Wednesday, April 1, 2015

The Major



Yes, I voted for the Major in the year of ’96,
I thought that I was doing just about the proper thing;
I sang his praises loudly in the halls of politics,
And welcomed his appearance as the coming of a King.
I worked for his election and I bet my weekly wage
That he would sweep the country like a mighty bird awing;
I said he was the greatest thing that happened in the age
And thought that I was saying just about the proper thing.

Say, I voted for the Major, yes, doggone his western skin,
I voted for McKinley just as hard as I could vote;
And I am pretty certain that he wouldn’t have got in
If I hadn’t yelled his praises with my Wendell Phillips throat.
Yes, I voted for the Major, but do you suppose that I
Would be so out of balance as to do it anymore?
Why bless your soul, my hearty, when election draweth nigh
I’ll holler for the Major ten times louder than before.



April 1st, 1900
Pub. in NY Sun




William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897, until his assassination in September 1901, six months into his second term. McKinley led the nation to victory in the Spanish–American War, raised protective tariffs to promote American industry, and maintained the nation on the gold standard in a rejection of inflationary proposals.

McKinley was the last president to have served in the American Civil War, beginning as a private in the Union Army and ending as a brevet major. 












Wendell Phillips (November 29, 1811–February 2, 1884) was an American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orator and lawyer.




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