In 1897 the economy rapidly recovered from the severe depression , called the Panic of 1893 . McKinley 's supporters in 1900 argued that the new high tariff and the commitment to the gold standard were responsible . Historians looking at his domestic and foreign policies typically rank McKinley as an " above average " president . Historian Lewis L. Gould argues that McKinley was " the first modern president " : McKinley rose to prominence within the Republican Party as a congressman closely associated with protective tariffs . He earned national notoriety in the 1880s and 1890s for his nationwide campaigning , and in 1891 he won election as Governor of Ohio . In the lead-up to the 1896 election , McKinley and his manager , Cleveland businessman Mark Hanna , quietly built up support for a presidential bid . When rivals Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed and Senator William B. Allison sent agents outside their states to organize support for their candidacies , they found that McKinley agents had preceded them . By the time the 1896 Republican National Convention began in St. Louis in June , McKinley had an ample majority of delegates , and he won the nomination on the first ballot of the convention . Hanna selected Republican National Committee vice chairman Garret Hobart of New Jersey for vice president . Hobart , a wealthy lawyer , businessman , and former state legislator , was not widely known , but as Hanna biographer Herbert Croly pointed out , " if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it "
1896 Republican National Convention
1896 Republican National Convention
Presidency of William McKinley