Johnston on March 4, 1901, President William McKinley delivers his second Inaugural Address at the Capitol. Johnston was one of the first influential female photographers in America and became well known for her intimate photographs of the Roosevelt family, White House, and Washington society.
  • Inaugural Ball, March 4, 1897
    Unknown
    inauguration
    This is a drawing of President William McKinley's first inaugural ball which took place on March 4, 1897 in the Pension Building, now the National Building Museum, in Washington, D.C.
  • William McKinley
    Harriet A.S. Murphy
    official portrait
    This oil on canvas portrait of President William McKinley was done by Harriet A. S. Murphy. Prior to becoming president, McKinley served multiple terms in the House of Representatives and was governor of Ohio. McKinley served as president from March 4, 1897 until he was shot and died on September 14, 1901, six months into his second term. This portrait is first representation of artwork by a woman in the White House Collection.
  • Signing of the Peace Protocol Between Spain and the United States, August 12, 1898
    Théobald Chartran
    painting
    Treaty Room
    Spanish-American War
    Second Floor
    Cabinet
    signing
    This painting by Théobald Chartran was completed in 1899 and records the signing of the Peace Protocol between Spain and the United States on August 12, 1898, which officially ended the Spanish-American War. Standing at the far left, looking over the signing, is President William McKinley. Seated from left to right are Secretary of State William R. Day and, signing, French Ambassador to the United States Jules Cambon, who represented and acted on Spain's behalf. Standing behind the two men are, from left to right, First Assistant Secretary of State John Bassett Moore, Second Assistant Secretary Alvey A. Adee, Third Assistant Secretary Thomas W. Cridler, and First Secretary of the French Embassy Eugène Thiébaut. Photographs taken of the event show that more men were present in the room than depicted in the painting. The room where the signing took place was the Cabinet Room at the time and overlooks the South Lawn of the White House with the South Portico columns visible through the windows. Today the finished painting hangs in the Treaty Room of the White House. A preliminary sketch of the painting is also in the White House Collection. Chartran was a French painter and illustrator known for historical works.