Problems facing President McKiney during his term in office

When McKinley became president in 1897 he faced a growing crisis in Cuba. Questions of war and empire, however, not domestic problems dominated McKinley's term in office. In Cuba a bloody rebellion against Spain, which began in 1895, outraged many Americans who clamored for war with Spain. Using diplomacy and the threat of military intervention, McKinley secured some concessions from Spain, but when it would not give up Cuba, he led the nation into war in 1898. He …

…commander in chief of the armed forces to the fullest. Many felt that McKinley was going overboard on his issues dealing with foreign policy so much that an Anti-Imperialism league was formed to unite the opposition over McKinley's foreign policy. McKinley, who had done much to enhance the power and prestige of the presidency, was reelected in 1900, but his second term ended abruptly when he was assassinated by an anarchist, Leon Czolgosz, the next year.