[176]

Civil rights
McKinley, (right of center) flanked by Georgia Governor Allen D. Candler (front row to McKinley's right) and Gen. William Rufus Shafter, reviewing the Atlanta Peace Jubilee parade, December 15, 1898
In the wake of McKinley's election in 1896, black people were hopeful of progress towards equality. McKinley had spoken out against lynching while governor, and most black people who could still vote supported him in 1896. McKinley's priority, however, was in ending sectionalism, and they were disappointed by his policies and appointments. Although McKinley made some appointments of black people to low-level government posts, and received some praise for that, the appointments were less than they had received under previous Republican administrations.[177]
The McKinley administration's response to racial violence was minimal, causing him to lose black support.[177] When black postmasters at Hogansville, Georgia, in 1897, and at Lake City, South Carolina, the following year, were assaulted, McKinley issued no statement of condemnation. Although black leaders criticized McKinley for inaction, supporters responded by saying there was little that the president could do to intervene. Critics replied by saying that he could at least publicly condemn such events, as Harrison had done.