The favorite son of Niles, Ohio is our topic today . . . Donald Trump has said that William McKinley was his favorite president so we spend some time explaining who McKinley was, why he became president, what he did, and what Trump’s declared affection means….
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McKinley came to power in the post-Civil War era when industrial capitalism became the national economic system and, living in Ohio, became an advocate of tariffs and “free labor.” As such he authored the McKinley Tariff in 1890, which badly harmed the American economy. McKinley also ushered in America’s move into foreign areas to create a new empire–especially in Cuba and the Philippines.
And of course we discuss the reasons that Trump may idolize McKinley, and also how Trump’s economic program is a departure from the neo-Liberal regime and a movement back toward the protectionist and imperial ways of William McKinley.
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