William McKinley was an American.
The Fourth Party System is the term used in political science and history for the period in American political history from about 1896 to 1932 that was dominated by the Republican Party , excepting the 1912 split in which Democrats held the White House for eight years . The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States consisting of two chambers : the Senate and the House of Representatives . The United States presidential election of 1900 was the 29th quadrennial presidential election , held on Tuesday , November 6 , 1900 . William McKinley Jr. ( January 29 , 1843 -- September 14 , 1901 ) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 25th President of the United States from March 4 , 1897 until his assassination in September 1901 , six months into his second term .