McKinley v. Bryan: Round 2

After William McKinley's successful first term, including victory in the Spanish-American War, the Republicans re-nominated McKinley easily, this time running with NY Governor Theodore Roosevelt, who had gained fame during the war. Opposing McKinley was none other than William Jennings Bryan, setting up a rematch of the 1896 election, with the same result. Once again, Bryan and the Democrats pushed the free silver issue, and many Bryan campaign buttons from the 1900 election have silver backgrounds. The Democrats nominated Adlai Stevenson for Vice President, who had served as VP under Grover Cleveland. Bryan was also opposed to what he considered McKinley's imperialism, colonizing Cuba and the Philippines. McKinley was able to garner thousands of votes from the soldiers, and once again carried the North and Midwest, giving him an electoral college victory of 292-155, and a popular vote margin of 52% - 45%. McKinley's second term would be cut short by an assassin, Leon Czolgosz, when McKinley was attending the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, NY. The assassin shot McKinley, but the wounds were not severe enough to kill the president instantly. McKinley lingered on, but died September 14, 1901, eight days after being shot. Theodore Roosevelt became president after McKinley's assassination. McKinley's death was tragic for the nation, and he was mourned for several days. There are many campaign items from this election, and some of the most valuable and sought after buttons are from this election period. You can also find many mourning related items to McKinley's death, such as music and the black memorial pin shown are fairly common items. A few buttons in the hobby, such as the eclipse button showing both McKinley and Bryan on it, are very rare and very expensive. Also, most large size jugates showing McKinley and Roosevelt are highly sought after. Shown here are a few examples from the 1900 election, a larger 1-3/4" Bryan button, with a silver background, a McKinley/Roosevelt jugate, a memorial pin, a piece of sheet music with McKinley's favorite hymns, and a Bryan/Stevenson jugate.