William McKinley — 25th President (1897–1901)

**William McKinley** was the last Civil War veteran to serve as president and the first modern president in terms of media management, economic policy, and global power projection. He won the pivotal 1896 election on a platform of the gold standard and protective tariffs, presided over the Spanish-American War that made America an imperial power, and was assassinated in 1901 at the Pan-American Exposition.