Admiral George Dewey soundly defeated the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines on May 1, 1898. The war was officially over by that Christmas. Upon the decisive victory, President McKinley addressed a meeting of fellow Methodists, taking the opportunity to share his motivations for leading the country into war. Part of the reason was, he explained, to spread the foundations of Western civilization, democracy, and Christianity to people everywhere.He said:
I am not ashamed to tell you, gentlemen, that I went down on my knees and prayed Almighty God for light and guidance more than one night. Then it came to me. We need to take to them and lift them up, the Philippine people, with the education about civilization and to Christianize them and by God’s grace do the very best we could by them, as our fellow men for whom Christ also died. And then I went to bed and went to sleep and slept soundly.
Mission work would come slowly to the Philippines. It would not be until after World War II that mission activity would increase. Many thousands of Protestant churches were planted at that time along with seminaries and Bible institutes. But now the nation is moving rapidly to Islam and the gospel is being smothered over and the truth is being lost to the population!
Mark Twain vilified McKinley as not worthy of the presidency, though the accusations were uncalled for. Raised a devout Methodist, he professed faith in Christ at the age of ten. All who knew him claimed his faith was real and that he was a genuinely pious leader.
On the election eve of 1896, when it appeared he had won against William Jennings Bryan, McKinley’s supporters went to the home of his elderly mother and found him and his wife, Ida, kneeling in prayer before the Lord. His mother was heard to say in prayer: "Oh, God, keep him humble!" She was not disappointed in her prayer. When he was sworn in as President, his hand was on the place in Scripture that reads: "Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this Thy people, that is so great?"
On Sunday evenings, McKinley would invite friends to the Executive Mansion for services. He would invite a clergyman to teach and lead in singing hymns. McKinley would always include his two favorite songs: "Nearer, My God, to Thee" and "Lead, Kindly Light."
After being reelected in 1900, a year later McKinley attended the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. It was September 5, 1901, and McKinley closed with a speech: "Our earnest prayer is that God will graciously vouchsafe prosperity, happiness, and peace to all our neighbors, and His blessing to all the peoples and powers of the earth."
As he was leaving an anarchist by the name of Leon Czolgosz stepped forward and shot the President. He lingered for a week after surviving two operations to remove the fatal bullet. When he would come to he was saying the Lord’s Prayer. His final words were: "It is God’s way, His will not ours, be done."
