McKinley portrait by Charles Whipple, 1899. William McKinley (January 29, 1843 - September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the US(1897-1901). He was the last President to have served in the American Civil War. After the war, he settled in Ohio, where he practiced law and married Ida Saxton. In 1876, he was elected to Congress, and became the Republican Party's expert on the protective tariff. He was elected Ohio's governor in 1891 and 1893. He secured the Republican nomination for president in 1896, and defeated his Democratic rival, William Jennings Bryan. Rapid economic growth marked McKinley's presidency. He promoted the 1897 Dingley Tariff to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition, and in 1900, he secured the passage of the Gold Standard Act. He hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious Cuba without conflict, but when negotiation failed, he led the nation in the Spanish-American War of 1898. He defeated Bryan again in the 1900 presidential election, in a campaign focused on imperialism, prosperity, and free silver. He was assassinated by an anarchist in September 1901, and died at the age of 58.