Learning about Politics and How it Works

The birth of the modern political campaign

The Triumph of William McKinley: Why the Election of 1896 Still Matters by Karl Rove

This is the year for politics, judging candidates, and deciding who will be the next president. Karl Rove’s newest book The Triumph of William McKinley was released in paperback just in time for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland Ohio. In this fascinating history, Rove describes how McKinley ran the first modern political campaign using newspapers, social networking, and public opinion. Wait a minute! McKinley campaigned for president in 1896, stomping and barnstorming for votes at the Republican National Convention in Chicago, then on to the White House. Today’s politicians still campaign using McKinley’s techniques.

Read about this staunch Republican, an Ohio native, a US Representative, Ohio Governor, and the last president to have served in the Civil War. He was a master at working the political machine, at networking, and currying favor across the state and later the country. McKinley stood for protectionism, for keeping import tariffs high and buying American. As a politician, he weathered the Depression of 1873 and the Panic of 1893, long years of unemployment, failed banks, and failed businesses in the midst of rising monopolies and industrialization. Sound familiar? McKinley faced many of the economic problems we face today and he campaigned successfully throughout it all.

You don’t have to be a Republican to read this book. Rove’s book is fascinating no matter your political persuasion. Election buffs will love the political wrangling, horse-trading, and maneuvering. Historians will delight in the history of political, economic, and societal issues of the United States from the end of the Civil War to the end of the century. Readers will savor the details Karl Rove provides about this Progressive Era politician who is still relevant in the 21^st century.