| Abstract | In the spring of 1901, President William McKinley embarked on a tour of the country by train as the first large action of his second term. While lasting nearly two months, little is written about this journey and the many stops made along the way. This paper focuses on the portion of the trip in Texas, including major stops in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso. Various members of the president's cabinet traveled with him for certain sections of the tour. City-wide celebrations, full of parades, ceremonies, and other events took place at every stop along the tour, and in many of the larger cities McKinley gave speeches that outlined his goals for his second term in office. He hoped that by visiting the people of the resentful post-Reconstruction South he could gain the favor of the public, and in turn their representatives in Congress, for support of his economic and legislative agenda. The results were generally positive, the people happy and excited to receive their president, but McKinley's life was cut short before he could really see the effects of his tour. |
