Friendship memorialized : Joseph G. Butler and the McKinley National Birthplace Memorial /

Abstract

The thesis "Friendship Memorialized: Joseph G. Butler and McKinley National Birthplace Memorial" describes the history of how the first to be completed Congressionally authorized presidential memorial was conceived and dedicated. The .crucial role of William McKinley's boyhood friend, steel magnate, and philanthropist, Joseph G. Butler is documented. The campaign to construct and dedicate the second memorial in Ohio to the assassinated leader rivaled McKinley's presidential campaigns in scope and effort. Butler's seven-year campaign tapped the esteem and goodwill many Americans still felt for the fallen favorite son from Niles years after the president's death. The work places the construction of the birthplace memorial in context with other American reform efforts occurring in the United States at that time. Most notable influences exhibited at the monument in Niles were those involving the City Beautiful movement that mobilized people from diverse backgrounds in civic improvement projects, the American Renaissance movement by sculptors and architects who sought to address civic concerns with the monuments, and Andrew Carnegie's extensive library grant program that dramatically changed public education and literacy. Finally, the thesis addresses how the McKinley National Birthplace Memorial affected the commemoration and formation of public memory regarding the twenty-fifth president in the years following its dedication. The author based the research for this work upon primary source material from Butler's personal correspondence and papers located at the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, artifacts and documents from the McKinley National Birthplace Memorial, as well as local newspapers. "Friendship Memorialized" summarizes how historians portrayed William McKinley's presidency, addresses a lack of scholarly research regarding the history of presidential memorials in the United States, and contributes to the body of knowledge concerning the history of the Mahoning Valley.