Distribution of votes in the 1900 US presidential election

In 1900, the United States Presidential election saw a rematch of the previous election, with incumbent President William McKinley of the Republican Party competing with the Democratic Party's William Jennings Bryan. Neither candidate faced significant competition within their own parties, however future President Theodore Roosevelt was chosen to replace the deceased Vice President Garret Hobart.

Results

The end of the economic depression and victory in the Spanish-American war helped McKinley attain re-election, carrying 28 out of 45 states. McKinley took 52 percent of the popular vote and 65 percent of the electoral votes, compared to Bryan's respective 46 and 35 percent. Most of the leftover popular votes went to John G. Woolley of the Prohibition Party. Much of McKinley's success has been attributed to Roosevelt's name accompanying him on the ticket. Roosevelt famously made 480 stops in 23 states on the campaign trail, and he was able to argue against Bryan's criticisms of the US annexation of the Philippines, and ensure that the general public continued to approve of the war. Roosevelt's personality and energy also matched that of Bryan, and when combined with the strong economic performance of the US economy during McKinley's first term, the victory was a comfortable one for the Republican Party.

Assassination of William McKinley

Six months into his second term as president, William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz, who was presumably inspired by the actions of anarchists in Europe at the time. On September 6th 1901, as McKinley was meeting members of the public in Buffalo (one day later than Czolgosz's original plan), he was shot twice in the stomach by his assassin. The attack was not immediately fatal, and McKinley was able to order the crowd to stop attacking Czolgosz, presumably saving his assailant's life in the process. The President was then rushed to hospital, and despite his condition improving over the coming week, one of the bullets lodged in his abdomen was never located, and infection then spread through his body. On September 13th 1901, President McKinley passed away, and Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26th President of the United States. Czolgosz was later tried and given the death penalty, and was executed by electric chair within two months of assassinating the president. Historians disagree on how McKinley's legacy should be viewed, as he was quickly overshadowed by Theodore Roosevelt, and the political upheavals during his tenure make it difficult to establish how influential he was individually.