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William McKinley
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# William McKinley
*Revision ID: 1157530731 | Timestamp: 2023-05-29T07:38:04Z*
---
* Theodore Roosevelt(Mar–Sep. 1901)
}}
| term_start = March 4, 1897
| term_end = September 14, 1901
| predecessor = [Cleveland](Grover)(Grover Cleveland)
| successor = [Roosevelt](Theodore)(Theodore Roosevelt)
| order1 = 39th [of Ohio](Governor)(Governor of Ohio)
| lieutenant1 = [L. Harris](Andrew)(Andrew L. Harris)
| term_start1 = January 11, 1892
| term_end1 = January 13, 1896
| predecessor1 = [E. Campbell](James)(James E. Campbell)
| successor1 = [S. Bushnell](Asa)(Asa S. Bushnell)
| office2 = Chair of the[Ways and Means Committee](House)(United States House Committee on Ways and Means)
| term_start2 = March 4, 1889
| term_end2 = March 3, 1891
| predecessor2 = [Q. Mills](Roger)(Roger Q. Mills)
| successor2 = [M. Springer](William)(William M. Springer)
| office3 = Member of the[House of Representatives](U.S.)(United States House of Representatives)from [Ohio](Ohio)
| term_start4 = March 4, 1877
| term_end4 = May 27, 1884
| predecessor4 = [D. Woodworth](Laurin)(Laurin D. Woodworth)
| successor4 = [H. Wallace](Jonathan)(Jonathan H. Wallace)
| constituency4 = (1877–1879)| (1879–1881)| (1881–1883)| (1883–1884)}}
| term_start3 = March 4, 1885
| term_end3 = March 3, 1891
| predecessor3 = [R. Paige](David)(David R. Paige)
| successor3 = [D. Taylor](Joseph)(Joseph D. Taylor)
| constituency3 = (1885–1887)| (1887–1891)}}
| birth_name = William McKinley Jr.
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [Ohio](Niles,)(Niles, Ohio), U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place = [New York](Buffalo,)(Buffalo, New York), U.S.
| death_cause = [Assassination](Assassination of William McKinley) (Gangrene due to infection in gunshot wound)
| resting_place = [National Memorial](McKinley)(McKinley National Memorial),[Ohio](Canton,)(Canton, Ohio)
| party = [Party](Republican)(Republican Party (United States))
| father = [McKinley Sr.](William)(William McKinley Sr.)
| mother =
| spouse =
| children = 2
| education =
| profession =
| signature = William McKinley Signature-full.svg
| signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink
| allegiance =
| branch = U.S. Army ([Army](Union)(Union Army))
| serviceyears = 1861–1865
| rank = [Brevet](Brevet (military)) [Major](Major (United States))
| unit = [Ohio Infantry](23rd)(23rd Ohio Infantry)
| battles = [Civil War](American)(American Civil War)
| caption = McKinley
| module =
}}
**William McKinley** (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th [of the United States](president)(president of the United States), serving from 1897 until [assassination in 1901](his)(Assassination of William McKinley). As a politician he led a realignment that made his [Party](Republican)(History of the Republican Party (United States)) largely dominant in the industrial states and nationwide until the 1930s. He presided over victory in the [War](Spanish–American)(Spanish–American War) of 1898; gained control of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Cuba; restored prosperity after a deep depression; rejected the inflationary [policy](monetary)(monetary policy) of [silver](free)(free silver), keeping the nation on the [standard](gold)(gold standard); and raised [tariff](protective)(protective tariff)s to boost American industry and keep wages high.
A Republican, McKinley was the last president to have served in the [Civil War](American)(American Civil War); he was the only one to begin his service as an [man](enlisted)(enlisted soldier), and end as a [brevet](brevet (military)) major. After the war, he settled in [Ohio](Canton,)(Canton, Ohio), where he practiced law and married [Saxton](Ida)(Ida Saxton). In 1876, McKinley was elected to Congress, where he became the Republican expert on the protective tariff, which he promised would bring prosperity. His 1890 [Tariff](McKinley)(McKinley Tariff) was highly controversial and, together with a [Democratic](History of the Democratic Party (United States)) redistricting aimed at [gerrymandering](gerrymandering) him out of office, led to his defeat in the [landslide of 1890](Democratic)(1890 United States House of Representatives elections). He was elected [of Ohio](governor)(governor of Ohio) in 1891 and 1893, steering a moderate course between capital and labor interests. With the aid of his close adviser [Hanna](Mark)(Mark Hanna), he [the Republican nomination for president in 1896](secured)(William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign) amid a deep economic depression. He defeated his Democratic rival [Jennings Bryan](William)(William Jennings Bryan) after a [porch campaign](front)(front porch campaign) in which he advocated "[money](sound)(sound money)" (the gold standard unless altered by international agreement) and promised that high tariffs would restore prosperity.
Rapid economic growth marked McKinley's presidency. He promoted the 1897 [Tariff](Dingley)(Dingley Tariff) to protect manufacturers and factory workers from foreign competition and in 1900 secured the passage of the [Standard Act](Gold)(Gold Standard Act). He hoped to persuade Spain to grant independence to rebellious [Cuba](Captaincy General of Cuba) without conflict, but when negotiation failed, requested and signed Congress's declaration of war to begin the Spanish-American War of 1898. The United States victory was quick and decisive. As part of [peace settlement](the)(Treaty of Paris (1898)), Spain turned over to the United States its main overseas colonies of [Rico](Puerto)(Puerto Rico), [Guam](Guam) and the [Philippines](United States Military Government of the Philippine Islands) while [Cuba](United States Military Government in Cuba) was promised independence, but at that time remained under the control of the United States Army. The United States [annexed](Annexation of Hawaii) the independent [of Hawaii](Republic)(Republic of Hawaii) in 1898 and it became a [States territory](United)(Territory of Hawaii).
Historians regard McKinley's 1896 victory as a [election](realigning)(realigning election) in which [political stalemate](the)(Third Party System) of the post-Civil War era gave way to the Republican-dominated [Party System](Fourth)(Fourth Party System), beginning with the [Era](Progressive)(Progressive Era). McKinley defeated Bryan again in the [presidential election](1900)(1900 United States presidential election) in a campaign focused on [imperialism](American imperialism), [protectionism](protectionism), and free silver. His achievements were cut short when he was fatally shot on September 6, 1901, by [Czolgosz](Leon)(Leon Czolgosz), an [anarchist](Anarchism). McKinley died eight days later and was succeeded by Vice President [Roosevelt](Theodore)(Theodore Roosevelt). As an innovator of American [interventionism](Interventionism (politics)) and pro-business sentiment, McKinley is [ranked as an above-average president](generally)(Historical rankings of presidents of the United States), although his take-over of the Philippines is often criticized as an act of imperialism. His popularity was soon overshadowed by Roosevelt's.
## Early life and family
[[boy.png|left|thumb|upright|McKinley, aged 15](File:McKinley)]
William McKinley Jr. was born in 1843 in [Ohio](Niles,)(Niles, Ohio), the seventh of nine children of [McKinley Sr.](William)(William McKinley Sr.) and Nancy (née Allison) McKinley. The McKinleys were of [English](English Americans) and [Scots-Irish](Scotch-Irish Americans) descent and had settled in western Pennsylvania in the 18th century. Their immigrant ancestor was David McKinley, born in [Dervock](Dervock), County Antrim, in present-day [Ireland](Northern)(Northern Ireland). William McKinley Sr. was born in Pennsylvania, in [Township, Mercer County](Pine)(Pine Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania).
The family moved to Ohio when the senior McKinley was a boy, settling in [Lisbon](New)(Lisbon, Ohio) (now Lisbon). He met Nancy Allison there and they later married. The Allison family was of mostly English descent and among Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. The family trade on both sides was iron-making. McKinley senior operated [foundries](Foundry) throughout Ohio, in New Lisbon, Niles, [Poland](Poland, Ohio), and finally [Canton](Canton, Ohio). The McKinley household was, like many from Ohio's [Reserve](Western)(Connecticut Western Reserve), steeped in [Whiggish](Whig Party (United States)) and [abolitionist](Abolitionism in the United States) sentiment, the latter based on the family's staunch [Methodist](Methodist Episcopal Church) beliefs.
The younger William also followed in the Methodist tradition, becoming active in [local Methodist church](the)(First Methodist Episcopal Church (Canton, Ohio)) at the age of sixteen. He was a lifelong pious Methodist.
In 1852, the family moved from Niles to Poland, Ohio, so that their children could attend its better schools. Graduating from [Seminary](Poland)(Poland Seminary) in 1859, McKinley enrolled the following year at [College](Allegheny)(Allegheny College) in [Pennsylvania](Meadville,)(Meadville, Pennsylvania). He was an honorary member of the [Alpha Epsilon](Sigma)(Sigma Alpha Epsilon) fraternity. He remained at Allegheny for one year, returning home in 1860 after becoming ill and depressed. He also studied at [Union College](Mount)(Mount Union College) in [Ohio](Alliance,)(Alliance, Ohio), as a board member. Although his health recovered, family finances declined and McKinley was unable to return to Allegheny. He began working as a postal clerk and later took a job teaching at a school near Poland, Ohio.
## Civil War
### Western Virginia and Antietam
[[File:General Hayes.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[B. Hayes](Rutherford)(Rutherford B. Hayes) was McKinley's mentor during and after the Civil War.]]
When the Confederate states seceded and the American Civil War began in 1861, thousands of men in Ohio volunteered for service. Among them were McKinley and his cousin William McKinley Osbourne, who enlisted as privates in the newly formed Poland Guards in June 1861. The men left for [Columbus](Columbus, Ohio) where they were consolidated with other small units to form the [Ohio Infantry](23rd)(23rd Ohio Infantry).
The men were unhappy to learn that, unlike Ohio's earlier volunteer regiments, they would not be permitted to elect their officers; these would be designated by Ohio's governor, [Dennison](William)(William Dennison Jr.). Dennison appointed Colonel [Rosecrans](William)(William Rosecrans) as the commander of the regiment, and the men began training on the outskirts of Columbus. McKinley quickly took to the soldier's life: he wrote a series of letters to his hometown newspaper extolling [army](the)(Union Army) and the [cause](Union)(Union (American Civil War)). Delays in issuance of uniforms and weapons again brought the men into conflict with their officers, but [Major](Major (United States)) [B. Hayes](Rutherford)(Rutherford B. Hayes) convinced them to accept what the government had issued them; his style in dealing with the men impressed McKinley, beginning an association and friendship that would last until Hayes's death in 1893.
After a month of training, McKinley and the 23rd Ohio, now led by Colonel [P. Scammon](Eliakim)(Eliakim P. Scammon), set out for western Virginia (today part of West Virginia) in July 1861 as a part of the [Division](Kanawha)(Kanawha Division). McKinley initially thought Scammon was a [martinet](martinet), but when the regiment entered battle, he came to appreciate the value of their relentless drilling. Their first contact with the enemy came in September when they drove back Confederate troops at [Ferry](Carnifex)(Battle of Carnifex Ferry) in present-day West Virginia. Three days after the battle, McKinley was assigned to duty in the [brigade](brigade) [quartermaster](Quartermaster Corps (United States Army)) office, where he worked both to supply his regiment, and as a clerk. In November, the regiment established winter quarters near [Fayetteville](Fayetteville, West Virginia) (today in West Virginia). McKinley spent the winter substituting for a commissary [sergeant](sergeant) who was ill, and in April 1862 he was promoted to that rank. The regiment resumed its advance that spring with Hayes in command (Scammon led the brigade) and fought several minor engagements against the rebel forces.
That September, McKinley's regiment was called east to reinforce General [Pope](John)(John Pope (military officer))'s [of Virginia](Army)(Army of Virginia) at the [Battle of Bull Run](Second)(Second Battle of Bull Run). Delayed in passing through Washington, D.C., the 23rd Ohio did not arrive in time for the battle but joined the [of the Potomac](Army)(Army of the Potomac) as it hurried north to cut off Robert E. Lee's [of Northern Virginia](Army)(Army of Northern Virginia) as it advanced into Maryland. The 23rd was the first regiment to encounter the Confederates at the [of South Mountain](Battle)(Battle of South Mountain) on September 14. After severe losses, Union forces drove back the Confederates and continued to [Sharpsburg](Sharpsburg, Maryland), Maryland, where they engaged Lee's army at the [of Antietam](Battle)(Battle of Antietam), one of the bloodiest battles of the war. The 23rd was in the thick of the fighting at Antietam, and McKinley came under heavy fire when bringing rations to the men on the line. McKinley's regiment suffered many casualties, but the Army of the Potomac was victorious and the Confederates retreated into Virginia. McKinley's regiment was detached from the Army of the Potomac and returned by train to western Virginia.
### Shenandoah Valley and promotion
[[File:McKinleyBrady 1865.png|thumb|upright|McKinley in 1865, just after the war, photograph by [Brady](Mathew)(Mathew Brady)]]
While the regiment went into winter quarters near [Virginia](Charleston,)(Charleston, West Virginia) (present-day West Virginia), McKinley was ordered back to Ohio with some other sergeants to recruit fresh troops. When they arrived in Columbus, Governor [Tod](David)(David Tod) surprised McKinley with a commission as [lieutenant](second)(second lieutenant) in recognition of his service at Antietam. McKinley and his comrades saw little action until July 1863, when the division skirmished with [Hunt Morgan](John)(John Hunt Morgan)'s cavalry at the [of Buffington Island](Battle)(Battle of Buffington Island). Early in 1864, the Army command structure in West Virginia was reorganized, and the division was assigned to [Crook](George)(George Crook)'s [of West Virginia](Army)(Army of West Virginia). They soon resumed the offensive, marching into southwestern Virginia to destroy salt and lead mines used by the enemy. On May 9, the army engaged Confederate troops at [Mountain](Cloyd's)(Battle of Cloyd's Mountain), where the men charged the enemy entrenchments and drove the rebels from the field. McKinley later said the combat there was "as desperate as any witnessed during the war". Following the rout, the Union forces destroyed Confederate supplies and skirmished with the enemy again successfully.
McKinley and his regiment moved to the [Valley](Shenandoah)(Shenandoah Valley) as the armies broke from winter quarters to [hostilities](resume)(Valley Campaigns of 1864). Crook's corps was attached to [General](Major)(Major general (United States)) [Hunter](David)(David Hunter)'s [of the Shenandoah](Army)(Union Army of the Shenandoah) and soon back in contact with Confederate forces, capturing [Virginia](Lexington,)(Lexington, Virginia), on June 11. They continued south toward [Lynchburg](Lynchburg, Virginia), tearing up railroad track as they advanced. Hunter believed the troops at Lynchburg were too powerful, however, and the brigade returned to West Virginia. Before the army could make another attempt, Confederate General [Early](Jubal)(Jubal Early)'s raid into Maryland forced their recall to the north.
Early's army surprised them at [Kernstown](Second Battle of Kernstown) on July 24, where McKinley came under heavy fire and the army was defeated. Retreating into Maryland, the army was reorganized again: Major General [Sheridan](Philip)(Philip Sheridan) replaced Hunter, and McKinley, who had been promoted to [captain](Captain (United States O-3)) after the battle, was transferred to General Crook's staff. By August, Early was retreating south in the valley, with Sheridan's army in pursuit. They fended off a Confederate assault at [Berryville](Battle of Berryville), where McKinley had a horse shot out from under him, and advanced to [Creek](Opequon)(Battle of Opequon), where they broke the enemy lines and pursued them farther south. They followed up the victory with another at [Hill](Fisher's)(Battle of Fisher's Hill) on September 22 and were engaged once more at [Creek](Cedar)(Battle of Cedar Creek) on October 19. After initially falling back from the Confederate advance, McKinley helped to rally the troops and turn the tide of the battle.
After Cedar Creek, the army stayed in the vicinity through election day, when McKinley cast his first presidential ballot, for the incumbent Republican, [Lincoln](Abraham)(Abraham Lincoln). The next day, they moved north up the valley into winter quarters near Kernstown. In February 1865, Crook was captured by Confederate raiders. Crook's capture added to the confusion as the army was reorganized for the spring campaign, and McKinley served on the staffs of four different generals over the next fifteen days—Crook, [D. Stevenson](John)(John Dunlap Stevenson), [S. Carroll](Samuel)(Samuel S. Carroll), and [S. Hancock](Winfield)(Winfield Scott Hancock). Finally assigned to Carroll's staff again, McKinley acted as the general's first and only [adjutant](adjutant).
Lee and his army [surrendered](Battle of Appomattox Court House#Surrender) to [General](Lieutenant general (United States)) [S. Grant](Ulysses)(Ulysses S. Grant) a few days later, effectively ending the war. McKinley joined a [Freemason](Freemasonry) lodge (later renamed after him) in [Virginia](Winchester,)(Winchester, Virginia), before he and Carroll were transferred to Hancock's First Veterans Corps in Washington. Just before the war's end, McKinley received his final promotion, a [brevet](Brevet (military)) commission as major. In July, the Veterans Corps was mustered out of service, and McKinley and Carroll were relieved of their duties. Carroll and Hancock encouraged McKinley to apply for a place in the peacetime army, but he declined and returned to Ohio the following month.
McKinley, along with Samuel M. Taylor and James C. Howe, co-authored and published a twelve-volume work, *Official Roster of the Soldiers of the State of Ohio in the War of the Rebellion, 1861–1866*, published in 1886.[Taylor, Howe, 1886](McKinley,)(#roster)
## Legal career and marriage
[[Saxton McKinley](File:ISMcKinley.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Ida)]
[[McKinley.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Katherine McKinley](File:Katherine)]
After the war ended in 1865, McKinley decided on a career in the law and began [studying](Reading law) in the office of an attorney in [Ohio](Poland,)(Poland, Ohio). The following year, he continued his studies by attending [Law School](Albany)(Albany Law School) in New York state. After studying there for less than a year, McKinley returned home and was admitted to the [bar](Bar (law)) in [Ohio](Warren,)(Warren, Ohio), in March 1867.
That same year, he moved to Canton, the county seat of [County](Stark)(Stark County, Ohio), and set up a small office. He soon formed a partnership with George W. Belden, an experienced lawyer and former judge. His practice was successful enough for him to buy a block of buildings on Main Street in Canton, which provided him with a small but consistent rental income for decades to come.
When his Army friend Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated for governor in 1867, McKinley made speeches on his behalf in Stark County, his first foray into politics. The county was closely divided between [Democrats](Democratic Party (United States)) and [Republicans](Republican Party (United States)), but Hayes carried it that year in his statewide victory. In 1869, McKinley ran for the office of [attorney](prosecuting)(District attorney) of Stark County, an office that had historically been held by Democrats, and was unexpectedly elected. When McKinley ran for re-election in 1871, the Democrats nominated [A. Lynch](William)(William A. Lynch), a prominent local lawyer, and McKinley was defeated by 143 votes.
As McKinley's professional career progressed, so too did his social life blossom: he wooed [Saxton](Ida)(Ida Saxton McKinley), the daughter of a prominent Canton family. They were married on January 25, 1871, in the newly built First Presbyterian Church of Canton. Ida soon joined her husband's Methodist church. Their first child, Katherine, was born on Christmas Day 1871. A second daughter, Ida, followed in 1873 but died the same year. McKinley's wife descended into a deep depression at her baby's death and her health, never robust, declined. Two years later, Katherine died of [fever](typhoid)(typhoid fever). Ida never recovered from her daughters' deaths, and the McKinleys had no more children. Ida McKinley developed [epilepsy](epilepsy) around the same time and depended strongly on her husband's presence. He remained a devoted husband and tended to his wife's medical and emotional needs for the rest of his life.
Ida insisted that her husband continue his increasingly successful career in law and politics. He attended the state Republican convention that nominated Hayes for a third term as governor in 1875, and campaigned again for his old friend in the election that fall. The next year, McKinley undertook a high-profile case defending a [of striking coal miners](group)(Coal miners' strike of 1873#Aftermath), who were arrested for rioting after a clash with [strikebreaker](strikebreaker)s. Lynch, McKinley's opponent in the 1871 election, and his partner, [R. Day](William)(William R. Day), were the opposing counsel, and the mine owners included [Hanna](Mark)(Mark Hanna), a [Cleveland](Cleveland) businessman. Taking the case *[bono](pro)(pro bono),* McKinley
was successful in getting all but one of the miners acquitted. The case raised McKinley's standing among laborers, a crucial part of the Stark County electorate, and also introduced him to Hanna, who would become his strongest backer in years to come.
McKinley's good standing with labor became useful that year as he campaigned for the Republican nomination for [17th congressional district](Ohio's)(Ohio's 17th congressional district). Delegates to the county conventions thought he could attract [blue-collar](Blue-collar worker) voters, and in August 1876, McKinley was nominated. By that time, Hayes had been nominated for president, and McKinley campaigned for him while running his own congressional campaign. Both were successful. McKinley, campaigning mostly on his support for a [tariff](protective)(Tariff), defeated the Democratic nominee, [L. Lamborn](Levi)(Levi L. Lamborn), by 3,300 votes. Hayes won [hotly disputed election](a)(1876 United States presidential election) to reach the presidency. McKinley's victory came at a personal cost: his income as a congressman would be half of what he earned as a lawyer.
## Rising politician (1877–1895)
### Spokesman for protection
McKinley took his congressional seat in October 1877, when President Hayes summoned Congress into special session. With the Republicans in the minority, McKinley was given unimportant committee assignments, which he undertook conscientiously. McKinley's friendship with Hayes did McKinley little good on [Hill](Capitol)(Capitol Hill), as the president was not well regarded by many leaders there. The young congressman broke with Hayes on the question of the currency, but it did not affect their friendship. The United States had effectively been placed on the [standard](gold)(gold standard) by the [Act of 1873](Coinage)(Coinage Act of 1873); when silver prices dropped significantly, many sought to make silver again a legal tender, equally with gold. Such a course would be inflationary, but advocates argued that the economic benefits of the increased [supply](money)(money supply) would be worth the inflation; opponents warned that "[silver](free)(free silver)" would not bring the promised benefits and would harm the United States in international trade. McKinley voted for the [Act](Bland–Allison)(Bland–Allison Act) of 1878, which mandated large government purchases of silver for striking into money, and also joined the large majorities in each house that overrode Hayes's veto of the legislation. In so doing, McKinley voted against the position of the House Republican leader, [Garfield](James)(James Garfield), a fellow Ohioan and his friend.
[[McKinley](File:Mckin.jpg|thumb|Representative)]
From his first term in Congress, McKinley was a strong advocate of protective tariffs. The primary purposes of such imposts was not to raise revenue, but to allow American manufacturing to develop by giving it a price advantage in the domestic market over foreign competitors. McKinley biographer [Leech](Margaret)(Margaret Leech) noted that Canton had become prosperous as a center for the manufacture of farm equipment because of [protection](protectionism), and that this may have helped form his political views. McKinley introduced and supported bills that raised protective tariffs, and opposed those that lowered them or imposed tariffs simply to raise revenue. Garfield's election as president in 1880 created a vacancy on the [Ways and Means Committee](House)(House Ways and Means Committee); McKinley was selected to fill it, gaining a spot on the most powerful committee after only two terms.
McKinley increasingly became a significant figure in national politics. In 1880, he served a brief term as Ohio's representative on the [National Committee](Republican)(Republican National Committee). In 1884, he was elected a delegate to [year's Republican convention](that)(1884 Republican National Convention), where he served as chair of the Committee on Resolutions and won plaudits for his handling of the convention when called upon to preside. By 1886, McKinley, Senator [Sherman](John)(John Sherman), and Governor [B. Foraker](Joseph)(Joseph B. Foraker) were considered the leaders of the Republican party in Ohio. Sherman, who had helped to found the Republican Party, ran three times for the Republican nomination for president in the 1880s, each time failing, while Foraker began a meteoric rise in Ohio politics early in the decade. Hanna, once he entered public affairs as a political manager and generous contributor, supported Sherman's ambitions, as well as those of Foraker. The latter relationship broke off at the [Republican National Convention](1888)(1888 Republican National Convention), where McKinley, Foraker, and Hanna were all delegates supporting Sherman. Convinced Sherman could not win, Foraker threw his support to [Maine](Maine) Senator [G. Blaine](James)(James G. Blaine), the unsuccessful Republican 1884 presidential nominee. When Blaine said he was not a candidate, Foraker returned to Sherman, but the nomination went to former [Indiana](Indiana) senator [Harrison](Benjamin)(Benjamin Harrison), who was elected president. In the bitterness that followed the convention, Hanna abandoned Foraker. For the rest of McKinley's life, the Ohio Republican Party was divided into two factions, one aligned with McKinley, Sherman, and Hanna, and the other with Foraker. Hanna came to admire McKinley and became a friend and close adviser to him. Although Hanna remained active in business and in promoting other Republicans, in the years after 1888, he spent an increasing amount of time boosting McKinley's political career.
In 1889, with the Republicans in the majority, McKinley sought election as [of the House](Speaker)(Speaker of the United States House of Representatives). He failed to gain the post, which went to [B. Reed](Thomas)(Thomas Brackett Reed) of [Maine](Maine); however, Speaker Reed appointed McKinley chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. The Ohioan guided the [Tariff](McKinley)(McKinley Tariff) of 1890 through Congress; although McKinley's work was altered through the influence of special interests in the Senate, it imposed a number of protective tariffs on foreign goods.
### Gerrymandering and defeat for re-election
Recognizing McKinley's potential, the Democrats, whenever they controlled the Ohio legislature, sought to [gerrymander](Gerrymandering) or redistrict him out of office. In 1878, McKinley was redistricted to the [congressional district](16th)(Ohio's 16th congressional district); he won anyway, causing Hayes to exult, "Oh, the good luck of McKinley! He was gerrymandered out and then beat the gerrymander! We enjoyed it as much as he did." After the 1882 election, McKinley was unseated on an election contest by a near party-line House vote. Out of office, he was briefly depressed by the setback, but soon vowed to run again. The Democrats again redistricted Stark County for the 1884 election; McKinley was returned to Congress anyway.
[[File:Judge cover September 1890 - On to Ohio.png|thumb|*[Judge](Judge (magazine))* magazine cover from September 1890, showing McKinley (left) having helped dispatch Speaker Reed's opponent in early-voting Maine, hurrying off with the victor to McKinley's "[jerrymandered](gerrymander)" Ohio district]]
For 1890, the Democrats gerrymandered McKinley one final time, placing Stark County in the same district as one of the strongest pro-Democrat counties, [Holmes](Holmes County, Ohio), populated by solidly Democratic [Dutch](Pennsylvania)(Pennsylvania Dutch). Based on past results, Democrats thought the new boundaries should produce a Democratic majority of 2,000 to 3,000. The Republicans could not reverse the gerrymander, as legislative elections would not be held until 1891, but they could throw all their energies into the district. The McKinley Tariff was a main theme of the Democratic campaign nationwide, and there was considerable attention paid to McKinley's race. The Republican Party sent its leading orators to Canton, including Blaine (then [of State](Secretary)(United States Secretary of State)), Speaker Reed, and President Harrison. The Democrats countered with their best spokesmen on tariff issues. McKinley tirelessly stumped his new district, reaching out to its 40,000 voters to explain that his tariff
}}
Democrats ran a strong candidate in former lieutenant governor [G. Warwick](John)(John G. Warwick). To drive their point home, they hired young partisans to pretend to be peddlers, who went door to door offering 25-cent tinware to housewives for 50 cents, explaining the rise in prices was due to the McKinley Tariff. In the end, McKinley lost by 300 votes, but the Republicans won a statewide majority and claimed a moral victory.
### Governor of Ohio (1892–1896)
Even before McKinley completed his term in Congress, he met with a delegation of Ohioans urging him to run for governor. Governor [E. Campbell](James)(James E. Campbell), a Democrat, who had defeated [Foraker](Joseph B. Foraker) in 1889, was to seek re-election in 1891. The Ohio Republican party remained divided, but McKinley quietly arranged for Foraker to nominate him at the 1891 state Republican convention, which chose McKinley by acclamation. The former congressman spent much of the second half of 1891 campaigning against Campbell, beginning in his birthplace of Niles. Hanna, however, was little seen in the campaign; he spent much of his time raising funds for the election of legislators pledged to vote for Sherman in the 1892 senatorial election. (State legislators still elected US Senators.) McKinley won the 1891 election by some 20,000 votes; the following January, Sherman, with considerable assistance from Hanna, turned back a challenge by Foraker to win the legislature's vote for another term in the US Senate.
[[File:Blaine breaks out.png|right|thumb|Even after his final run for president in 1884, [G. Blaine](James)(James G. Blaine) was still seen as a possible candidate for the Republican nomination. In this 1890 *Puck* cartoon, he is startling Reed and McKinley (right) as they make their plans for 1892.]]
Ohio's governor had relatively little power—for example, he could recommend legislation, but not veto it—but with Ohio a key [state](swing)(swing state), its governor was a major figure in national politics. Although McKinley believed that the health of the nation depended on that of business, he was evenhanded in dealing with labor. He procured legislation that set up an arbitration board to settle work disputes and obtained passage of a law that fined employers who fired workers for belonging to a union.
[Harrison](President)(Benjamin Harrison) had proven unpopular; there were divisions even within the Republican party as the year 1892 began and Harrison began his re-election drive. Although no declared Republican candidate opposed Harrison, many Republicans were ready to dump the president from the ticket if an alternative emerged. Among the possible candidates spoken of were McKinley, Reed, and the aging Blaine. Fearing that the Ohio governor would emerge as a candidate, Harrison's managers arranged for McKinley to be permanent chairman of [convention](the)(1892 Republican National Convention) in [Minneapolis](Minneapolis), requiring him to play a public, neutral role. Hanna established an unofficial McKinley headquarters near the convention hall, though no active effort was made to convert delegates to McKinley's cause. McKinley objected to delegate votes being cast for him; nevertheless he finished second, behind the renominated Harrison, but ahead of Blaine, who had sent word he did not want to be considered. Although McKinley campaigned loyally for the Republican ticket, Harrison was defeated by former President Cleveland in [November election](the)(1892 United States presidential election). In the wake of Cleveland's victory, McKinley was seen by some as the likely Republican candidate in 1896.
Soon after Cleveland's return to office, hard times struck the nation with the [of 1893](Panic)(Panic of 1893). A businessman in [Youngstown](Youngstown, Ohio), Robert Walker, had lent money to McKinley in their younger days; in gratitude, McKinley had often guaranteed Walker's borrowings for his business. The governor had never kept track of what he was signing; he believed Walker a sound businessman. In fact, Walker had deceived McKinley, telling him that new notes were actually renewals of matured ones. Walker was ruined by the recession; McKinley was called upon for repayment in February 1893. The total owed was over $100,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) and a despairing McKinley initially proposed to resign as governor and earn the money as an attorney. Instead, McKinley's wealthy supporters, including Hanna and Chicago publisher [H. Kohlsaat](H.)(H. H. Kohlsaat), became trustees of a fund from which the notes would be paid. Both William and Ida McKinley placed their property in the hands of the fund's trustees (who included Hanna and Kohlsaat), and the supporters raised and contributed a substantial sum of money. All of the couple's property was returned to them by the end of 1893, and when McKinley, who had promised eventual repayment, asked for the list of contributors, it was refused him. Many people who had suffered in the hard times sympathized with McKinley, whose popularity grew. He was easily re-elected in November 1893, receiving the largest percentage of the vote of any Ohio governor since the Civil War.
McKinley campaigned widely for Republicans in the 1894 midterm congressional elections; many party candidates in districts where he spoke were successful. His political efforts in Ohio were rewarded with the election in November 1895 of a Republican successor as governor, [Bushnell](Asa)(Asa S. Bushnell (Governor)), and a Republican legislature that elected Foraker to the Senate. McKinley supported Foraker for the Senate and Bushnell (who was of Foraker's faction) for governor; in return, the new senator-elect agreed to back McKinley's presidential ambitions. With party peace in Ohio assured, McKinley turned to the national arena.
## Election of 1896
### Obtaining the nomination
[[File:Mark Hanna by WJ Root, 1896 cropped.jpg|thumb|upright|McKinley's close friend and adviser, [Hanna](Mark)(Mark Hanna)]]
It is unclear when William McKinley began to seriously prepare a run for president. As McKinley biographer [Phillips](Kevin)(Kevin Phillips (political commentator)) notes, "No documents, no diaries, no confidential letters to Mark Hanna (or anyone else) contain his secret hopes or veiled stratagems." From the beginning, McKinley's preparations had the participation of Hanna, whose biographer William T. Horner noted, "What is certainly true is that in 1888 the two men began to develop a close working relationship that helped put McKinley in the White House." Sherman did not run for president again after 1888, and so Hanna could support McKinley's ambitions for that office wholeheartedly.
Backed by Hanna's money and organizational skills, McKinley quietly built support for a presidential bid through 1895 and early 1896. When other contenders such as Speaker Reed and [Iowa](Iowa) Senator [B. Allison](William)(William B. Allison) sent agents outside their states to organize Republicans in support of their candidacies, they found that Hanna's agents had preceded them. According to historian Stanley Jones in his study of the 1896 election,
}}
Hanna, on McKinley's behalf, met with the eastern Republican [boss](political)(political boss)es, such as Senators [Platt](Thomas)(Thomas C. Platt) of New York and [Quay](Matthew)(Matthew Quay) of Pennsylvania, who were willing to guarantee McKinley's nomination in exchange for promises regarding patronage and offices. McKinley, however, was determined to obtain the nomination without making deals, and Hanna accepted that decision. Many of their early efforts were focused on the South; Hanna obtained a vacation home in southern Georgia where McKinley visited and met with Republican politicians from the region. McKinley needed 453½ delegate votes to gain the nomination; he gained nearly half that number from the South and [states](border)(border states (American Civil War)). Platt lamented in his memoirs, "[Hanna] had the South practically solid before some of us awakened."
[[File:Coronation of McKinley.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.35|[Dalrymple](Louis)(Louis Dalrymple) cartoon from [magazine](*Puck*)(Puck (magazine)), June 24, 1896, showing McKinley about to crown himself with the Republican nomination. The "priests" are Hanna (in green) and Representative [H. Grosvenor](Charles)(Charles H. Grosvenor) (red); [H. Kohlsaat](H.)(H. H. Kohlsaat) is the page holding the robe.]]
The bosses still hoped to deny McKinley a first-ballot majority at [convention](the)(1896 Republican National Convention) by boosting support for local [son](favorite)(favorite son) candidates such as Quay, New York Governor (and former vice president) [P. Morton](Levi)(Levi P. Morton), and Illinois Senator [Cullom](Shelby)(Shelby Cullom). Delegate-rich Illinois proved a crucial battleground, as McKinley supporters, such as Chicago businessman (and future vice president) [G. Dawes](Charles)(Charles G. Dawes), sought to elect delegates pledged to vote for McKinley at the national convention in St. Louis. Cullom proved unable to stand against McKinley despite the support of local Republican machines; at the state convention at the end of April, McKinley completed a near-sweep of Illinois' delegates. Former president Harrison had been deemed a possible contender if he entered the race; when Harrison made it known he would not seek a third nomination, the McKinley organization took control of Indiana with a speed Harrison privately found unseemly. Morton operatives who journeyed to Indiana sent word back that they had found the state alive for McKinley. Wyoming Senator [Warren](Francis)(Francis Warren) wrote, "The politicians are making a hard fight against him, but if the masses could speak, McKinley is the choice of at least 75% of the entire [of](body) Republican voters in the Union".
By the time the national convention began in [Louis](St.)(St. Louis) on June 16, 1896, McKinley had an ample majority of delegates. The former governor, who remained in Canton, followed events at the convention closely by telephone, and was able to hear part of Foraker's speech nominating him over the line. When Ohio was reached in the roll call of states, its votes gave McKinley the nomination, which he celebrated by hugging his wife and mother as his friends fled the house, anticipating the first of many crowds that gathered at the Republican candidate's home. Thousands of partisans came from Canton and surrounding towns that evening to hear McKinley speak from his front porch. The convention nominated Republican National Committee vice chairman [Hobart](Garret)(Garret Hobart) of New Jersey for vice president, a choice actually made, by most accounts, by Hanna. Hobart, a wealthy lawyer, businessman, and former state legislator, was not widely known, but as Hanna biographer [Croly](Herbert)(Herbert Croly) pointed out, "if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it".
### General election campaign
[[File:McKinley straddle.jpg|thumb|left|Before the 1896 convention, McKinley tried to avoid coming down on one side or the other of the currency question. [Allen Rogers](William)(William Allen Rogers)'s cartoon from ''[Weekly](Harper's)(Harper's Weekly)'', June 1896, showing McKinley [the rail](riding)(Riding a rail) of the currency question.|alt=A political cartoon. An imperially confident-looking man in an exaggerated military officer's uniform is [a plank of wood](riding)(Riding a rail) marked "Financial question," which is balanced between two saw-horses. The man's weight is bending the wood rather dramatically.]]
Before the Republican convention, McKinley had been a "straddle bug" on the currency question, favoring moderate positions on silver such as accomplishing [bimetallism](bimetallism) by international agreement. In the final days before the convention, McKinley decided, after hearing from politicians and businessmen, that the platform should endorse the gold standard, though it should allow for bimetallism through coordination with other nations. Adoption of the platform caused some western delegates, led by Colorado Senator [M. Teller](Henry)(Henry M. Teller), to walk out of the convention. However, compared with the Democrats, Republican divisions on the issue were small, especially as McKinley promised future concessions to silver advocates.
The bad economic times had continued, and strengthened the hand of forces for [silver](free)(free silver). The issue bitterly divided the Democratic Party; President Cleveland firmly supported the gold standard, but an increasing number of rural Democrats wanted silver, especially in the South and West. The silverites took control of the [Democratic National Convention](1896)(1896 Democratic National Convention) and chose [Jennings Bryan](William)(William Jennings Bryan) for president; he had electrified the delegates with his [of Gold speech](Cross)(Cross of Gold speech). Bryan's financial radicalism shocked bankers—they thought his inflationary program would bankrupt the railroads and ruin the economy. Hanna approached them for support for his strategy to win the election, and they gave $3.5 million for speakers and over 200 million pamphlets advocating the Republican position on the money and tariff questions.
[campaign](Bryan's)(William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign) had at most an estimated $500,000. With his eloquence and youthful energy his major assets in the race, Bryan decided on a [whistle-stop](Whistle stop train tour) political tour by train on an unprecedented scale. Hanna urged McKinley to match Bryan's tour with one of his own; the candidate declined on the grounds that the Democrat was a better [speaker](stump)(stump speech): "I might just as well set up a trapeze on my front lawn and compete with some professional athlete as go out speaking against Bryan. I have to *think* when I speak." Instead of going to the people, McKinley would remain at home in Canton and allow the people to come to him; according to historian R. Hal Williams in his book on the 1896 election, "it was, as it turned out, a brilliant strategy. McKinley's '[Porch Campaign](Front)(Front Porch Campaign)' became a legend in American political history."
[[File:Flower delegation.jpg|thumb|left|William and Ida McKinley (to her husband's left) pose with members of the "Flower Delegation" from [City, Pennsylvania](Oil)(Oil City, Pennsylvania), before the McKinley home. Although women could not vote in most states, they might influence male relatives and were encouraged to visit Canton.]]
McKinley made himself available to the public every day except Sunday, receiving delegations from the front porch of his home. The railroads subsidized the visitors with low excursion rates—the pro-silver [*Plain Dealer*](Cleveland)(Cleveland Plain Dealer) disgustedly stated that going to Canton had been made "cheaper than staying at home". Delegations marched through the streets from the railroad station to McKinley's home on North Market Street. Once there, they crowded close to the front porch—from which they surreptitiously whittled souvenirs—as their spokesman addressed McKinley. The candidate then responded, speaking on campaign issues in a speech molded to suit the interest of the delegation. The speeches were carefully scripted to avoid extemporaneous remarks; even the spokesman's remarks were approved by McKinley or a representative. This was done as the candidate feared an offhand comment by another that might rebound on him, as [happened to Blaine in 1884](had)(1884 United States presidential election#Campaign).
[[File:Man of Mark.png|thumb|right|upright|*A Man of Mark* 1896 [Davenport](Homer)(Homer Davenport) cartoon of McKinley as Hanna's creature, from [Randolph Hearst](William)(William Randolph Hearst)'s *[York Journal](New)(New York Journal)*|alt=A political cartoon. A closed fist protrudes from a jacket-sleeve covered in dollar signs; a cuff-link is marked "MARK $ HANNA". The hand tightly grasps a chain from which hangs a tiny, sorry-looking figure marked "McKinley". "A Man of Mark!" concludes the cartoon's caption.]]
Most Democratic newspapers refused to support Bryan, the major exception being the New York *Journal*, controlled by [Randolph Hearst](William)(William Randolph Hearst), whose fortune was based on silver mines. In biased reporting and through the sharp cartoons of [Davenport](Homer)(Homer Davenport), Hanna was viciously characterized as a plutocrat, trampling on labor. McKinley was drawn as a child, easily controlled by big business. Even today, these depictions still color the images of Hanna and McKinley: one as a heartless businessman, the other as a creature of Hanna and others of his ilk.
The Democrats had pamphlets too, though not as many. Jones analyzed how voters responded to the education campaigns of the two parties:
}}
McKinley always thought of himself as a tariff man and expected that the monetary issues would fade away in a month. He was mistaken—silver and gold dominated the campaign.
The battleground proved to be the Midwest—the South and most of the West were conceded to Bryan—and the Democrat spent much of his time in those crucial states. The Northeast was considered most likely safe for McKinley after the early-voting states of Maine and [Vermont](Vermont) supported him in September. By then, it was clear that public support for silver had receded, and McKinley began to emphasize the tariff issue. By the end of September, the Republicans had discontinued printing material on the silver issue, and were entirely concentrating on the tariff question. On November 3, 1896, the voters had their say. McKinley won the entire Northeast and Midwest; he won 51% of the vote and an ample majority in the [College](Electoral)(Electoral College (United States)). Bryan had concentrated entirely on the silver issue and had not appealed to urban workers. Voters in cities supported McKinley; the only city outside the South of more than 100,000 population carried by Bryan was [Denver](Denver), Colorado.
[[Electoral vote results](File:ElectoralCollege1896.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|1896)]
### Realignment of 1896
The 1896 presidential election was a [election](realigning)(realigning election), in which McKinley's view of a stronger central government building American industry through protective tariffs and a dollar based on gold triumphed.Kevin Phillips, *William McKinley* (2003) pp 57-85.R. Hal Williams, *Realigning America: McKinley, Bryan, and the Remarkable Election of 1896* (2010) pp 169-170. The voting patterns established then displaced the near-deadlock the major parties had seen since the Civil War in the [Party System](Third)(Third Party System). The new Republican dominance began the [Party System](Fourth)(Fourth Party System) that would end [1932](in)(1932 United States presidential election), another realigning election with the ascent of [Roosevelt](Franklin)(Franklin Roosevelt) and the [Deal coalition](New)(New Deal coalition).Walter Dean Burnham, "The system of 1896: An analysis" in Paul Kleppner et al. *The Evolution of American Electoral Systems* (Greenwood, 1981) pp. 147-202. Phillips argues that McKinley was probably the only Republican who could have defeated Bryan—he concludes that Eastern candidates would have done badly against the Illinois-born Bryan in the crucial Midwest. While Bryan was popular among rural voters, "McKinley appealed to a very different industrialized, urbanized America."
## Presidency (1897–1901)
### Inauguration and appointments
McKinley was [in as president](sworn)(First inauguration of William McKinley) on March 4, 1897, as his wife and mother looked on. The new president gave a lengthy inaugural address; he urged tariff reform, and stated that the currency issue would have to await tariff legislation. He warned against foreign interventions, "We want no wars of conquest. We must avoid the temptation of territorial aggression."
McKinley's most controversial Cabinet appointment was that of John Sherman as [of State](Secretary)(United States Secretary of State). Sherman had an outstanding reputation but old age was fast reducing his abilities. McKinley needed to have Hanna appointed to the Senate so Senator Sherman was moved up. Sherman's mental faculties were decaying even in 1896; this was widely spoken of in political circles, but McKinley did not believe the rumors. Nevertheless, McKinley sent his cousin, William McKinley Osborne, to have dinner with the 73-year-old senator; he reported back that Sherman seemed as lucid as ever. McKinley wrote once the appointment was announced, "the stories regarding Senator Sherman's 'mental decay' are without foundation ... When I saw him last I was convinced both of his perfect health, physically and mentally, and that the prospects of life were remarkably good."
Maine Representative [Dingley Jr.](Nelson)(Nelson Dingley Jr.) was McKinley's choice for Secretary of the Treasury; he declined it, preferring to remain as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Charles Dawes, who had been Hanna's lieutenant in Chicago during the campaign, was considered for the Treasury post but by some accounts Dawes considered himself too young. Dawes eventually became [of the Currency](Comptroller)(Comptroller of the Currency); he recorded in his published diary that he had strongly urged McKinley to appoint as secretary the successful candidate, [J. Gage](Lyman)(Lyman J. Gage), president of the [National Bank of Chicago](First)(First Chicago Bank) and a [Democrat](Gold)(Gold Democrat). The [Department](Navy)(United States Department of the Navy) was offered to former Massachusetts Congressman [Davis Long](John)(John Davis Long), an old friend from the House, on January 30, 1897. Although McKinley was initially inclined to allow Long to choose his own assistant, there was considerable pressure on the President-elect to appoint [Roosevelt](Theodore)(Theodore Roosevelt), head of the New York City Police Commission and a published naval historian. McKinley was reluctant, stating to one Roosevelt booster, "I want peace and I am told that your friend Theodore is always getting into rows with everybody." Nevertheless, he made the appointment.
In addition to Sherman, McKinley made one other ill-advised Cabinet appointment, that of [of War](Secretary)(United States Secretary of War), which fell to [A. Alger](Russell)(Russell A. Alger), former general and [Michigan](Michigan) governor. Competent enough in peacetime, Alger proved inadequate once the conflict with Spain began. With the [Department](War)(United States Department of War) plagued by scandal, Alger resigned at McKinley's request in mid-1899. Vice President Hobart, as was customary at the time, was not invited to Cabinet meetings. However, he proved a valuable adviser both for McKinley and for his Cabinet members. The wealthy Vice President leased a residence close to the White House; the two families visited each other without formality, and the Vice President's wife, [Tuttle Hobart](Jennie)(Jennie Tuttle Hobart), sometimes substituted as Executive Mansion hostess when Ida McKinley was unwell. For most of McKinley's administration, [B. Cortelyou](George)(George B. Cortelyou) served as [personal secretary](his)(Secretary to the President of the United States). Cortelyou, who served in three Cabinet positions under Theodore Roosevelt, became a combination [secretary](press)(White House Press Secretary) and [of staff](chief)(White House Chief of Staff) to McKinley.
File:William McKinley 1897 inauguration.ogg|McKinley's first inauguration in 1897
File:McKinley sworn in.jpeg|[Justice](Chief)(Chief Justice of the United States) [Fuller](Melville)(Melville Fuller) swears in William McKinley as president; outgoing President [Cleveland](Grover)(Grover Cleveland) at right
### Cuba crisis and war with Spain
[[File:Judge-2-6-1897.jpg|thumb|Editorial cartoon intervention in Cuba. [Columbia](Columbia (name)) (the American people) reaches out to help oppressed Cuba in 1897 while [Sam](Uncle)(Uncle Sam) (the U.S. government) is blind to the crisis and will not use its powerful guns to help. [magazine](*Judge*)(Judge (magazine)), February 6, 1897.]]
For decades, rebels in [Cuba](History of Cuba) had waged an intermittent campaign for freedom from Spanish colonial rule. By 1895, the conflict had expanded to a [for Cuban independence](war)(Cuban War of Independence). As war engulfed the island, Spanish reprisals against the rebels grew ever harsher. American public opinion favored the rebels, and McKinley shared in their outrage against Spanish policies. However while public opinion called for war to liberate Cuba, McKinley favored a peaceful approach, hoping that through negotiation, Spain might be convinced to grant Cuba independence, or at least to allow the Cubans some measure of autonomy. The United States and Spain began negotiations on the subject in 1897, but it became clear that Spain would never concede Cuban independence, while the rebels (and their American supporters) would never settle for anything less.Recent historiography emphasizes the humanitarian motivations for the initial war decision. Jeffrey Bloodworth, "For Love or for Money?: William McKinley and the Spanish–American War" *White House Studies* (2009) 9#2 pp. 135–57.
In January 1898, Spain promised some concessions to the rebels, but when American [consul](Consul (representative)) [Lee](Fitzhugh)(Fitzhugh Lee) reported riots in [Havana](Havana), McKinley agreed to send the battleship [*Maine*](USS)(USS Maine (ACR-1)). On February 15, the *Maine* exploded and sank with 266 men killed. Public attention focused on the crisis and the consensus was that regardless of who set the bomb, Spain had lost control over Cuba. McKinley insisted that a [of inquiry](court)(Naval Board of Inquiry) first determine whether the explosion was accidental. Negotiations with Spain continued as the court considered the evidence, but on March 20, the court ruled that the *Maine* was blown up by an [mine](underwater)(Naval mine). As pressure for war mounted in Congress, McKinley continued to negotiate for Cuban independence. Spain refused McKinley's proposals, and on April 11, McKinley turned the matter over to Congress. He did not ask for war, but Congress made the decision and declared war on April 20, with the addition of the [Amendment](Teller)(Teller Amendment), which disavowed any intention of annexing Cuba. Nick Kapur says that McKinley's actions were based on his values of arbitrationism, pacifism, humanitarianism, and manly self-restraint, and not on external pressures.Nick Kapur, "William McKinley's Values and the Origins of the Spanish‐American War: A Reinterpretation." *Presidential Studies Quarterly* 41.1 (2011): 18–38 [online](https://www.jstor.org/stable/23884754).
The expansion of the telegraph and the development of the telephone gave McKinley greater control over the day-to-day management of the war than previous presidents had enjoyed, and he used the new technologies to direct the army's and navy's movements as far as he was able. McKinley found Alger inadequate as Secretary of War, and did not get along with the Army's commanding general, [A. Miles](Nelson)(Nelson A. Miles). Bypassing them, he looked for strategic advice first from Miles's predecessor, General [Schofield](John)(John Schofield), and later from [General](Adjutant)(Adjutant general#United States) [Clarke Corbin](Henry)(Henry Clarke Corbin). The war led to a change in McKinley's cabinet, as the president accepted Sherman's resignation as Secretary of State. [R. Day](William)(William R. Day) agreed to serve as secretary until the war's end.
Within a fortnight, the navy had its first victory when [Commodore](Commodore (United States)) [Dewey](George)(George Dewey), destroyed the Spanish fleet at the [of Manila Bay](Battle)(Battle of Manila Bay) in the Philippines. Dewey's overwhelming victory expanded the scope of the war from one centered in the Caribbean to one that would determine the fate of all of Spain's Pacific colonies. The next month, McKinley increased the number of [sent to the Philippines](troops)(Eighth Army Corps (Spanish-American War)) and granted the force's commander, Major General [Merritt](Wesley)(Wesley Merritt), the power to set up legal systems and raise taxes—necessities for a long occupation. By the time the troops arrived in the Philippines at the end of June 1898, McKinley had decided that Spain would be required to surrender the archipelago to the United States. He professed to be open to all views on the subject; however, he believed that as the war progressed, the public would come to demand retention of the islands as a prize of war.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean theater, a large force of regulars and volunteers gathered near [Florida](Tampa,)(Tampa, Florida), for an invasion of Cuba. After lengthy delays, the army, led by Major General [Rufus Shafter](William)(William Rufus Shafter), on June 22, landed near [de Cuba](Santiago)(Santiago de Cuba). Shafter's army engaged the Spanish forces on July 2 in the [of San Juan Hill](Battle)(Battle of San Juan Hill). In an intense day-long battle, the American force was victorious, although both sides suffered heavy casualties. The next day, Spain's Caribbean squadron, which had been sheltering in Santiago's harbor, broke for the open sea and was destroyed by the North Atlantic Squadron in the [naval battle of the war](largest)(Battle of Santiago de Cuba). Shafter laid siege to the city of Santiago, which surrendered on July 17, placing Cuba under effective American control. McKinley and Miles also ordered an invasion of [Rico](Puerto)(Puerto Rico), which met little resistance when it landed in July. The distance from Spain and the destruction of the Spanish navy made resupply impossible, and the Spanish government began to look for a way to end the war.
### Peace and territorial gain
[[File:Jules Cambon signs Treaty of Paris, 1899.JPG|thumb|left|Signing of the [of Paris](Treaty)(Treaty of Paris (1898))]]
McKinley's cabinet agreed with him that Spain must leave Cuba and Puerto Rico, but they disagreed on the Philippines, with some wishing to annex the entire archipelago and some wishing only to retain a naval base in the area. Although public sentiment seemed to favor annexation of the Philippines, several prominent political leaders—including Democrats Bryan, and Cleveland, and the newly formed [Anti-Imperialist League](American)(American Anti-Imperialist League)—made their opposition known.
McKinley proposed to open negotiations with Spain on the basis of Cuban liberation and Puerto Rican annexation, with the final status of the Philippines subject to further discussion. He stood firmly in that demand even as the military situation in Cuba began to deteriorate when the American army was struck with [fever](yellow)(yellow fever). Spain ultimately agreed to a ceasefire on those terms on August 12, and treaty negotiations began in Paris in September 1898. The talks continued until December 18, when the [of Paris](Treaty)(Treaty of Paris (1898)) was signed. The United States acquired Puerto Rico and the Philippines as well as the island of [Guam](Guam), and Spain relinquished its claims to Cuba; in exchange, the United States agreed to pay Spain $20 million (equivalent to $ million in ). McKinley had difficulty convincing the Senate to approve the treaty by the requisite two-thirds vote, but his lobbying, and that of Vice President Hobart, eventually saw success, as the Senate voted in favor on February 6, 1899, 57 to 27.
#### Hawaii
[[File:Annexation Here to Stay (edit).jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|[Annexation](Newlands Resolution) of the [of Hawaii](Republic)(Republic of Hawaii) in 1898]]
During the war, McKinley also pursued the annexation of the [of Hawaii](Republic)(Republic of Hawaii). The new republic, dominated by business interests, [overthrown the Queen in 1893 when she rejected a limited role for herself](had)(Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii). There was strong American support for annexation, and the need for Pacific bases in wartime became clear after the Battle of Manila. McKinley came to office as a supporter of annexation, and lobbied Congress to act, warning that to do nothing would invite a royalist counter-revolution or a Japanese takeover. Foreseeing difficulty in getting two-thirds of the Senate to approve a treaty of annexation, McKinley instead supported the effort of Democratic Representative [G. Newlands](Francis)(Francis G. Newlands) of Nevada to accomplish the result by [resolution](joint)(joint resolution) of both houses of Congress. The resulting [Resolution](Newlands)(Newlands Resolution) passed both houses by wide margins, and McKinley signed it into law on July 8, 1898. McKinley biographer H. Wayne Morgan notes, "McKinley was the guiding spirit behind the annexation of Hawaii, showing ... a firmness in pursuing it"; the president told Cortelyou, "We need Hawaii just as much and a good deal more than we did California. It is [destiny](manifest)(manifest destiny)."
### Expanding influence overseas
#### Open door in China
Even before peace negotiations began with Spain, McKinley asked Congress to set up a commission to examine trade opportunities in Asia and espoused an "[Door Policy](Open)(Open Door Policy)", in which all nations would freely trade with China and none would seek to violate that nation's territorial integrity.
[[File:Siege of Peking, Boxer Rebellion.jpg|thumb|left|alt=painting of U.S. Army soldiers defending a fort in Peking while a zhengyangmen in the background burns|American soldiers scale the walls of Beijing to relieve the [of the International Legations](siege)(siege of the International Legations), August 1900]]
American missionaries were threatened with death when the [Rebellion](Boxer)(Boxer Rebellion) menaced foreigners in China. Americans and other westerners in [Peking](Peking) were besieged and, in cooperation with other western powers, McKinley ordered 5000 troops to the city in June 1900 in the [Relief Expedition](China)(China Relief Expedition). The westerners were rescued the next month, but several Congressional Democrats objected to McKinley dispatching troops without consulting the legislature. McKinley's actions set a precedent that led to most of his successors exerting similar independent control over the military. After the rebellion ended, the United States reaffirmed its commitment to the Open Door policy, which became the basis of American policy toward China.
#### Panama canal
Closer to home, McKinley and Hay engaged in negotiations with Britain over the possible construction of a canal across Central America. The [Treaty](Clayton–Bulwer)(Clayton–Bulwer Treaty), which the two nations signed in 1850, prohibited either from establishing exclusive control over a canal there. The war had exposed the difficulty of maintaining a two-ocean navy when the Navy had to sail all the way around South America to reach the Pacific. Now, with American business and military interests even more involved in Asia, a canal seemed more essential than ever, and McKinley pressed for a renegotiation of the treaty. Hay and the British ambassador, [Pauncefote](Julian)(Julian Pauncefote, 1st Baron Pauncefote), agreed that the United States could control a future canal, provided that it was open to all shipping and not fortified. McKinley was satisfied with the terms, but the Senate rejected them, demanding that the United States be allowed to fortify the canal. Hay was embarrassed by the rebuff and offered his resignation, but McKinley refused it and ordered him to continue negotiations to achieve the Senate's demands. He was successful, and [new treaty](a)(Hay–Pauncefote Treaty) was drafted and approved, but not before McKinley's assassination in 1901. The result under Roosevelt was the [Canal](Panama)(Panama Canal).
### Tariffs and bimetallism
[[Prosperity.jpg|thumb|upright|1900 reelection poster with the theme that McKinley has returned prosperity to America](File:McKinley)]
McKinley had built his reputation in Congress on high tariffs, promising protection for American business and well-paid American factory workers. With the Republicans in control of Congress, Ways and Means chairman Dingley introduced the [Act](Dingley)(Dingley Act) which would raise rates on wool, sugar, and luxury goods. McKinley supported it and it became law.
American negotiators soon concluded a reciprocity treaty with France, and the two nations approached Britain to gauge British enthusiasm for [bimetallism](bimetallism). Prime Minister [Salisbury](Lord)(Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury) and his government showed some interest in the idea and told American envoy [O. Wolcott](Edward)(Edward O. Wolcott) that he would be amenable to reopening the mints in [India](British Raj) to silver coinage if the [Executive Council](Viceroy's)(Viceroy's Executive Council) there agreed. News of a possible departure from the gold standard stirred up immediate opposition from its partisans, and misgivings by the Indian administration led Britain to reject the proposal. With the international effort a failure, McKinley turned away from silver coinage and embraced the gold standard. Even without the agreement, agitation for free silver eased as prosperity began to return to the United States and gold from recent strikes in the [Yukon](Klondike Gold Rush) and [Australia](Australian gold rushes) increased the monetary supply even without silver coinage. In the absence of international agreement, McKinley favored legislation to formally affirm the gold standard, but was initially deterred by the silver strength in the Senate. By 1900, with another campaign ahead and good economic conditions, McKinley urged Congress to pass such a law, and signed the [Standard Act](Gold)(Gold Standard Act) on March 14, 1900, using a gold pen to do so.
### Civil rights
[[File:McKinley at Atlanta.jpg|thumb|right|McKinley, (right of center) flanked by Georgia Governor [D. Candler](Allen)(Allen D. Candler) (front row to McKinley's right) and Gen. [Rufus Shafter](William)(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](lynching) while governor, and most black people who could still vote supported him in 1896. McKinley's priority, however, was in ending [sectionalism](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.
The McKinley administration's response to racial violence was minimal, causing him to lose black support. When black postmasters at [Georgia](Hogansville,)(Hogansville, Georgia), in 1897, and at [City, South Carolina](Lake)(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.
When a group of white supremacists violently overthrew the duly elected government of Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 10, 1898, in an event that came to be recognized as the [insurrection of 1898](Wilmington)(Wilmington insurrection of 1898), McKinley refused requests by black leaders to send in federal marshals or federal troops to protect black citizens, and ignored city residents' appeals for help to recover from the widespread destruction of the predominantly black neighborhood of Brooklyn.
According to historian [A. Bacote](Clarence)(Clarence A. Bacote), "Before the Spanish–American War, the Negroes, in spite of some mistakes, regarded McKinley as the best friend they ever had." Under pressure from black leaders, McKinley required the War Department to commission black officers above the rank of lieutenant. McKinley toured the South in late 1898, promoting sectional reconciliation. He visited [Institute](Tuskegee)(Tuskegee Institute) and the famous black educator [T. Washington](Booker)(Booker T. Washington). He also visited Confederate memorials. In his tour of the South, McKinley did not mention the racial tensions or violence. Although the president received a rapturous reception from Southern whites, many blacks, excluded from official welcoming committees, felt alienated by the president's words and actions. Gould concluded regarding race, "McKinley lacked the vision to transcend the biases of his day and to point toward a better future for all Americans".
### 1900 election
[[Administration's Promises Have Been Kept.jpg|thumb|McKinley ran on his record of prosperity and victory in 1900, winning easy re-election over William Jennings Bryan.](File:The)]
Republicans were generally successful in state and local elections around the country in 1899, and McKinley was optimistic about his chances at re-election in 1900. McKinley's popularity in his first term assured him of renomination for a second. The only question about the Republican ticket concerned the vice presidential nomination; McKinley needed a new running mate as Hobart had died in late 1899. McKinley initially favored [Root](Elihu)(Elihu Root), who had succeeded Alger as Secretary of War, but McKinley decided that Root was doing too good a job at the War Department to move him. He considered other prominent candidates, including Allison and [Newton Bliss](Cornelius)(Cornelius Newton Bliss), but none were as popular as the Republican party's rising star, Theodore Roosevelt. After a stint as [Secretary of the Navy](Assistant)(Assistant Secretary of the Navy), Roosevelt had resigned and raised [cavalry regiment](a)(Rough Riders); they fought bravely in Cuba, and Roosevelt returned home covered in glory. Elected governor of New York on a reform platform in 1898, Roosevelt had his eye on the presidency. Many supporters recommended him to McKinley for the second spot on the ticket, and Roosevelt believed it would be an excellent stepping stone to the presidency in 1904. McKinley remained uncommitted in public, but Hanna was firmly opposed to the New York governor. The Ohio senator considered the New Yorker overly impulsive; his stance was undermined by the efforts of [boss](political)(political boss) and New York Senator [C. Platt](Thomas)(Thomas C. Platt), who, disliking Roosevelt's reform agenda, sought to sideline the governor by making him vice president.
When the [convention](Republican)(1900 Republican National Convention) began in [Philadelphia](Philadelphia) that June, no vice presidential candidate had overwhelming support, but Roosevelt had the broadest range of support from around the country. McKinley affirmed that the choice belonged to the convention, not to him. On June 21, McKinley was unanimously renominated and, with Hanna's reluctant acquiescence, Roosevelt was nominated for vice president on the first ballot. The [convention](Democratic)(1900 Democratic National Convention) convened the next month in [City](Kansas)(Kansas City, Missouri) and nominated William Jennings Bryan, setting up a rematch of the 1896 contest.
The candidates were the same, but the issues of the campaign had shifted: free silver was still a question that animated many voters, but the Republicans focused on victory in war and prosperity at home as issues they believed favored their party. Democrats knew the war had been popular, even if the imperialism issue was less sure, so they focused on the issue of trusts and corporate power, painting McKinley as the servant of capital and big business. As in 1896, Bryan embarked on a speaking tour around the country while McKinley stayed at home, this time making only one speech, to accept his nomination. Roosevelt emerged as the campaign's primary speaker and Hanna helped the cause working to settle a [miners strike in Pennsylvania](coal)(Coal strike of 1902#The 1899 and 1900 strikes). Bryan's campaigning failed to excite the voters as it had in 1896, and McKinley never doubted that he would be re-elected. On November 6, 1900, he was proven correct, winning the largest victory for any Republican since 1872. Bryan carried only four states outside the [South](solid)(solid South), and McKinley even won Bryan's home state of Nebraska.
### Second term
[[File:President McKinley Taking the Oath.webm|thumb|McKinley's inauguration, filmed by [Edison](Thomas)(Thomas Edison)]]
Soon after [second inauguration](his)(Second inauguration of William McKinley) on March 4, 1901, William and Ida McKinley undertook a six-week tour of the nation. Traveling mostly by rail, the McKinleys were to travel through the South to the Southwest, and then up the Pacific coast and east again, to conclude with a visit on June 13, 1901, to the [Exposition](Pan-American)(Pan-American Exposition) in [New York](Buffalo,)(Buffalo, New York). However, the first lady fell ill in California, causing her husband to limit his public events and cancel a series of speeches he had planned to give urging trade reciprocity. He also postponed the visit to the fair until September, planning a month in Washington and two in Canton before the Buffalo visit.
## Assassination
[[File:McKinley last photo.jpg|thumb|McKinley entering the [of Music](Temple)(Temple of Music) on September 6, 1901, shortly before the shots were fired]]
[[conception of the shooting of McKinley](File:McKinleyAssassination.jpg|thumb|Artist's)]
Although McKinley enjoyed meeting the public, Cortelyou was concerned with his security because of recent assassinations by anarchists in Europe, such as the assassination of King [I of Italy](Umberto)(Umberto I of Italy) the previous year. Twice he tried to remove a public reception from the president's rescheduled visit to the exposition. McKinley refused, and Cortelyou arranged for additional security for the trip. On September 5, McKinley delivered his address at the fairgrounds before a crowd of 50,000. In his final speech, McKinley urged reciprocity treaties with other nations to assure American manufacturers access to foreign markets. He intended the speech as a keynote to his plans for a second term.
A man in the crowd named [Czolgosz](Leon)(Leon Czolgosz) hoped to assassinate McKinley. He had managed to get close to the presidential podium, but did not fire, uncertain of hitting his target. After hearing a speech by anarchist [Goldman](Emma)(Emma Goldman) in Cleveland, Czolgosz had decided to take action that he believed would advance the cause. After his failure to get close enough on September 5, Czolgosz waited until the next day at the [of Music](Temple)(Temple of Music) on the exposition grounds, where the president was to meet the public. Czolgosz concealed his gun in a handkerchief and, when he reached the head of the line, shot McKinley twice in the abdomen at close range.
McKinley urged his aides to break the news gently to Ida, and to call off the mob that had set upon Czolgosz, a request that may have saved his assassin's life. McKinley was taken to the exposition aid station, where the doctor was unable to locate the second bullet. Although a primitive [machine](X-ray)(X-ray machine) was being exhibited on the exposition grounds, it was not used. McKinley was taken to the home of [G. Milburn](John)(John G. Milburn), president of the Pan-American Exposition Company.
In the days after the shooting, McKinley appeared to improve and doctors issued increasingly optimistic bulletins. Members of the Cabinet, who had rushed to Buffalo on hearing the news, dispersed, and Vice President Roosevelt departed on a camping trip to the [Adirondacks](Adirondacks).
Leech wrote:
}}
On the morning of September 13, McKinley's condition deteriorated. Specialists were summoned; although at first some doctors hoped that McKinley might survive with a weakened heart, by afternoon they knew that the case was hopeless. Unknown to the doctors, [gangrene](gangrene) was growing on the walls of McKinley's stomach and slowly poisoning his blood. McKinley drifted in and out of consciousness all day, but when awake he was a model patient. By evening, McKinley too knew he was dying, "It is useless, gentlemen. I think we ought to have prayer." Relatives and friends gathered around the death bed. The first lady sobbed over him, saying, "I want to go, too. I want to go, too." Her husband replied, "We are all going, we are all going. God's will be done, not ours", and with final strength put an arm around her. He may also have sung part of his favorite hymn, "[My God, to Thee](Nearer,)(Nearer, My God, to Thee)", although other accounts have the first lady singing it softly to him.
At 2:15 a.m. on September 14, 1901, McKinley died. Theodore Roosevelt rushed back to Buffalo and took the oath of office as president. Czolgosz, put on trial for murder nine days after McKinley's death, was found guilty, sentenced to death on September 26 and executed by [chair](electric)(electric chair) on October 29, 1901.
## Funeral, memorials, and legacy
### Funeral and resting place
According to Gould, "The nation experienced a wave of genuine grief at the news of McKinley's passing." The stock market, faced with sudden uncertainty, suffered a steep decline that went nearly unnoticed in the mourning. The nation focused its attention on the casket that first lay in the [Room](East)(East Room) of the Executive Mansion and then laid [state](in)(Lying in state#United States) in the Capitol before being transported to Canton by train. Approximately 100,000 people passed by the open casket in the [Rotunda](Capitol)(Capitol Rotunda), many having waited hours in the rain. In Canton, an equal number did the same at the Stark County Courthouse on September 18. The following day, a funeral service was held at the First Methodist Church. The casket was next sealed and taken to the McKinley house, where relatives paid their final respects. It was then transported to the receiving vault at [Lawn Cemetery](West)(West Lawn Cemetery) in Canton to await the construction of the memorial to McKinley already being planned.
There was a widespread expectation that Ida McKinley would not long survive her husband; one family friend stated, as William McKinley lay dying, that they should be prepared for a double funeral. However, this did not occur, and the former first lady accompanied her husband on the funeral train. Leech noted "the circuitous journey was a cruel ordeal for the woman who huddled in a compartment of the funeral train, praying that the Lord would take her with her Dearest Love." She was thought too weak to attend the services in Washington or Canton, although she listened at the door to the service for her husband in her house on North Market Street. She remained in Canton for the remainder of her life, setting up a shrine in her house and often visiting the receiving vault, until her death at age 59 on May 26, 1907. She died only months before the completion of [large marble monument](the)(McKinley National Memorial) to her husband in Canton, which was dedicated by President Roosevelt on September 30, 1907. William and Ida McKinley are interred there with their daughters atop a hillside overlooking the city of Canton.
File:President McKinley's funeral, 1901. 4134s1.webmsd.webm|President McKinley's funeral, 1901, part 1
File:President McKinley's funeral, 1901. 4134s2.webmsd.webm|President McKinley's funeral, 1901, part 2
File:President McKinley's funeral, 1901. 4134s3.webmsd.webm|President McKinley's funeral, 1901, part 3
### Other memorials
[[File:McKinley Birthplace Memorial uncirculated dollar (common obverse).jpg|thumb|The [Birthplace Memorial gold dollar](McKinley)(McKinley Birthplace Memorial gold dollar) was minted in 1916 and 1917]]
In addition to the Canton site, many other memorials honor McKinley. The [McKinley Monument](William)(William McKinley Monument) stands in front of the [Statehouse](Ohio)(Ohio Statehouse) in [Columbus](Columbus, Ohio) and a large marble statue of McKinley is situated at [birthplace](his)(National McKinley Birthplace Memorial) in [Niles](Niles, Ohio). Twenty Ohio schools bear McKinley's name, and several more schools in the United States are named [School](McKinley)(McKinley School (disambiguation)). Nearly a million dollars was pledged by contributors or allocated from public funds for the construction of McKinley memorials in the year after his death. McKinley biographer [Phillips](Kevin)(Kevin Phillips (political commentator)) suggests that the significant number of major memorials to McKinley in Ohio reflect the expectation among Ohioans in the years after McKinley's death that he would be ranked among the great presidents.
Statues bearing McKinley's image may be found in more than a dozen states, and his name has been bestowed on streets, civic organizations and libraries. In 1896, a gold prospector gave McKinley's name to [Denali](Denali), the tallest mountain in North America at . The Alaska Board of Geographic Names reverted the name of the mountain to Denali, its local appellation, in 1975. The [of the Interior](Department)(Department of the Interior) followed suit in August 2015 as a part of a visit to Alaska by President [Obama](Barack)(Barack Obama). Similarly, [National Park](Denali)(Denali National Park) was known as Mount McKinley National Park until December 2, 1980, when it was changed by legislation signed by President [Carter](Jimmy)(Jimmy Carter).
### Legacy and historical image
[[File:Harriet Anderson Stubbs Murphy - William McKinley - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The official Presidential portrait of William McKinley, by [Anderson Stubbs Murphy](Harriet)(Harriet Anderson Stubbs Murphy)]]
McKinley's biographer H. Wayne Morgan remarks that McKinley died the most beloved president in history. However, the young, enthusiastic Roosevelt quickly captured public attention. The new president made little effort to secure the trade reciprocity that McKinley had intended to negotiate with other nations. Controversy and public interest surrounded Roosevelt throughout the seven and a half years of his presidency as memories of McKinley faded; by 1920, according to Gould, McKinley's administration was deemed no more than "a mediocre prelude to the vigor and energy of Theodore Roosevelt's." Beginning in the 1950s, McKinley received more favorable evaluations; nevertheless, in surveys ranking American presidents, he has generally been placed near the middle, often trailing contemporaries such as Hayes and Cleveland. Morgan suggests that this relatively low ranking is the result of a perception among historians that while many decisions during McKinley's presidency profoundly affected the nation's future, he more followed public opinion than led it, and that McKinley's standing has suffered from altered public expectations of the presidency.
There has been broad agreement among historians that McKinley's election occurred at a time of a transition between two political eras, dubbed the [Third](Third Party System) and [Party System](Fourth)(Fourth Party System)s. Kenneth F. Warren emphasizes the national commitment to a pro-business, industrial, and modernizing program represented by McKinley. Historian Daniel P. Klinghard argued that McKinley's personal control of the 1896 campaign gave him the opportunity to reshape the presidency—rather than simply follow the party platform—by representing himself as the voice of the people. Republican [Rove](Karl)(Karl Rove) exalted McKinley as the model for a sweeping political realignment behind George W. Bush in the 2000s—a realignment that did not happen. Historian Michael J. Korzi argued in 2005 that while it is tempting to see McKinley as the key figure in the transition from congressional domination of government to the modern, powerful president, this change was an incremental process through the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Phillips writes that McKinley's low rating is undeserved, and that he should be ranked just after the great presidents such as Washington and Lincoln. He pointed to McKinley's success at building an electoral coalition that kept the Republicans mostly in power for a generation. Phillips believes that part of McKinley's legacy is the men whom he included in his administration who dominated the Republican Party for a quarter century after his death. These officials included Cortelyou, who served in three Cabinet positions under Roosevelt, and Dawes, who became vice president under [Coolidge](Calvin Coolidge). Other McKinley appointees who later became major figures include Day, whom Roosevelt elevated to the [Court](Supreme)(Supreme Court of the United States) where he remained nearly 20 years, and [Howard Taft](William)(William Howard Taft), whom McKinley had made [of the Philippines](Governor-General)(Governor-General of the Philippines) and who succeeded Roosevelt as president. After the assassination, the present [States Secret Service](United)(United States Secret Service) came into existence when the [Congress](United States Congress) deemed it necessary that presidential protection be part of its duties.
A controversial aspect of McKinley's presidency is territorial expansion and the question of imperialism; with the exception of the Philippines, granted independence in 1946, the United States retains the territories taken under McKinley. The territorial expansion of 1898 is often seen by historians as the beginning of [empire](American)(American imperialism). Morgan sees that historical discussion as a subset of the debate over the rise of America as a world power; he expects the debate over McKinley's actions to continue indefinitely without resolution, and notes that however one judges McKinley's actions in American expansion, one of his motivations was to change the lives of Filipinos and Cubans for the better.
Morgan alludes to the rise of interest in McKinley as part of the debate over the more assertive American foreign policy of recent decades:
}}
File:McKinley Grave.JPG|McKinley's tomb in [Ohio](Canton,)(Canton, Ohio)
File:McKinley Memorial Ohio Statehouse.JPG|*[McKinley Monument](William)(William McKinley Monument)* by [MacNeil](Hermon)(Hermon MacNeil) in front of the [Statehouse](Ohio)(Ohio Statehouse), Columbus
File:McKinley Monument, Buffalo, NY - IMG 3693.JPG|*[Monument](McKinley)(McKinley Monument)* by [Phimister Proctor](Alexander)(Alexander Phimister Proctor) in front of [City Hall](Buffalo)(Buffalo City Hall), Buffalo
File:500 USD note; series of 1934; obverse.jpg|McKinley on the [bill]($500)(Large denominations of United States currency)
File:McKinley1904-7.jpg|Louisiana Purchase Exposition stamp (1904) honoring McKinley, who had signed a bill authorizing a subsidy for that upcoming event
File:McKinley Monument, Toledo, O. - DPLA - a6478c0228d574a7add483ba5b86bfb8 (page 1) (cropped).jpg|McKinley Monument in front of Lucas County Courthouse, Toledo
## See also
* *[at Home, Canton, Ohio](McKinley)(McKinley at Home, Canton, Ohio)* (1896 film)
## Explanatory notes
; .
}}
.
}}
}}
## Citations
## General bibliography
### Books
*
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/majormckinleywil0000arms
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*
| url = https://archive.org/details/righteouscauseli00cher
}}
* Dewey, Davis R. (1907). [*National Problems: 1880–1897*](https://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9950113)
*
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/presidencyofwill0000goul
}}
*
}}
*
}}
*
}}
*
| url = https://archive.org/details/winningofmidwest0000jens
}}
*
}}
*
| url = https://archive.org/details/godlyherolifeo00kazi
}}
*
}} popular history.
*
| title-link = The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870–1914
}}
*
}} popular history
* popular history
*
| url = https://archive.org/details/presidentassassi00mill
}}
*
}}
* Morgan, H. Wayne (1969). *From Hayes to McKinley: National Party Politics, 1877–1896*, scholarly
* Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson (1937). *A History of the United States since the Civil War*. Volume V: *1888–1901*. Macmillan. 791 pp.
*
}} outdated but detailed
*
| url = https://archive.org/details/williammckinley00phil
}} emphasis on voters
*
}}
*
|place=New York
|publisher=[& Schuster](Simon)(Simon & Schuster)
|year=2015
|isbn=9781476752952
}} emphasis on voters
*
}}
### Primary sources
*
}}
*
### Articles
*
}}
*
| doi = 10.14713/njh.v125i1.1019
| doi-access = free
}}
* Gowing, Peter G. "The American Mood and the Philippines, 1898–1899." in *South East Asia* (Routledge, 2021) pp. 376-390.
*
*
| doi = 10.1111/j.1741-5705.2005.00274.x
}}
* Klotz, Robert. "The 1891 McKinley-Campbell Ohio Gubernatorial Debate and the Draw That Still Splits America." *Ohio History* 127.2 (2020): 32-46. [excerpt](https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/14/article/786317/summary)
*
}}
*
}}
* Murphey, Dwight D. "President McKinley: Architect of the American Century." *Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies* 44.1/2 (2019): 174-181.
*
}}
*
}}
*
| doi = 10.1017/S1537781400002644
| s2cid = 162552066
}}
*
}}
#### Online
*
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120225122235/http://www.lahistory.org/site20.php
|archive-date = February 25, 2012
|df = mdy-all
}}
*
}}
### PhD dissertations
Full text available online through academic libraries.
* Brady, David William. "A Congressional Response to a Stress Situation: Party Voting in the Mckinley Era" (The University of Iowa; Proquest Dissertations Publishing, 1970. 7023867).
* Damiani, Brian Paul. "Advocates of Empire: William Mckinley, The Senate and American Expansion, 1898-1899" (University of Delaware; Proquest Dissertations Publishing, 1978. 7816908).
* Labinski, Nicholas Winter. "A Transitional Moment: William McKinley's Foreign Policy Rhetoric and America's Outward Turn" (University of Kansas; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2017. 10687965).
* Matlosz, Gregory. "The Political Symbiosis of Rutherford B. Hayes & William McKinley" (Drew University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2015. 3700842).
* Ofek, Hillel. "A Just Peace: Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and the Moral Basis of American Foreign Policy" (University of Texas at Austin; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2018. 28166006).
* Waksmundski, John. "Mckinley Politics and the Changing Attitudes Toward American Labor, 1870-1900" (The Ohio State University; Proquest Dissertations Publishing, 1972. 7311599).
## External links
### Official
* [William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum](http://www.mckinleymuseum.org/)
* [White House biography](https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/presidents/william-mckinley/)
### Speeches
* [Text of a number of McKinley speeches](http://millercenter.org/president/speeches#mckinley), [Center of Public Affairs](Miller)(Miller Center of Public Affairs)
### Media coverage
*
### Other
* [William McKinley: A Resource Guide](https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/presidents/mckinley/index.html), [of Congress](Library)(Library of Congress)
* [Extensive essays on William McKinley](https://web.archive.org/web/20120426175456/http://millercenter.org/index.php/academic/americanpresident/mckinley) and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady from the [Center of Public Affairs](Miller)(Miller Center of Public Affairs)
* [McKinley Assassination Ink](http://mckinleydeath.com/), a documentary history of William McKinley's assassination
* ["Life Portrait of William McKinley"](http://www.c-span.org/video/?151617-1/life-portrait-william-mckinley), from [C-SPAN](C-SPAN)'s *[Presidents: Life Portraits](American)(American Presidents: Life Portraits)*, August 23, 1999
*
*
*
* [William McKinley Personal Manuscripts](http://www.shapell.org/Collection/Presidents/McKinley-William)
*
}}
}}
[ ](Category:William McKinley)
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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# A Midsummer Night's Dream
*Revision ID: 1160233741 | Timestamp: 2023-06-15T06:50:15Z*
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'''''A Midsummer Night's Dream''''' is a [comedy](Comedy (drama)) written by [Shakespeare](William)(William Shakespeare) in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in [Athens](Athens), and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of [Theseus](Theseus) and [Hippolyta](Hippolyta). One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular and is widely performed.
## Characters
* [Theseus](Theseus)—Duke of Athens
* [Hippolyta](Hippolyta)—Queen of the [Amazons](Amazons)
* [Egeus](Egeus)—father of Hermia
* [Hermia](Hermia)—daughter of Egeus, in love with Lysander
* [Lysander](Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream))—in love with Hermia
* [Demetrius](Demetrius (Shakespeare))—suitor to Hermia
* [Helena](Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream))—in love with Demetrius
* [Philostrate](Philostrate)—[of the Revels](Master)(Master of the Revels)
* [Quince](Peter)(Peter Quince)—a [carpenter](carpenter)
* [Bottom](Nick)(Nick Bottom)—a [weaver](Weaving)
* [Flute](Francis)(Francis Flute)—a [bellows](bellows)-mender
* [Snout](Tom)(Tom Snout)—a [tinker](tinker)
* [Snug](Snug (A Midsummer Night's Dream))—a [joiner](joiner)
* [Starveling](Robin)(Robin Starveling)—a [tailor](tailor)
* [Oberon](Oberon)—King of the Fairies
* [Titania](Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream))—Queen of the Fairies
* ["Puck" Goodfellow](Robin)(Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream))—a mischievous [sprite](Sprite (folklore)) with magical powers
* Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustardseed—fairy servants to Titania
* Indian changeling—a [ward](Ward (law)) of Titania
## Plot
[[File:HermiaandHelena.jpg|thumb|*Hermia and Helena* by [Allston](Washington)(Washington Allston), 1818|298x298px]]
The play consists of five interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke [Theseus](Theseus) of [Athens](Athens) and the [Amazon](Amazons) queen, [Hippolyta](Hippolyta), which are set simultaneously in the woodland and in the realm of [Fairy](Fairy)land, under the light of the moon.
### Act 1
#### Act 1 Scene 1
The play opens with [Theseus](Theseus) and [Hippolyta](Hippolyta) who are four days away from their wedding. Theseus is not happy about how long he has to wait while Hippolyta thinks it will pass by like a dream. Theseus is confronted by [Egeus](Egeus) and his daughter [Hermia](Hermia), who is in love with Lysander, resistant to her father's demand that she marry [Demetrius](Demetrius (Shakespeare)), whom he has arranged for her to marry. Enraged, Egeus invokes an ancient Athenian [law](law) before Duke Theseus, whereby a daughter needs to marry a suitor chosen by her father, or else face death. Theseus offers her another choice: lifelong [chastity](chastity) as a [nun](nun) worshipping the goddess [Diana](Diana (mythology)), but the two lovers both deny his choice and make a secret plan to escape into the forest for Lysander's aunt's house, in order to run away from Theseus. Hermia tells their plans to [Helena](Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream)), her best friend, who pines [unrequitedly](Unrequited love) for Demetrius, who broke up with her to be with Hermia. Desperate to reclaim Demetrius's love, Helena tells Demetrius about the plan and he follows them in hopes of finding Hermia.
#### Act 1 Scene 2
The mechanicals, [Quince](Peter)(Peter Quince) and fellow players [Bottom](Nick)(Nick Bottom), [Flute](Francis)(Francis Flute), [Starveling](Robin)(Robin Starveling), [Snout](Tom)(Tom Snout) and [Snug](Snug (A Midsummer Night's Dream)) plan to put on a play for the wedding of the Duke and the Queen, "the most lamentable comedy and most cruel death of [and Thisbe](Pyramus)(Pyramus and Thisbe)". Quince reads the names of characters and bestows them on the players. Nick Bottom, who is playing the main role of Pyramus, is over-enthusiastic and wants to dominate others by suggesting himself for the characters of Thisbe, the Lion, and Pyramus at the same time. Quince insists that Bottom can only play the role of Pyramus. Bottom would also rather be a tyrant and recites some lines of [Ercles](Hercules). Bottom is told by Quince that he would do the Lion so terribly as to frighten the duchess and ladies enough for the Duke and Lords to have the players [hanged](Hanging). Snug remarks that he needs the Lion's part because he is "slow of study". Quince assures Snug that the role of the lion is "nothing but roaring." Quince then ends the meeting telling his actors "at the Duke's oak we meet".
### Act 2
#### Act 2 Scene 1
[[File:Sir Joseph Noel Paton - The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania - Google Art Project 2.jpg|thumb|*The Quarrel of Oberon and Titania* by [Noel Paton](Joseph)(Joseph Noel Paton), 1849|250x250px]]
In a parallel plot line, [Oberon](Oberon), king of the fairies, and [Titania](Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)), his queen, have come to the forest outside Athens. Titania tells Oberon that she plans to stay there until she has attended Theseus and Hippolyta's wedding. Oberon and Titania are estranged because Titania refuses to give her Indian [changeling](changeling) to Oberon for use as his "knight" or "henchman", since the child's mother was one of Titania's worshippers. Oberon seeks to punish Titania's disobedience. He calls upon Robin "[Puck](Puck (Shakespeare))" Goodfellow, his "shrewd and knavish sprite", to help him concoct a magical juice derived from a flower called "[love-in-idleness](love-in-idleness)", which turns from white to purple when struck by Cupid's arrow. When the concoction is applied to the eyelids of a sleeping person, that person, upon waking, falls in love with the first living thing they perceive. He instructs Puck to retrieve the flower with the hope that he might make Titania fall in love with an animal of the forest and thereby shame her into giving up the little Indian boy. He says, "And ere I take this charm from off her sight, / As I can take it with another herb, / I'll make her render up her page to me." Helena and Demetrius enter, with she continuously making advances towards Demetrius, promising to love him more than Hermia. However, he rebuffs her with cruel insults. Observing this, Oberon orders Puck to spread some of the magical juice from the flower on the eyelids of the young Athenian man.
#### Act 2 Scene 2
As Titania is lulled to sleep by her fairies, Oberon sneaks up on her and places the flower juice on her eyes, exiting the stage afterwards. Lysander and Hermia enter, lost and exhausted from the journey. Hermia rejects Lysander’s advances to sleep together, and the two lie down on different corners. Puck enters and mistakes Lysander for Demetrius, not having actually seen either before, and administers the juice to the sleeping Lysander. Helena, coming across him, wakes him while attempting to determine whether he is dead or asleep. Upon this happening, Lysander immediately falls in love with Helena. Helena, thinking Lysander is mocking her for losing Demetrius, runs away with Lysander following her. When Hermia wakes up after dreaming a snake ate her heart, she sees that Lysander is gone and goes out in the woods to find him.
### Act 3
#### Act 3 Scene 1
[[File:My Mistress with a Monster is in Love.jpg|thumb|A drawing of Puck, Titania and Bottom in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' from Act III, Scene II by [Buchel](Charles)(Charles Buchel), 1905|349x349px]]
Meanwhile, Quince and his band of five labourers ("rude [mechanicals](Mechanical (character))", as they are described by Puck) have arranged to perform their play about [and Thisbe](Pyramus)(Pyramus and Thisbe) for Theseus' wedding and venture into the forest, near Titania's [bower](Dwelling), for their rehearsal. Quince leads the actors in their rehearsal of the play. Bottom is spotted by Puck, who (taking his name to be another word for a [jackass](Donkey)) transforms his head into that of a [donkey](donkey). When Bottom returns for his next lines, the other workmen run screaming in terror: They claim that they are haunted, much to Bottom's confusion. Determined to await his friends, he begins to sing to himself. Titania, having received the love-potion, is awakened by Bottom's singing and immediately falls in love with him. (In the words of the play, "Titania waked, and straightway loved an ass.") She lavishes him with the attention of her and her fairies, and while she is in this state of devotion, Oberon takes the [changeling](changeling) boy.
#### Act 3 Scene 2
Oberon sees Demetrius still following Hermia. When Demetrius goes to sleep, Oberon condemns Puck's mistake and sends him to get Helena while he charms Demetrius' eyes. Upon waking up, he sees Lysander and Helena and instantly falls for her. Now, under the spell, the two men have fallen for her. However, Helena is convinced that her two suitors are mocking her, as neither loved her originally. Hermia finds Lysander and asks why he left her, but Lysander claims he never loved Hermia, instead loving Helena. This soon turns into a quarrel between the two ladies, with Helena chiding Hermia for joining in the mockery session, followed by the latter furiously charging at her for stealing her true love’s heart and blaming her for the supposed ‘mockery’. Oberon and Puck decide that they must resolve this conflict, and by the morning, none of them will have any memory of what happened, as if it were a dream. Oberon arranges everything so Helena, Hermia, Demetrius and Lysander will all believe they have been dreaming when they awaken. Puck distracts Lysander and Demetrius from fighting over Helena's love by mimicking their voices and leading them apart. Eventually, all four find themselves separately falling asleep in the glade. Once they fall asleep, Puck administers the love potion to Lysander again, returning his love to Hermia again, and cast another spell over the four Athenian lovers, claiming all will be well in the morning. Once they awaken, the lovers assume that whatever happened was a dream and not reality.
### Act 4
#### Act 4 Scene 1
Having achieved his goals, Oberon releases Titania and orders Puck to remove the donkey's head from Bottom. The fairies then disappear, and Theseus and Hippolyta arrive on the scene, during an early morning hunt. They find the lovers still sleeping in the glade. They wake up the lovers and, since Demetrius no longer loves Hermia, Theseus over-rules Egeus's demands and arranges a group wedding. The lovers at first believe they are still in a dream and cannot recall what has happened. The lovers decide that the night's events must have been a dream, as they walk back to Athens.
#### Act 4 Scene 2
After they exit, Bottom awakes, and he too decides that he must have experienced a dream "past the wit of man". At Quince's house, he and his team of actors worry that Bottom has gone missing. Quince laments that Bottom is the only man who can take on the lead role of Pyramus. Bottom returns, and the actors get ready to put on "Pyramus and Thisbe".
### Act 5
The final scene in the play, Theseus, Hippolyta and the lovers watch the six workmen perform *Pyramus and Thisbe* in Athens. The mechanicals are so terrible at playing their roles that the guests laugh as if it were meant to be a comedy, and everyone retires to bed. Afterwards, Oberon, Titania, Puck, and other fairies enter, and bless the house and its occupants with good fortune. After all the other characters leave, Puck "restores amends" and suggests that what the [audience](audience) experienced might just be a dream.
## Sources
[[File:Titania and Bottom Henry Fuseli (1741–1825) Tate.jpg|thumb|*[and Bottom](Titania)(Titania and Bottom)*, [Fuseli](Henry)(Henry Fuseli) (c.1790)]]
It is unknown exactly when ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was written or first performed, but on the basis of topical references and an allusion to [Spenser](Edmund)(Edmund Spenser)'s *[Epithalamion](Epithalamion (poem))*, it is usually dated 1595 or early 1596. Some have theorised that the play might have been written for an aristocratic wedding (for example that of [Carey, Lady Berkeley](Elizabeth)(Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley)), while others suggest that it was written for the [Queen](Elizabeth I of England) to celebrate the [day](feast)(Midsummer Day) of [John](St.)(John the Apostle), but no evidence exists to support this theory. In any case, it would have been performed at [Theatre](The)(The Theatre) and, later, [Globe](The)(Globe Theater). Though it is not a translation or adaptation of an earlier work, various sources such as [Ovid](Ovid)'s *[Metamorphoses](Metamorphoses)* and [Chaucer](Chaucer)'s "[Knight's Tale](The)(The Knight's Tale)" served as inspiration. [Aristophanes](Aristophanes)' classical Greek comedy *[Birds](The)(The Birds (play))* (also set in the countryside near Athens) has been proposed as a source due to the fact that both Procne and Titania are awakened by male characters (Hoopoe and Bottom the Weaver) who have animal heads and who sing two-stanza songs about birds. According to John Twyning, the play's plot of four lovers undergoing a trial in the woods was intended as a "riff" on *[Busant](Der)(Der Busant)*, a [High German](Middle)(Middle High German) poem.
According to Dorothea Kehler, the writing period can be placed between 1594 and 1596, which means that Shakespeare had probably already completed *[and Juliet](Romeo)(Romeo and Juliet)* and was still in contemplation of *[Merchant of Venice](The)(The Merchant of Venice)*. The play belongs to the author's early-middle period, a time when Shakespeare devoted primary attention to the [lyricism](lyricism) of his works.
## Date and text
[[Quarto Printing of A Midsummer Night's Dream.jpg|thumb|left|The title page from the first quarto, printed in 1600](File:First)]
The play was entered into the [Register](Stationers' Register) of the [Company](Stationers')(Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers) on 8 October 1600 by the bookseller [Fisher](Thomas)(Thomas Fisher (printer)), who published the [quarto](first)(first quarto) edition later that year. A [quarto](second)(second quarto) was printed in 1619 by [Jaggard](William)(William Jaggard), as part of his so-called [Folio](False)(False Folio). The play next appeared in print in the [Folio](First)(First Folio) of 1623. The title page of [Q1](first quarto) states that the play was "sundry times publickely acted" prior to 1600. The first performance known with certainty occurred at [Court](Hampton)(Hampton Court) on 1 January 1604, as a prelude to *[Masque of Indian and China Knights](The)(The Masque of Indian and China Knights)*. Leeds Barroll, *Anna of Denmark, Queen of England: A Cultural Biography* (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001), p. 83.
## Themes and motifs
### Lovers' bliss
In [Greece](Ancient)(Ancient Greece), long before the creation of the Christian celebrations of [John's Day](St.)(Midsummer), the summer solstice was marked by [Adonia](Adonia), a festival to mourn the death of [Adonis](Adonis), the devoted mortal lover of the goddess [Aphrodite](Aphrodite). According to [Ovid](Ovid)'s *[Metamorphoses](Metamorphoses)*, Aphrodite took the orphaned infant Adonis to the [underworld](underworld) to be raised by [Persephone](Persephone). He grew to be a beautiful young man, and when Aphrodite returned to retrieve him, Persephone did not want to let him go. Zeus settled the dispute by giving Adonis one-third of the year with Persephone, one-third of the year with Aphrodite, and the remaining third where he chose. Adonis chose to spend two-thirds of the year with his paramour, Aphrodite. He bled to death in his lover's arms after being gored by a boar. Mythology has various stories attributing the colour of certain flowers to staining by the blood of Adonis or Aphrodite.
The story of Venus and Adonis was well known to the Elizabethans and inspired many works, including Shakespeare's own hugely popular narrative poem, *[and Adonis](Venus)(Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem))*, written while London's theatres were closed because of plague. It was published in 1593.*[and Adonis](Venus)(Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem))*
The wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta and the mistaken and waylaid lovers, Titania and Bottom, even the erstwhile acting troupe, model various aspects (and forms) of love.
### Carnivalesque
Both David Wiles of the [of London](University)(University of London) and [Bloom](Harold)(Harold Bloom) of [University](Yale)(Yale University) have strongly endorsed the reading of this play under the themes of [Carnivalesque](Carnivalesque), [Bacchanalia](Bacchanalia), and [Saturnalia](Saturnalia). Writing in 1998, David Wiles stated that: "The starting point for my own analysis will be the proposition that although we encounter ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a text, it was historically part of an aristocratic carnival. It was written for a wedding, and part of the festive structure of the wedding night. The audience who saw the play in the public theatre in the months that followed became vicarious participants in an aristocratic festival from which they were physically excluded. My purpose will be to demonstrate how closely the play is integrated with a historically specific upper-class celebration." Wiles argued in 1993 that the play was written to celebrate the Carey-Berkeley wedding. The date of the wedding was fixed to coincide with a conjunction of Venus and the new moon, highly propitious for conceiving an heir.Wiles 1993
### Love
[[File:Simmons-Hermia and Lysander. A Midsummer Night's Dream.jpg|thumb|*Hermia and Lysander* by [Simmons](John)(John Simmons (painter)) (1870)]]
[Bevington](David)(David Bevington) argues that the play represents the dark side of love. He writes that the fairies make light of love by mistaking the lovers and by applying a love potion to Queen Titania's eyes, forcing her to fall in love with an ass. In the forest, both couples are beset by problems. Hermia and Lysander are both met by Puck, who provides some comic relief in the play by confounding the four lovers in the forest. However, the play also alludes to serious themes. At the end of the play, Hippolyta and Theseus, happily married, watch the play about the unfortunate lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, and are able to enjoy and laugh at it. Helena and Demetrius are both oblivious to the dark side of their love, totally unaware of what may have come of the events in the forest.
### Problem with time
There is a dispute over the scenario of the play as it is cited at first by Theseus that "four happy days bring in another moon".''A Midsummer Night's Dream*, I.I.2–3. The wood episode then takes place at a night of no Moon, but Lysander asserts that there will be so much light in the very night they will escape that dew on the grass will be shining like liquid pearls.*A Midsummer Night's Dream*, I.I.208–13. Also, in the next scene, Quince states that they will rehearse in moonlight,*A Midsummer Night's Dream'', I.II.90–9. which creates a real confusion. It is possible that the Moon set during the night allowing Lysander to escape in the moonlight and for the actors to rehearse, then for the wood episode to occur without moonlight. Theseus's statement can also be interpreted to mean "four days until the next month". Another possibility is that, since each month there are roughly four consecutive nights that the Moon is not seen due to its closeness to the Sun in the sky (the two nights before the moment of new moon, followed by the two following it), it may in this fashion indicate a liminal "dark of the moon" period full of magical possibilities. This is further supported by Hippolyta's opening lines exclaiming "And then the moon, like to a silver bow New-bent in heaven, shall behold the night of our solemnities."; the thin crescent-shaped moon being the hallmark of the new moon's return to the skies each month. The play also intertwines the Midsummer Eve of the title with [Day](May)(May Day), furthering the idea of a confusion of time and the seasons. This is evidenced by Theseus commenting on some slumbering youths, that they "observe The rite of May".''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', IV.I.131–5.
### Loss of individual identity
[[File:Edwin Landseer - Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania and Bottom - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|[Landseer](Edwin)(Edwin Landseer), ''[from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania and Bottom](Scene)(Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania and Bottom)'' (1848)]]
Maurice Hunt, former Chair of the English Department at [University](Baylor)(Baylor University), writes of the blurring of the identities of fantasy and reality in the play that make possible "that pleasing, narcotic dreaminess associated with the fairies of the play". By emphasising this theme, even in the setting of the play, Shakespeare prepares the reader's mind to accept the fantastic reality of the fairy world and its happenings. This also seems to be the axis around which the plot conflicts in the play occur. Hunt suggests that it is the breaking down of individual identities that leads to the central conflict in the story. It is the brawl between Oberon and Titania, based on a lack of recognition for the other in the relationship, that drives the rest of the drama in the story and makes it dangerous for any of the other lovers to come together due to the disturbance of Nature caused by a fairy dispute. Similarly, this failure to identify and to distinguish is what leads Puck to mistake one set of lovers for another in the forest, placing the flower's juice on Lysander's eyes instead of Demetrius'.
Victor Kiernan, a Marxist scholar and historian, writes that it is for the greater sake of love that this loss of identity takes place and that individual characters are made to suffer accordingly: "It was the more extravagant cult of love that struck sensible people as irrational, and likely to have dubious effects on its acolytes." He believes that identities in the play are not so much lost as they are blended together to create a type of haze through which distinction becomes nearly impossible. It is driven by a desire for new and more practical ties between characters as a means of coping with the strange world within the forest, even in relationships as diverse and seemingly unrealistic as the brief love between Titania and Bottom: "It was the tidal force of this social need that lent energy to relationships."
The aesthetics scholar David Marshall draws out this theme even further by noting that the loss of identity reaches its fullness in the description of the mechanicals and their assumption of other identities. In describing the occupations of the acting troupe, he writes "Two construct or put together, two mend and repair, one weaves and one sews. All join together what is apart or mend what has been rent, broken, or sundered." In Marshall's opinion, this loss of individual identity not only blurs specificities, it creates new identities found in community, which Marshall points out may lead to some understanding of Shakespeare's opinions on love and marriage. Further, the mechanicals understand this theme as they take on their individual parts for a corporate performance of Pyramus and Thisbe. Marshall remarks that "To be an actor is to double and divide oneself, to discover oneself in two parts: both oneself and not oneself, both the part and not the part." He claims that the mechanicals understand this and that each character, particularly among the lovers, has a sense of laying down individual identity for the greater benefit of the group or pairing. It seems that a desire to lose one's individuality and find identity in the love of another is what quietly moves the events of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. As the primary sense of motivation, this desire is reflected even in the scenery depictions and the story's overall mood.
### Ambiguous sexuality
[[Heinrich Füssli - The Awakening of the Fairy Queen Titania, c1775-1790 - Kunstmuseum Winterthur.jpg|thumb|left|*The Awakening of the Fairy Queen Titania*](File:Johann)]
In his essay "Preposterous Pleasures: Queer Theories and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream",* Douglas E. Green explores possible interpretations of alternative sexuality that he finds within the text of the play, in juxtaposition to the proscribed social mores of the culture at the time the play was written. He writes that his essay "does not (seek to) rewrite *A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a gay play but rather explores some of its 'homoerotic significations' ... moments of 'queer' disruption and eruption in this Shakespearean comedy."
Green does not consider Shakespeare to have been a "sexual radical", but that the play represented a "topsy-turvy world" or "temporary holiday" that mediates or negotiates the "discontents of civilisation", which while resolved neatly in the story's conclusion, do not resolve so neatly in real life. Green writes that the "sodomitical elements", "[homoeroticism](homoeroticism)", "lesbianism", and even "compulsory heterosexuality"—the first hint of which may be Oberon's obsession with Titania's changeling ward—in the story must be considered in the context of the "culture of early modern England" as a commentary on the "aesthetic rigidities of comic form and political ideologies of the prevailing order".
### Feminism
[[File:Edward Robert Hughes - Midsummer Eve (1908c).jpg|thumb|upright|*Midsummer Eve* by [Robert Hughes](Edward)(Edward Robert Hughes) c. 1908]]
Male dominance is one thematic element found in the play. In ''A Midsummer Night's Dream*, Lysander and Hermia escape into the woods for a night where they do not fall under the laws of Theseus or Egeus. Upon their arrival in Athens, the couples are married. Marriage is seen as the ultimate social achievement for women while men can go on to do many other great things and gain social recognition. In *The Imperial Votaress*, Louis Montrose draws attention to male and female gender roles and norms present in the comedy in connection with Elizabethan culture. In reference to the triple wedding, he says, "The festive conclusion in *A Midsummer Night's Dream'' depends upon the success of a process by which the feminine pride and power manifested in Amazon warriors, possessive mothers, unruly wives, and wilful daughters are brought under the control of lords and husbands." He says that the consummation of marriage is how power over a woman changes hands from father to husband. A connection is drawn between flowers and sexuality. Montrose sees the juice employed by Oberon as symbolising menstrual blood as well as the "sexual blood shed by 'virgins'". While blood as a result of menstruation is representative of a woman's power, blood as a result of a first sexual encounter represents man's power over women.
There are points in the play, however, when there is an absence of patriarchal control. In his book *Power on Display*, Leonard Tennenhouse says the problem in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is the problem of "authority gone archaic". The Athenian law requiring a daughter to die if she does not do her father's will is outdated. Tennenhouse contrasts the patriarchal rule of Theseus in Athens with that of Oberon in the carnivalistic Faerie world. The disorder in the land of the fairies completely opposes the world of Athens. He states that during times of carnival and festival, male power is broken down. For example, what happens to the four lovers in the woods as well as Bottom's dream represents chaos that contrasts with Theseus' political order. However, Theseus does not punish the lovers for their disobedience. According to Tennenhouse, by forgiving the lovers, he has made a distinction between the law of the patriarch (Egeus) and that of the monarch (Theseus), creating two different voices of authority. This can be compared to the time of [I](Elizabeth)(Elizabeth I), in which monarchs were seen as having two bodies: the body natural and the body politic. Tennenhouse says that Elizabeth's succession itself represented both the voice of a patriarch and the voice of a monarch: (1) her father's will, which stated that the crown should pass to her and (2) the fact that she was the daughter of a king.
## Criticism and interpretation
### Critical history
#### 17th century
[[File:Samuel Pepys.jpg|thumb|right|[Pepys](Samuel)(Samuel Pepys), who wrote the oldest known comments on the play, found ''A Midsummer Night's Dream* to be "the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life".]]
Dorothea Kehler has attempted to trace the criticism of the work through the centuries. The earliest such piece of criticism that she found was a 1662 entry in the diary of [Pepys](Samuel)(Samuel Pepys). He found the play to be "the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in my life". He did, however, admit that it had "some good dancing and some handsome women, which was all my pleasure".
The next critic known to comment on the play was [Dryden](John)(John Dryden), writing in 1677. He was preoccupied with the question of whether [fairies](Fairy) should be depicted in theatrical plays, since they did not exist. He concluded that poets should be allowed to depict things which do not exist but derive from [belief](popular)(popular belief). And fairies are of this sort, as are [pygmies](Pygmy (Greek mythology)) and the extraordinary effects of [magic](Magic (paranormal)). Based on this reasoning, Dryden defended the merits of three fantasy plays: *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, *[Tempest](The)(The Tempest)'', and [Jonson](Ben)(Ben Jonson)'s *[Masque of Queens](The)(The Masque of Queens)*.
#### 18th century
[Gildon](Charles)(Charles Gildon) in the early 18th century recommended this play for its beautiful reflections, descriptions, similes, and topics. Gildon thought that Shakespeare drew inspiration from the works of [Ovid](Ovid) and [Virgil](Virgil), and that he could read them in the original [Latin](Latin) and not in later translations.
[Duff](William)(William Duff (writer)), writing in the 1770s, also recommended this play. He felt the depiction of the supernatural was among Shakespeare's strengths, not weaknesses. He especially praised the poetry and wit of the fairies, and the quality of the verse involved. His contemporary [Gentleman](Francis)(Francis Gentleman), an admirer of Shakespeare, was much less appreciative of this play. He felt that the poetry, the characterisation, and the originality of the play were its strengths, but that its major weaknesses were a "puerile" plot and that it consists of an odd mixture of incidents. The connection of the incidents to each other seemed rather forced to Gentleman.
[Malone](Edmond)(Edmond Malone), a Shakespearean scholar and critic of the late 18th century, found another supposed flaw in this particular play, its lack of a proper [decorum](decorum). He found that the "more exalted characters" (the aristocrats of Athens) are subservient to the interests of those beneath them. In other words, the lower-class characters play larger roles than their betters and overshadow them. He found this to be a grave error of the writer. Malone thought that this play had to be an early and immature work of Shakespeare and, by implication, that an older writer would know better. Malone's main argument seems to derive from the [classism](Class discrimination) of his era. He assumes that the [aristocrats](Aristocracy (class)) had to receive more attention in the narrative and to be more important, more distinguished, and better than the lower class.
#### 19th century
[[Image:William Hazlitt self-portrait (1802).jpg|thumb|right|[Hazlitt](William)(William Hazlitt) preferred reading ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' over watching it acted on stage.]]
According to Kehler, significant 19th-century criticism began in 1808 with [Wilhelm Schlegel](August)(August Wilhelm Schlegel). Schlegel perceived unity in the multiple plot lines. He noted that the donkey's head is not a random transformation, but reflects Bottom's true nature. He identified the tale of Pyramus and Thisbe as a [burlesque](burlesque) of the Athenian lovers. In 1817, [Hazlitt](William)(William Hazlitt) found the play to be better as a written work than a staged production. He found the work to be "a delightful fiction" but when staged, it is reduced to a dull [pantomime](pantomime). He concluded that poetry and the stage do not fit together. Kehler finds the comment to be more of an indication of the quality of the theatrical productions available to Hazlitt, rather than a true indication of the play's supposed unsuitability to the stage. She notes that prior to the 1840s, all stage productions of this play were adaptations unfaithful to the original text.
In 1811–1812, [Taylor Coleridge](Samuel)(Samuel Taylor Coleridge) made two points of criticism about this play. The first was that the entire play should be seen as a [dream](dream). Second, that Helena is guilty of "ungrateful treachery" to Hermia. He thought that this was a reflection of the lack of [principle](principle)s in women, who are more likely to follow their own passions and inclinations than men. Women, in his view, feel less abhorrence for moral [evil](evil), though they are concerned with its outward consequences. Coleridge was probably the earliest critic to introduce [gender](gender) issues to the analysis of this play. Kehler dismisses his views on Helena as indications of Coleridge's own [misogyny](misogyny), rather than genuine reflections of Helena's morality.
[[File:Augustins - La Folie de Titania - Paul Jean Gervais 1897 2004 1 188.jpg|thumb|left|[Maginn](William)(William Maginn) thought Bottom a lucky man and was particularly amused that he treats Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, "as carelessly as if she were the wench of the next-door tapster".]]
In 1837, [Maginn](William)(William Maginn) produced essays on the play. He turned his attention to Theseus' speech about "the lunatic, the lover, and the poet" and to Hippolyta's response to it. He regarded Theseus as the voice of Shakespeare himself and the speech as a call for imaginative audiences. He also viewed Bottom as a lucky man on whom [Fortune](Fortuna) showered favours beyond measure. He was particularly amused by the way Bottom reacts to the love of the [queen](fairy)(Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)): completely unfazed. Maginn argued that "Theseus would have bent in reverent awe before Titania. Bottom treats her as carelessly as if she were the wench of the next-door tapster." Finally, Maginn thought that Oberon should not be blamed for Titania's humiliation, which is the result of an accident. He viewed Oberon as angry with the "caprices" of his queen, but unable to anticipate that her charmed affections would be reserved for a weaver with a donkey's head.
In 1839, the philosopher [Ulrici](Hermann)(Hermann Ulrici) wrote that the play and its depiction of human life reflected the views of [Platonism](Platonism). In his view, Shakespeare implied that human life is nothing but a dream, suggesting influence from [Plato](Plato) and his followers who thought human reality is deprived of all genuine existence. Ulrici noted the way Theseus and Hippolyta behave here, like ordinary people. He agreed with Malone that this did not fit their stations in life, but viewed this behaviour as an indication of [parody](parody) about class differences.
[Halliwell-Phillipps](James)(James Halliwell-Phillipps), writing in the 1840s, found that there were many inconsistencies in the play, but considered it the most beautiful poetical drama ever written.
In 1849, [Knight](Charles)(Charles Knight (publisher)) also wrote about the play and its apparent lack of proper [stratification](social)(social stratification). He thought that this play indicated Shakespeare's maturity as a playwright, and that its "Thesean harmony" reflects proper decorum of character. He also viewed Bottom as the best-drawn character, with his self-confidence, authority, and self-love. He argued that Bottom stands as a representative of the whole human race. Like Hazlitt he felt that the work is best appreciated when read as a text, rather than acted on stage. He found the writing to be "subtle and ethereal", and standing above [criticism](literary)(literary criticism) and its reductive reasoning.
[[File:Lysander declaring his passion to Helena (Smirke, c. 1820-1825).jpg|thumb|right|[Gottfried Gervinus](Georg)(Georg Gottfried Gervinus) thought Hermia lacking in [piety](filial)(filial piety) and devoid of conscience for running away with Lysander, himself not a shining beacon of virtue (here seen wooing Helena).]]
Also in 1849, [Gottfried Gervinus](Georg)(Georg Gottfried Gervinus) wrote extensively about the play. He denied the theory that this play should be seen as a dream. He argued that it should be seen as an ethical construct and an [allegory](allegory). He thought that it was an allegorical depiction of the errors of sensual love, which is likened to a dream. In his view, Hermia lacks in [obedience](filial)(Filial piety) and acts as if devoid of conscience when she runs away with Lysander. Lysander is also guilty for disobeying and mocking his prospective father-in-law. Pyramus and Thisbe also lack in filial obedience, since they "woo by moonlight" behind their parents' backs. The fairies, in his view, should be seen as "personified dream gods". They represent the caprices of superficial love, and they lack in intellect, feeling, and ethics.
Gervinus also wrote on where the [fairyland](fairyland) of the play is located. Not in [Attica](Attica), but in the [Indies](Indies). His views on the Indies seem to Kehler to be influenced by [Orientalism](Orientalism). He speaks of the Indies as scented with the [aroma](aroma) of flowers, and as the place where mortals live in the state of a half-dream. Gervinus denies and devalues the loyalty of Titania to her friend. He views this supposed friendship as not grounded in spiritual association. Titania merely "delight[s] in her beauty, her 'swimming gait,' and her powers of imitation". Gervinus further views Titania as an immoral character for not trying to reconcile with her husband. In her resentment, Titania seeks separation from him, for which Gervinus blames her.
Gervinus wrote with elitist disdain about the mechanicals of the play and their acting aspirations. He described them as homely creatures with "hard hands and thick heads". They are, in his view, ignorant men who compose and act in plays merely for financial reward. They are not real artists. Gervinus reserves his praise and respect only for Theseus, who he thinks represents the intellectual man. Like several of his predecessors, Gervinus thought that this work should be read as a text and not acted on stage.
[[File:Charles Cowden Clarke.jpg|thumb|left|[Cowden Clarke](Charles)(Charles Cowden Clarke) appreciated the [mechanicals](Mechanical (character)), and in particular found [Bottom](Nick)(Nick Bottom) conceited but good-natured and imaginative.]]
In 1863, [Cowden Clarke](Charles)(Charles Cowden Clarke) also wrote on this play. Kehler notes he was the husband of famous Shakespearean scholar [Cowden Clarke](Mary)(Mary Cowden Clarke). Charles was more appreciative of the lower-class mechanicals of the play. He commented favourably on their individualisation and their collective richness of character. He thought that Bottom was conceited but good natured, and shows a considerable store of imagination in his interaction with the representatives of the fairy world. He also argued that Bottom's conceit was a quality inseparable from his secondary profession, that of an actor.
In 1872, Henry N. Hudson, an American clergyman and editor of Shakespeare, also wrote comments on this play. Kehler pays little attention to his writings, as they were largely derivative of previous works. She notes, however, that Hudson too believed that the play should be viewed as a dream. He cited the lightness of the characterisation as supporting of his view. In 1881, [Dowden](Edward)(Edward Dowden) argued that Theseus and his reflections on art are central to the play. He also argued that Theseus was one of the "heroic men of action" so central to Shakespeare's theatrical works.
[[Image:Horace Howard Furness.jpg|thumb|left|[Howard Furness](Horace)(Horace Howard Furness) defended ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' from claims of inconsistency, and felt this did not detract from the quality of the play.]]
Both [Howard Furness](Horace)(Horace Howard Furness) and Henry Austin Clapp were more concerned with the problem of the play's duration, though they held opposing views. Clapp, writing in 1885, commented on the inconsistency of the time depicted in the play, as it should take place in four days and nights and seems to last less than two, and felt that this added to the unrealistic quality of the play. Furness, defending the play in 1895, felt that the apparent inconsistency did not detract from the play's quality.
In 1887, Denton Jacques Snider argued that the play should be read as a [dialectic](dialectic), either between understanding and imagination or between prose and poetry. He also viewed the play as representing three phases or movements. The first is the Real World of the play, which represents reason. The second is the Fairy World, an ideal world which represents imagination and the supernatural. The third is their representation in art, where the action is self-reflective. Snider viewed Titania and her caprice as solely to blame for her marital strife with Oberon. She therefore deserves punishment, and Oberon is a dutiful husband who provides her with one. For failing to live in peace with Oberon and her kind, Titania is sentenced to fall in love with a human. And this human, unlike Oberon is a "horrid brute".
Towards the end of the 19th century, [Brandes](Georg)(Georg Brandes) (1895–6) and [S. Boas](Frederick)(Frederick S. Boas) (1896) were the last major additions to ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' criticism. Brandes' approach anticipates later [readings](psychological)(Psychoanalytic literary criticism), seeing Oberon's magic as symbolic and "typifying the sorcery of the erotic imagination". Brandes felt that in the play, Shakespeare looks inward at the "domain of the unconscious". Boas eschews the play as ethical treatise or psychological study and instead takes a more historicist and literal approach. To Boas the play is, despite its fantastical and exotic trappings, "essentially English and Elizabethan". He sees Theseus as a Tudor noble; Helena a mere plot device to "concentrate the four lovers on a single spot"; and the *Pyramus and Thisbe* play-within-the-play a parody of a prominent *[topos](literary topos)* of contemporary plays. Summing up their contributions, Kehler writes: "This is recognizably modern criticism."
#### 20th century
The 20th century brought new insights into the play. In 1961, Elizabeth Sewell argued that Shakespeare aligns himself not with the aristocrats of the play, but with Bottom and the [artisan](artisan)s. It is their task to produce a wedding entertainment, precisely the purpose of the writer on working in this play. Also in 1961, [Kermode](Frank)(Frank Kermode) wrote on the themes of the play and their literary sources. He counted among them fantasy, blind love, and divine love. He traced these themes to the works of [Macrobius](Macrobius), [Apuleius](Apuleius), and [Bruno](Giordano)(Giordano Bruno). Bottom also briefly alludes to a passage from the [Epistle to the Corinthians](First)(First Epistle to the Corinthians) by [the Apostle](Paul)(Paul the Apostle), dealing with divine love.}}
In 1964, R.W. Dent argued against theories that the exemplary model of love in the play is the rational love of Theseus and Hippolyta. He argued that in this work, love is inexplicable. It is the offspring of imagination, not reason. However the exemplary love of the play is one of an imagination controlled and restrained, and avoids the excesses of "dotage". Genuine love is contrasted with the [love](unrequited)(unrequited love) (and dotage) of Demetrius for Hermia, and with the supposed love (and dotage) of Titania for an unworthy object.
Dent also denied the rationality and wisdom typically attributed to Theseus. He reminded his readers that this is the character of [Theseus](Theseus) from [mythology](Greek)(Greek mythology), a creation himself of "antique fable". Theseus' views on art are far from rational or wise. He cannot tell the difference between an actual play and its interlude. The interlude of the play's acting troop is less about the art and more of an expression of the mechanicals' distrust of their own audience. They fear the audience reactions will be either excessive or inadequate, and say so on stage. Theseus fails to get the message.
Also in 1964, [Kott](Jan)(Jan Kott) offered his own views on the play. He saw the main themes of the play as being violence and "unrepressed animalistic sexuality". Both Lysander and Demetrius are, in his view, verbally brutal lovers, whose love interests are exchangeable and [objectified](Objectification). The [changeling](changeling) that Oberon desires is his new "sexual toy". The aristocrats of the play, both mortal and immortal, are [promiscuous](promiscuous). As for the Athenian lovers following their night in the forest, they are ashamed to talk about it because that night liberated them from themselves and social norms, and allowed them to reveal their real selves. Kott's views were controversial, and contemporary critics wrote either in favour of or against his ideas, but few ignored them.
In 1967, John A. Allen theorised that Bottom is a symbol of the animalistic aspect of humanity. He also thought Bottom was redeemed through the maternal tenderness of Titania, which allowed him to understand the love and self-sacrifice of Pyramus and Thisbe. In 1968, Stephen Fender offered his own views on the play. He emphasised the "terrifying power" of the fairies and argued that they control the play's events. They are the most powerful figures featured, not Theseus as often thought. He also emphasised the ethically [ambivalent](Ambivalence) characters of the play. Finally, Fender noted a layer of complexity in the play. Theseus, Hippolyta, and Bottom have contradictory reactions to the events of the night, and each has partly valid reasons for their reactions, implying that the puzzles offered to the play's audience can have no singular answer or meaning.
In 1969, Michael Taylor argued that previous critics offered a too cheerful view of what the play depicts. He emphasised the less pleasant aspects of the otherwise appealing fairies and the nastiness of the mortal Demetrius prior to his enchantment. He argued that the overall themes are the often painful aspects of love and the pettiness of people, which here include the fairies.
In 1970, R. A. Zimbardo viewed the play as full of symbols. The Moon and its phases alluded to in the play, in his view, stand for permanence in mutability. The play uses the principle of *[concors](discordia)(Enantiosis)* in several of its key scenes. Theseus and Hippolyta represent marriage and, symbolically, the reconciliation of the natural seasons or the phases of time. Hippolyta's story arc is that she must submit to Theseus and become a matron. Titania has to give up her motherly obsession with the changeling boy and passes through a symbolic death, and Oberon has to once again woo and win his wife. Kehler notes that Zimbardo took for granted the female subordination within the obligatory marriage, social views that were already challenged in the 1960s.
In 1971, James L. Calderwood offered a new view on the role of Oberon. He viewed the king as specialising in the arts of [illusion](illusion). Oberon, in his view, is the interior dramatist of the play, orchestrating events. He is responsible for the play's happy ending, when he influences Theseus to overrule Egeus and allow the lovers to marry. Oberon and Theseus bring harmony out of discord. He also suggested that the lovers' identities, which are blurred and lost in the forest, recall the unstable identities of the actors who constantly change roles. In fact the failure of the artisans' play is based on their chief flaw as actors: they can not lose their own identities to even temporarily replace them with those of their fictional roles.
Also in 1971, Andrew D. Weiner argued that the play's actual theme is unity. The poet's imagination creates unity by giving form to diverse elements, and the writer is addressing the spectator's own imagination which also creates and perceives unity. Weiner connected this unity to the concept of uniformity, and in turn viewed this as Shakespeare's allusion to the "eternal truths" of [Platonism](Platonism) and Christianity.
Also writing in 1971, Hugh M. Richmond offered an entirely new view of the play's love story lines. He argued that what passes for love in this play is actually a [self-destructive](Self-destructive behaviour) expression of [passion](Passion (emotion)). He argued that the play's significant characters are all affected by passion and by a [sadomasochistic](Sadomasochism) type of sexuality. This passion prevents the lovers from genuinely communicating with each other. At the same time it protects them from the disenchantment with the love interest that communication inevitably brings. The exception to the rule is Bottom, who is chiefly devoted to himself. His own [egotism](egotism) protects him from feeling passion for anyone else. Richmond also noted that there are parallels between the tale of [and Thisbe](Pyramus)(Pyramus and Thisbe), featured in this play, and that of Shakespeare's *[and Juliet](Romeo)(Romeo and Juliet)*.
In 1971, Neil Taylor argued that there was a double time-scheme in the play, making it seem to last a minimum of four nights but to also be timeless.
In 1972, Ralph Berry argued that Shakespeare was chiefly concerned with [epistemology](epistemology) in this play. The lovers declare illusion to be reality, the actors declare reality to be illusion. The play ultimately reconciles the seemingly opposing views and vindicates imagination. Also in 1972, [McFarland](Thomas)(Thomas McFarland) argued that the play is dominated by a mood of happiness and that it is one of the happiest literary creations ever produced. The mood is so lovely that the audience never feels fear or worry about the fate of the characters.
In 1974, [Garber](Marjorie)(Marjorie Garber) argued that metamorphosis is both the major subject of the play and the model of its structure. She noted that in this play, the entry in the woods is a dream-like change in perception, a change which affects both the characters and the audience. Dreams here take priority over reason, and are truer than the reality they seek to interpret and transform. Also in 1974, Alexander Leggatt offered his own reading of the play. He was certain that there are grimmer elements in the play, but they are overlooked because the audience focuses on the story of the sympathetic young lovers. He viewed the characters as separated into four groups which interact in various ways. Among the four, the fairies stand as the most sophisticated and unconstrained. The contrasts between the interacting groups produce the play's comic perspective.
In 1975, Ronald F. Miller expresses his view that the play is a study in the epistemology of imagination. He focused on the role of the fairies, who have a mysterious aura of evanescence and ambiguity. Also in 1975, [Bevington](David)(David Bevington) offered his own reading of the play. He in part refuted the ideas of Jan Kott concerning the sexuality of Oberon and the fairies. He pointed that Oberon may be [bisexual](Bisexuality) and his desire for the changeling boy may be sexual in nature, as Kott suggested. But there is little textual evidence to support this, as the writer left ambiguous clues concerning the idea of love among the fairies. He concluded that therefore their love life is "unknowable and incomprehensible". According to Bevington, the main theme of the play is the conflict between sexual desire and rational restraint, an essential tension reflected throughout the play. It is the tension between the dark and benevolent sides of love, which are reconciled in the end.
In 1977, [Paolucci](Anne)(Anne Paolucci) argued that the play lasts five days.
In 1979, M. E. Lamb suggested that the play may have borrowed an aspect of the ancient myth of Theseus: the Athenian's entry into the [Labyrinth](Labyrinth) of the [Minotaur](Minotaur). The woods of the play serve as a metaphorical labyrinth, and for [Elizabethans](Elizabethan era) the woods were often an allegory of sexual sin. The lovers in the woods conquer irrational passion and find their way back. Bottom with his animal head becomes a comical version of the Minotaur. Bottom also becomes [Ariadne](Ariadne)'s thread which guides the lovers. In having the new Minotaur rescue rather than threaten the lovers, the classical myth is comically inverted. Theseus himself is the bridegroom of the play who has left the labyrinth and promiscuity behind, having conquered his passion. The artisans may stand in for the master craftsman of the myth, and builder of the Labyrinth, [Daedalus](Daedalus). Even Theseus' best known speech in the play, which connects the poet with the lunatic and the lover may be another metaphor of the lover. It is a challenge for the poet to confront the irrationality he shares with lovers and lunatics, accepting the risks of entering the labyrinth.
Also in 1979, Harold F. Brooks agreed that the main theme of the play, its very heart, is desire and its culmination in marriage. All other subjects are of lesser importance, including that of imagination and that of appearance and reality. In 1980, Florence Falk offered a view of the play based on theories of [anthropology](cultural)(cultural anthropology). She argued that the play is about traditional [of passage](rites)(Rite of passage), which trigger development within the individual and society. Theseus has detached himself from imagination and rules Athens harshly. The lovers flee from the structure of his society to the *[communitas](communitas)* of the woods. The woods serve here as the *communitas*, a temporary aggregate for persons whose asocial desires require accommodation to preserve the health of society. This is the rite of passage where the asocial can be contained. Falk identified this *communitas* with the woods, with the unconscious, with the dream space. She argued that the lovers experience release into self-knowledge and then return to the renewed Athens. This is "*societas*", the resolution of the dialectic between the dualism of *communitas* and structure.
Also in 1980, Christian critic R. Chris Hassel, Jr. offered a Christian view of the play. The experience of the lovers and that of Bottom (as expressed in his awakening speech) teach them "a new humility, a healthy sense of folly". They realise that there are things that are true despite the fact that they can not be seen or understood. They just learned a lesson of faith. Hassel also thought that Theseus' speech on the lunatic, the lover, and the poet is an applause to imagination. But it is also a laughing rejection of futile attempts to perceive, categorise, or express it.
[[File:Puck (29391431162).jpg|thumb|left|Alex Aronson considered Puck a representation of the [mind](unconscious)(unconscious mind) and a contrast to Theseus as a representation of the [mind](conscious)(Consciousness).]]
Some of the interpretations of the play have been based on [psychology](psychology) and its diverse theories. In 1972, Alex Aronson argued that Theseus represents the [mind](conscious)(Consciousness) and Puck represents the [mind](unconscious)(unconscious mind). Puck, in this view, is a guise of the unconscious as a [trickster](trickster), while remaining subservient to Oberon. Aronson thought that the play explores unauthorised desire and linked it to the concept of [fertility](fertility). He viewed the donkey and the trees as fertility symbols. The lovers' sexual desires are symbolised in their forest encounters. In 1973, Melvin Goldstein argued that the lovers can not simply return to Athens and wed. First, they have to pass through stages of madness (multiple disguises), and discover their "authentic sexual selves". In 1979, [N. Holland](Norman)(Norman N. Holland) applied [literary criticism](psychoanalytic)(psychoanalytic literary criticism) to the play. He interpreted the dream of Hermia as if it was a real dream. In his view, the dream uncovers the phases of Hermia's sexual development. Her search for options is her [mechanism](defence)(defence mechanism). She both desires Lysander and wants to retain her virginity.
In 1981, Mordecai Marcus argued for a new meaning of [Eros](Eros) (Love) and [Thanatos](Thanatos) (Death) in this play. In his view, Shakespeare suggests that love requires the risk of death. Love achieves force and direction from the interweaving of the life impulse with the deathward-release of [tension](sexual)(sexual tension). He also viewed the play as suggesting that the healing force of love is connected to the acceptance of death, and vice versa.
In 1987, Jan Lawson Hinely argued that this play has a therapeutic value. Shakespeare in many ways explores the sexual fears of the characters, releases them, and transforms them. And the happy ending is the reestablishment of social harmony. [Patriarchy](Patriarchy) itself is also challenged and transformed, as the men offer their women a loving equality, one founded on respect and trust. She even viewed Titania's loving acceptance of the donkey-headed Bottom as a metaphor for basic trust. This trust is what enables the warring and uncertain lovers to achieve their sexual maturity. In 1988, Allen Dunn argued that the play is an exploration of the characters' fears and desires, and that its structure is based on a series of sexual clashes.
In 1991, Barbara Freedman argued that the play justifies the ideological formation of [monarchy](absolute)(absolute monarchy), and makes visible for examination the maintenance process of [hegemonic](Hegemony) order.
## Performance history
[[Folio Printing of A Midsummer Night's Dream.jpg|thumb|The first page printed in the Second Folio of 1632](File:Second)]
### 17th and 18th centuries
During the years of the [Puritan](Puritan) [Interregnum](English Interregnum) when the theatres were closed (1642–1660), the comic subplot of Bottom and his compatriots was performed as a [droll](droll). Drolls were comical playlets, often adapted from the subplots of Shakespearean and other plays, that could be attached to the acts of acrobats and jugglers and other allowed performances, thus circumventing the ban against drama. When the theatres re-opened in 1660, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream* was acted in adapted form, like many other Shakespearean plays. [Pepys](Samuel)(Samuel Pepys) saw it on 29 September 1662 and thought it "*the most insipid, ridiculous play that ever I saw ...*"
After the Jacobean / Caroline era, *A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was never performed in its entirety until the 1840s. Instead, it was heavily adapted in forms like [Purcell](Henry)(Henry Purcell)'s musical masque/play *[Fairy Queen](The)(The Fairy-Queen)* (1692), which had a successful run at the [Garden Theatre](Dorset)(Dorset Garden Theatre), but was not revived. [Leveridge](Richard)(Richard Leveridge) turned the Pyramus and Thisbe scenes into an Italian opera burlesque, acted at [Inn Fields](Lincoln's)(Lincoln's Inn Fields) in 1716. [Frederick Lampe](John)(John Frederick Lampe) elaborated upon Leveridge's version in 1745. Charles Johnson had used the Pyramus and Thisbe material in the finale of *[in a Forest](Love)(Love in a Forest)*, his 1723 adaptation of *[You Like It](As)(As You Like It)*. In 1755, [Garrick](David)(David Garrick) did the opposite of what had been done a century earlier: he extracted Bottom and his companions and acted the rest, in an adaptation called *The Fairies.* Frederic Reynolds produced an operatic version in 1816.
### The Victorian stage
In 1840, [Vestris](Madame)(Lucia Elizabeth Vestris) at [Garden](Covent)(Covent Garden) returned the play to the stage with a relatively full text, adding musical sequences and balletic dances. Vestris took the role of Oberon, and for the next seventy years, Oberon and [Puck](Puck (Shakespeare)) would always be played by women.
After the success of Madame Vestris' production, [theatre](19th-century)(19th-century theatre) continued to stage the *Dream* as a spectacle, often with a cast numbering nearly one hundred. Detailed sets were created for the palace and the forest, and the fairies were portrayed as gossamer-winged ballerinas. The [overture](A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn)) by [Mendelssohn](Felix)(Felix Mendelssohn) was always used throughout this period. [Daly](Augustin)(Augustin Daly)'s production opened in 1895 in London and ran for 21 performances. Shakespeare and the Players|website=shakespeare.emory.edu|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-12}}
### 20th and 21st centuries
[[Cardinale as Puck from the Carmel Shakespeare Festival production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream*, September 2000](File:MidsummerPuckFlying.jpg|thumb|upright|Vince)]
[[9.jpg|thumb|Performance by Saratov Puppet Theatre "Teremok" *A Midsummer Night's Dream'' based on the play by William Shakespeare (2007)](File:SarTerem)]
In 1905 [Asche](Oscar)(Oscar Asche) staged a production at the [Theatre](Adelphi)(Adelphi Theatre) in London with himself as Bottom and [Ferrar](Beatrice)(Beatrice Ferrar) as Puck.
[Beerbohm Tree](Herbert)(Herbert Beerbohm Tree) staged a 1911 production which featured "mechanical birds twittering in beech trees, a simulated stream, fairies wearing battery-operated lighting, and live rabbits following trails of food across the stage."
[[File:A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Doon School.jpg|thumb|A 2010 production of the play at [Doon School](The)(The Doon School), India]]
[Reinhardt](Max)(Max Reinhardt (theatre director)) staged ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' thirteen times between 1905 and 1934, introducing a revolving set. After he fled Germany he devised a more spectacular outdoor version at the [Bowl](Hollywood)(Hollywood Bowl) in September 1934. The shell was removed and replaced by a forest planted in tons of dirt hauled in especially for the event, and a trestle was constructed from the hills to the stage. The wedding procession inserted between Acts IV and V crossed the trestle with torches down the hillside. The cast included [Cagney](James)(James Cagney), [de Havilland](Olivia)(Olivia de Havilland), [Rooney](Mickey)(Mickey Rooney), [Jory](Victor)(Victor Jory), and a corps of dancers that included [McQueen](Butterfly)(Butterfly McQueen). The play was accompanied by Mendelssohn's music.
On the strength of this production, [Brothers](Warner)(Warner Brothers) signed Reinhardt to direct [filmed version](a)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)), Hollywood's first Shakespeare movie since [Fairbanks Sr.](Douglas)(Douglas Fairbanks) and [Pickford](Mary)(Mary Pickford)'s *[of the Shrew](Taming)(Taming of the Shrew)* in 1929. Jory (Oberon), Rooney (Puck) and De Havilland (Hermia) reprised their roles from the Hollywood Bowl cast. [Cagney](James)(James Cagney) starred, in his only Shakespearean role, as Bottom. Other actors in the film who played Shakespearean roles just this once included [E. Brown](Joe)(Joe E. Brown) and [Powell](Dick)(Dick Powell). [Wolfgang Korngold](Erich)(Erich Wolfgang Korngold) was brought from Austria to arrange Mendelssohn's music for the film. He used not only the ''[Night's Dream](Midsummer)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (Mendelssohn))* music but also several other pieces by Mendelssohn. Korngold went on to make a legendary career in Hollywood, remaining in the United States after [Germany](Nazi)(Nazi Germany) annexed Austria.
Director [Granville-Barker](Harley)(Harley Granville-Barker) introduced in 1914 a less spectacular way of staging the *Dream'': he reduced the size of the cast and used Elizabethan folk music instead of Mendelssohn. He replaced large, complex sets with a simple system of patterned curtains. He portrayed the fairies as golden robotic insectoid creatures based on Cambodian idols. His simpler, sparer staging significantly influenced subsequent productions.
In 1970, [Brook](Peter)(Peter Brook) [the play](staged)(1970 Royal Shakespeare Company production of A Midsummer Night's Dream) for the [Shakespeare Company](Royal)(Royal Shakespeare Company) in a blank white box, in which masculine fairies engaged in [circus](Circus (performing arts)) tricks such as [trapeze](trapeze) artistry. Brook also introduced the subsequently common notion of doubling Theseus/Oberon and Hippolyta/Titania, as if to suggest that the world of the fairies is a mirror version of the world of the mortals. British actors who played roles in Brook's production included [Stewart](Patrick)(Patrick Stewart), [Kingsley](Ben)(Ben Kingsley), John Kane (Puck) and [de la Tour](Frances)(Frances de la Tour) (Helena). Recordings documenting this production survive.
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' has been produced many times in New York, including a production by the [for a New Audience](Theatre)(Theatre for a New Audience), produced by [Papp](Joseph)(Joseph Papp) at the [Theater](Public)(Public Theater), and also several stagings by the [York Shakespeare Festival](New)(New York Shakespeare Festival) at the [Theatre](Delacorte)(Delacorte Theatre) in Central Park. In 1978, the [Shakespeare Company](Riverside)(Riverside Shakespeare Company) staged an outdoor production starring Eric Hoffmann as Puck, with Karen Hurley as Titania and Eric Conger as Oberon, directed by company founder Gloria Skurski. There have been several variations since then, including some set in the 1980s.
The Maryland Shakespeare Players at [of Maryland](University)(University of Maryland) staged a queer production in 2015 in which the lovers were same-sex couples and the mechanicals were drag queens.
The [of Michigan](University)(University of Michigan)'s [Arboretum](Nichols)(Nichols Arboretum)'s programme [in the Arb](Shakespeare)(Shakespeare in the Arb) has presented a play every summer since 2001. Shakespeare in the Arb has produced ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' three times. These performances take place in a natural setting, with lush woods, a flowing river, and steep hills. The performance takes place in several places, with actors and audience moving together to each setting. "As one critic commented, 'The actors used the vastness of its Arb[oretum] stage to full advantage, making entrances from behind trees, appearing over rises and vanishing into the woods.'"
Artistic director [Rice](Emma)(Emma Rice)'s first production at [Globe](Shakespeare's)(Shakespeare's Globe) in 2016 was a version of the play. While not "a production to please the purists", it received praise. A contemporary reworking, it included gender-switched characters and [Bollywood](Bollywood) influences.
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## Adaptations and cultural references
### Plays
*Absurda Comica, oder Herr Peter Squentz* by [Gryphius](Andreas)(Andreas Gryphius), which was probably written between 1648 and 1650 and was published in 1657, is evidently based on the comic episode of [Pyramus](Pyramus) and [Thisbe](Thisbe) in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.
[Ludwig](Ken)(Ken Ludwig)'s 2003 comic play, *Shakespeare in Hollywood*, is set during the production of the [film](1935)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)). Oberon and Puck appear on the scene, and find themselves cast as themselves.
### Literary
[Stanley Moss](W.)(W. Stanley Moss) used the quotation "Ill met by moonlight" as the title of his *[Met by Moonlight](Ill)(Ill Met by Moonlight)* (1950), a non-fiction book about the [of General Kreipe](kidnap)(kidnap of General Kreipe) during WWII. The book was adapted into a [with the same name](film)(Ill Met by Moonlight (film)) in 1957.
[Strauß](Botho)(Botho Strauß)'s play *[Park](The)(The Park (play))* (1983) is based on characters and [motifs](motif (literature)) from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.
[Gaiman](Neil)(Neil Gaiman)'s comic series *[Sandman](The)(The Sandman (Vertigo))* uses the play in the 1990 issue "[Midsummer Night's Dream](A)(The Sandman: Dream Country#"A Midsummer Night's Dream")". In this story, Shakespeare and his company perform the play for the real Oberon and Titania and an audience of fairies. The play is heavily quoted in the comic, and Shakespeare's son [Hamnet](Hamnet Shakespeare) appears in the play as the Indian boy. This issue was the first and only comic to win the [Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction](World)(World Fantasy Award for Best Short Fiction), in 1991.
[Pratchett](Terry)(Terry Pratchett)'s book *[and Ladies](Lords)(Lords and Ladies (novel))* (1992) is a [parody](parody) of the play.
[Cornwell](Bernard)(Bernard Cornwell)'s novel *[and Mortals](Fools)(Fools and Mortals)* (2017) is about the creation and first performance of the play, as seen by the young actor, Richard Shakespeare, brother of the playwright.
### Musical versions
*[Fairy-Queen](The)(The Fairy-Queen)* is an opera from 1692 by [Purcell](Henry)(Henry Purcell), based on the play.
In 1826, [Mendelssohn](Felix)(Felix Mendelssohn) composed a concert [overture](overture), inspired by the play, that was first performed in 1827. In 1842, partly because of the fame of the overture, and partly because his employer [Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia](King)(Frederick William IV of Prussia) liked the [music](incidental)(incidental music) that Mendelssohn had written for other plays that had been staged at the palace in German translation, Mendelssohn was commissioned to write incidental music for a production of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream* that was to be staged in 1843 in [Potsdam](Potsdam). He incorporated the existing Overture into the incidental music, which was used in most stage versions through the 19th century. The best known of the pieces from the incidental music is the famous *[March](Wedding)(Wedding March (Mendelssohn))'', frequently used as a [recessional](Recessional hymn) in weddings.
Between 1917 and 1939 [Orff](Carl)(Carl Orff) also wrote incidental music for a German version of the play, *Ein Sommernachtstraum* (performed in 1939). Given that Mendelssohn's parents had been Jews (and despite the fact that they converted to Lutheranism), his music had been banned by the Nazi regime, and the Nazi cultural officials put out a call for new music for the play: Orff was one of the musicians who responded. He later reworked the music for a final version, completed in 1964.
In 1949, a three-act opera by [Delannoy](Marcel)(Marcel Delannoy) entitled *[Puck](Puck (opera))* was premiered in Strasbourg.
"Over Hill, Over Dale", from Act 2, is the third of the *[Shakespeare Songs](Three)(Three Shakespeare Songs)* set to music by the British composer [Vaughan Williams](Ralph)(Ralph Vaughan Williams). He wrote the pieces for [cappella](a)(a cappella) SATB choir in 1951 for the British Federation of Music Festivals, and they remain a popular part of British choral repertoire today.
The [was adapted into an opera](play)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)), with music by [Britten](Benjamin)(Benjamin Britten) and [libretto](libretto) by Britten and [Pears](Peter)(Peter Pears). This was first performed on 11 June 1960 at [Aldeburgh](Aldeburgh).
In 1964, a musical adaptation debuted on Broadway as *[in The Wood](Babes)(Babes in the Wood (musical))*.
Progressive rock guitarist [Hackett](Steve)(Steve Hackett), best known for his work with [Genesis](Genesis (band)), made a classical adaptation of the play in 1997. [Werner Henze](Hans)(Hans Werner Henze)'s [Symphony](Eighth)(Symphony No. 8 (Henze)) is inspired by sequences from the play.
The theatre company Moonwork put on a production of *Midsummer* in 1999. It was conceived by Mason Pettit, Gregory Sherman and Gregory Wolfe (who directed it). The show featured a rock-opera version of the play within a play, Pyramus & Thisbe, with music written by [Magee](Rusty)(Rusty Magee). The music for the rest of the show was written by Andrew Sherman.
*[Donkey Show](The)(The Donkey Show (musical))* is a disco-era experience based on ''A Midsummer Night's Dream*, that first appeared [Broadway](off)(off Broadway) in 1999.
The Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts Theatre Department presented the show as a musical adapted/directed by Beverly Blanchette (produced by Marcie Gorman) using the songs of [Moody Blues](The)(The Moody Blues). The show was called *Midsummer'' and was subsequently performed at Morsani Hall/Straz Performing Arts Center in Tampa, at the Florida State International Thespian Society Festival. Text/Concept Copyright, 9 December 2011.
In 2011, [Memphis](Opera)(Opera Memphis), [on the Square](Playhouse)(Playhouse on the Square), and contemporary a cappella groups DeltaCappella and Riva, premiered [Ching](Michael)(Michael Ching)'s ''A Midsummer Night's Dream: Opera A Cappella*.
In 2015, the plot of *[More Chill](Be)(Be More Chill (musical))* included a version of the play called *A Midsummer Nightmare (About Zombies)''.
### Ballets
* [Petipa](Marius)(Marius Petipa) made a ballet adaptation for the [Ballet](Imperial)(Mariinsky Ballet) of [Petersburg](St.)(Saint Petersburg) with additional music and adaptations to Mendelssohn's score by [Minkus](Léon)(Ludwig Minkus). The revival premiered 14 July 1876.
* [Balanchine](George)(George Balanchine)'s ''[Midsummer Night's Dream](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (ballet))'', his first original full-length ballet, was premiered by the [York City Ballet](New)(New York City Ballet) on 17 January 1962. It was chosen to open the NYCB's first season at the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center in 1964. Balanchine interpolated further music by Mendelssohn into his *Dream*, including the overture from *[Athalie](Athalie)*. A film version of the ballet was released in 1966.
* [Ashton](Frederick)(Frederick Ashton) created *The Dream*, a short (not full-length) ballet set exclusively to the famous music by Félix Mendelssohn, arranged by [Lanchbery](John)(John Lanchbery), in 1964. It was created on England's Royal Ballet and has since entered the repertoire of other companies, notably The Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.
* [Neumeier](John)(John Neumeier) created his full-length ballet *Ein Sommernachtstraum* for his company at the Hamburg State Opera (Hamburgische Staatsoper) in 1977. Longer than Ashton's or Balanchine's earlier versions, Neumeier's version includes other music by Mendelssohn along with the ''Midsummer Night's Dream* music, as well as music from the modern composer [Ligeti](György)(György Ligeti), and jaunty barrel organ music. Neumeier devotes the three sharply differing musical styles to the three character groups, with the aristocrats and nobles dancing to Mendelssohn, the fairies to Ligeti, and the rustics or mechanicals to the barrel organ.
* [Costello](Elvis)(Elvis Costello) composed the music for a full-length ballet *[Sogno](Il)(Il Sogno)*, based on *A Midsummer Night's Dream''. The music was subsequently released as a classical album by [Grammophon](Deutsche)(Deutsche Grammophon) in 2004.
### Film adaptations
''A Midsummer Night's Dream* has been adapted as a film many times. The following are the best known.
* A 1925 German silent film *[Love](Wood)(Wood Love)'' directed by [Neumann](Hans)(Hans Neumann).
* [1935 film version](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)) was directed by [Reinhardt](Max)(Max Reinhardt (theatre director)) and [Dieterle](William)(William Dieterle). The cast included [Cagney](James)(James Cagney) as [Bottom](Nick Bottom), [Rooney](Mickey)(Mickey Rooney) as [Puck](Puck (Shakespeare)), [de Havilland](Olivia)(Olivia de Havilland) as [Hermia](Hermia (role)), [E. Brown](Joe)(Joe E. Brown (comedian)) as [Flute](Francis)(Francis Flute), [Powell](Dick)(Dick Powell) as Lysander, [Louise](Anita)(Anita Louise) as Titania and [Jory](Victor)(Victor Jory) as [Oberon](Oberon (Fairy King)).
* (1959) directed by Czech animator [Trnka](Jiří)(Jiří Trnka) is a [stop-motion](Stop motion) puppet film that follows Shakespeare's story simply with a narrator. The English-language version was narrated by [Burton](Richard)(Richard Burton).
* [1968 film version](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968 film)) was directed by [Hall](Peter)(Peter Hall (theatre director)). The cast included [Rogers](Paul)(Paul Rogers (actor)) as Bottom, [Holm](Ian)(Ian Holm) as Puck, [Rigg](Diana)(Diana Rigg) as Helena, [Mirren](Helen)(Helen Mirren) as Hermia, [Richardson](Ian)(Ian Richardson) as Oberon, [Dench](Judi)(Judi Dench) as Titania, and [Shaw](Sebastian)(Sebastian Shaw (actor)) as Quince. This film stars the [Shakespeare Company](Royal)(Royal Shakespeare Company), and is directed by [Hall](Peter)(Peter Hall (theatre director)).
* [1969 film version](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (1969 French film)) was directed by [Averty](Jean-Christophe)(Jean-Christophe Averty). The cast included [Drouot](Jean-Claude)(Jean-Claude Drouot) as Oberon, [Jade](Claude)(Claude Jade) as Helena, [Delaroche](Christine)(Christine Delaroche) as Hermia, [Versini](Marie)(Marie Versini) as Hippolyta, [Modo](Michel)(Michel Modo) as Flute, [Grosso](Guy)(Guy Grosso) as Quinze.
* ''[Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy](A)(A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy)'' (1982) was written and directed by [Allen](Woody)(Woody Allen). The plot is loosely based on [Bergman](Ingmar)(Ingmar Bergman)'s *[of a Summer Night](Smiles)(Smiles of a Summer Night)*, with some elements from Shakespeare's play.
* ''Bottom's Dream'' (1983) was an animated short directed by [Canemaker](John)(John Canemaker), showing events of the play from the point of view of Bottom. The film uses selections of [Mendelssohn](Mendelssohn)'s music, lines from the play, and surreal imagery to convey Bottom's experience.
* *[Poets Society](Dead)(Dead Poets Society)* features the play as a production for which Neil Perry tries out for and wins the role of Puck, in spite of his father's disapproval of his acting aspirations.
* A 1996 adaptation directed by [Noble](Adrian)(Adrian Noble). The cast included [Barrit](Desmond)(Desmond Barrit) as Bottom, [Lynch](Finbar)(Finbar Lynch) as Puck, [Jennings](Alex)(Alex Jennings) as Oberon/Theseus, and [Duncan](Lindsay)(Lindsay Duncan) as Titania/Hippolyta. This film is based on Noble's [Shakespeare Company](Royal)(Royal Shakespeare Company) production. Its art design is eccentric, featuring a forest of floating light bulbs and a giant umbrella for Titania's bower.
* A 1996 French film, *[Apartment](The)(The Apartment (1996 film))* (), directed by [Mimouni](Gilles)(Gilles Mimouni), has many references to the play.
* [1999 film version](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999 film)) was written and directed by [Hoffman](Michael)(Michael Hoffman (director)). The cast includes [Kline](Kevin)(Kevin Kline) as [Bottom](Nick Bottom), [Everett](Rupert)(Rupert Everett) as [Oberon](Oberon (Fairy King)), [Pfeiffer](Michelle)(Michelle Pfeiffer) as [Titania](Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)), [Tucci](Stanley)(Stanley Tucci) as [Puck](Puck (Shakespeare)), [Marceau](Sophie)(Sophie Marceau) as [Hippolyta](Hippolyta), [Bale](Christian)(Christian Bale) as [Demetrius](Demetrius), [West](Dominic)(Dominic West) as [Lysander](Lysander), [Friel](Anna)(Anna Friel) as [Hermia](Hermia) and [Flockhart](Calista)(Calista Flockhart) as [Helena](Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream)). This adaptation relocates the play's action from [Athens](Athens) to a fictional "Monte Athena", located in [Tuscany](Tuscany), Italy, although all textual mentions of Athens are retained.
* A 1999 version was written and directed by [Kerwin](James)(James Kerwin). The cast included [Schuldt](Travis)(Travis Schuldt) as [Demetrius](Demetrius). It set the story against a surreal backdrop of techno clubs and ancient symbols.
* ''[Children's Midsummer Night's Dream](The)(The Children's Midsummer Night's Dream)* (2002), directed by [Edzard](Christine)(Christine Edzard), was produced by [Films](Sands)(Sands Films) at their studio in [Rotherhithe](Rotherhithe), London, using 350 school children from Southwark, between the ages of eight and eleven, all theatrically untrained. The sets and costumes were designed to scale and made on site.
* *[Midsummer Night's Rave](A)(A Midsummer Night's Rave)* (2002) directed by [Cates Jr.](Gil)(Gil Cates Jr.) changes the setting to a modern rave. Puck is a drug dealer, the magic flower called love-in-idleness is replaced with magic ecstasy, and the King and Queen of Fairies are the host of the rave and the DJ.
* *[the World Mine](Were)(Were the World Mine)* (2008) features a modern interpretation of the play put on in a private high school in a small town.
* *[Midsummer Night's Dream](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (2018 film))*, an American independent film that relocates the story to modern-day Los Angeles.
* *[Midsummer Night's Dream](A)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (2019 film))*, a UK production shot in Austria, set in an alternative near future. Directed by [Bennett](Sacha)(Sacha Bennett), it features [Lindsay](Robert)(Robert Lindsay (actor)) as Oberon, [Aubrey](Juliet)(Juliet Aubrey) as Titania, [Boardman](Lee)(Lee Boardman) as Bottom, Harry Jarvis as Lysander, [Merchant](Tamzin)(Tamzin Merchant) as Helena, [Earl](Holly)(Holly Earl) as Hermia, [Drew-Honey](Tyger)(Tyger Drew-Honey) as Demetrius and [Kasumba](Florence)(Florence Kasumba) as Hippolyta.
### TV productions
* The "play within a play" from Act V, Scene I, *Pyramus and Thisbe*, was performed by the members of the British pop music group [Beatles](The)(The Beatles) on 28 April 1964 for a British television special, *[The Beatles](Around)(Around The Beatles)*. [McCartney](Paul)(Paul McCartney) appeared as Pyramus, [Lennon](John)(John Lennon) as Thisbe, [Harrison](George)(George Harrison) as Moonshine, and [Starr](Ringo)(Ringo Starr) as Lion. The performance, before a live audience, was done with great comic intent and included a number of intentional hecklers. This was broadcast in the UK on [ITV](ITV (TV network)) on 6 May, and in the US on [ABC](American Broadcasting Company) on 15 November.
* The 1981 [Television Shakespeare](BBC)(BBC Television Shakespeare) production was produced by [Miller](Jonathan)(Jonathan Miller) and directed by [Moshinsky](Elijah)(Elijah Moshinsky). It starred [Mirren](Helen)(Helen Mirren) as Titania, [McEnery](Peter)(Peter McEnery) as Oberon, [Daniels](Phil)(Phil Daniels) as Puck, [Lindsay](Robert)(Robert Lindsay (actor)) as Lysander, [Palmer](Geoffrey)(Geoffrey Palmer (actor)) as Quince and [Glover](Brian)(Brian Glover) as Bottom.
* An abbreviated version of *A Midsummer Night's Dream* was made into an animated short (with the same title) by [Disney Television Animation](Walt)(Disney Television Animation) in 1999 as part of the *[Mouse Works](Mickey)(Mickey Mouse Works)* series. It was featured in a 2002 episode of *[of Mouse](House)(House of Mouse)'' ("House of Scrooge", Season 3, Episode 34). The star-crossed lovers are played by [Mouse](Mickey)(Mickey Mouse) (Lysander), [Mouse](Minnie)(Minnie Mouse) ([Hermia](Hermia)), [Duck](Donald)(Donald Duck) (Demetrius), and [Duck](Daisy)(Daisy Duck) ([Helena](Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream))). The character based on Theseus is played by [Von Drake](Ludwig)(Ludwig Von Drake), and the character based on Egeus by [McDuck](Scrooge)(Scrooge McDuck). [Goofy](Goofy) appears as an accident-prone [Puck](Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)). The story ends with the revelation that it was a dream experienced by Mickey Mouse while sleeping at a picnic hosted by Minnie.
* In 2005 *[ShakespeaRe-Told](ShakespeaRe-Told)*, the BBC TV series, aired an updated of the play. It was written by [Bowker](Peter)(Peter Bowker). The cast includes [Vegas](Johnny)(Johnny Vegas) as Bottom, [Lennox Kelly](Dean)(Dean Lennox Kelly) as Puck, [Paterson](Bill)(Bill Paterson (actor)) as Theo (a conflation of Theseus and Egeus), and [Staunton](Imelda)(Imelda Staunton) as his wife Polly (Hippolyta). [James](Lennie)(Lennie James) plays Oberon and [Small](Sharon)(Sharon Small) is Titania. [Tapper](Zoe)(Zoe Tapper) and [Bonnard](Michelle)(Michelle Bonnard) play Hermia and Helena.
* In 2006, *[Suite Life of Zack & Cody](The)(The Suite Life of Zack & Cody)* released an episode called "A Midsummer's Nightmare" where the children are preparing to perform Shakespeare's popular work for a school play. This episode was #22 in season two of the show.
* [One's 2016 production](BBC)(A Midsummer Night's Dream (2016 film)) was a 90-minute TV film adaptation by [T Davies](Russell)(Russell T Davies) directed by [Kerr](David)(David Kerr (director)) starring [Lucas](Matt)(Matt Lucas) as Bottom, [Peake](Maxine)(Maxine Peake) as Titania, and with a diverse cast including [Anozie](Nonso)(Nonso Anozie) as Oberon, [Bakare](Prisca)(Prisca Bakare) as Hermia and [Abeysekera](Hiran)(Hiran Abeysekera) as Puck.
### Astronomy
In 1787, British astronomer [Herschel](William)(William Herschel) discovered two new moons of [Uranus](Uranus). In 1852 his son [Herschel](John)(John Herschel) named them after characters in the play: [Oberon](Oberon (moon)), and [Titania](Titania (moon)). Another Uranian moon, discovered in 1985 by the *[2](Voyager)(Voyager 2)* spacecraft, has been named [Puck](Puck (moon)).
## Gallery
File:Reynolds-Puck.JPG|*Puck* by [Reynolds](Joshua)(Joshua Reynolds), 1789
File:Johann Heinrich Füssli - Titania liebkost den eselköpfigen Bottom.jpg|*Titania and Bottom* by [Heinrich Füssli](Johann)(Johann Heinrich Füssli) 1793–94
File:Titania and Bottom John Anster Fitzgerald.JPG|*Titania and Bottom* by [Anster Fitzgerald](John)(John Anster Fitzgerald)
File:Joseph Noel Paton - The Reconciliation of Titania and Oberon.jpg|[Noel Paton](Joseph)(Joseph Noel Paton): *The Reconciliation of Titania and Oberon*
File:Fitzgerald, John Anster - The Marriage of Oberon and Titania.jpg|*The Marriage of Oberon and Titania* by John Anster Fitzgerald
File:Henry Meynell Rheam - Titania.jpg|[Meynell Rheam](Henry)(Henry Meynell Rheam): *Titania welcoming her fairy brethren''
File:Scene from 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by John Simmons, 1873, watercolor.jpg|''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' by [Simmons](John)(John Simmons (painter)), 1873
File:Thomas Stothard - Oberon and Titania from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," Act IV, Scene i - Google Art Project.jpg|[Stothard](Thomas)(Thomas Stothard) – Oberon and Titania from ''A Midsummer Night's Dream*, Act IV, Scene I
File:Droomvlucht5.JPG|An animatronic depicts the character Oberon, King of the Elves in the Dutch fairytale theme park [Efteling](Efteling), designed by Ton van de Ven.
## See also
* [(folklore)](Brag)(Brag (folklore))
* [Púca](Púca)
* [and Thisbe](Pyramus)(Pyramus and Thisbe)
* [solstice](Summer)(Summer solstice)
## Notes and references
All references to *A Midsummer Night's Dream*, unless otherwise specified, are taken from the [Shakespeare](Arden)(Arden Shakespeare) 2nd series edition. Under their referencing system, which uses [numerals](roman)(roman numerals), III.i.55 means act 3 (Roman numerals in upper case), scene 1 (Roman numerals lower case), line 55.
### Notes
### References
## Sources
### Editions of *A Midsummer Night's Dream''
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## Further reading
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## External links
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* [*A Midsummer Night's Dream''](http://www.bl.uk/works/a-midsummer-nights-dream) at the British Library
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* [''A Midsummer Night's Dream* Navigator](http://www.shakespeare-navigators.com/dream/): annotated, searchable text (HTML) with scene summaries.
* [Formatted text (HTML) of the play](http://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/views/plays/playmenu.php?WorkID=midsummer)
* [*No Fear Shakespeare'' parallel edition](http://nfs.sparknotes.com/msnd/) : original language alongside a modern translation
* [Clear Shakespeare's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream*](http://clearshakespeare.com/category/midsummer/): a word-by-word audio guide through the play
* [*A Midsummer Night's Dream 2016*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5051278/fullcredits) Internet Movie Database
* [*A Midsummer Night's Dream* – 90-Minute abridgement by Gerald P Murphy ](http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/Scripts/script.aspx?iSS=742)
* [*A Thirty Minute Dream''](http://www.lazybeescripts.co.uk/Scripts/Results.aspx?iSc=743): Abridgement by Bill Tordoff, Shakespeare's text reduced to the length of a school lesson.
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[ ](Category:A Midsummer Night's Dream)
[plays](Category:1590s)(Category:1590s plays)
[set in Athens](Category:Plays)(Category:Plays set in Athens)
[plays adapted into films](Category:British)(Category:British plays adapted into films)
[depictions of Theseus](Category:Cultural)(Category:Cultural depictions of Theseus)
[Renaissance plays](Category:English)(Category:English Renaissance plays)
[about fairies and sprites](Category:Plays)(Category:Plays about fairies and sprites)
[plays](Category:Metafictional)(Category:Metafictional plays)
[adapted into operas](Category:Plays)(Category:Plays adapted into operas)
[set in ancient Greece](Category:Plays)(Category:Plays set in ancient Greece)
[comedies](Category:Shakespearean)(Category:Shakespearean comedies)
[about shapeshifting](Category:Fiction)(Category:Fiction about shapeshifting)
[based on classical literature](Category:Works)(Category:Works based on classical literature)
[based on Metamorphoses](Category:Plays)(Category:Plays based on Metamorphoses)
[set in forests](Category:Plays)(Category:Plays set in forests)
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