Mourning McKinley: Philadelphia Politics, Reform, and the William McKinley Monument

ABSTRACT Utilizing resources from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and other repositories, this article examines how Philadelphia’s political and economic leaders reacted to William McKinley’s death in September 1901 and their efforts to memorialize the slain president via the creation of the city’s William McKinley monument. Analysis of this effort of remembrance not only reveals the connection many Philadelphians had to McKinley but also shows how the effort to commemorate the President’s death became contested ground in city politics, especially related to the battle over reform at the turn of the twentieth century. In pursuing these questions, the article reveals how public art in Philadelphia can provide insights into city politics at that time, an important period of political change in Philadelphia.