By Suzanne Downing 
On Nov. 3, 1896, Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan to become the 25th president of the United States.
The victory ushered in a golden era of economic growth, industrial expansion, and a strong gold-backed dollar. And, in a twist of fate, it tied McKinley’s name forever to a mountain in Alaska that he never saw.
That same decade, thousands of prospectors were streaming northward in the early days of the Klondike Gold Rush. Among them was a gold prospector who, inspired by McKinley’s pro-gold stance, decided to name a towering, snow-capped peak in Alaska’s interior “Mount McKinley.” It was a political statement as much as a tribute – gold versus silver, prosperity versus populism. The name stuck.
The peak was formally recognized by Congress in 1917 when Mount McKinley National Park was established. For decades, “McKinley” appeared on maps and in travel guides, even though the mountain had a name long before miners and politicians arrived: Denali, meaning “The High One” in the regionally spoken Koyukon Athabascan language.
In 2015, President Barack Obama’s administration officially designated it the Athabaskan name Denali, calling it a correction of historical oversight. Some Alaskans – especially Democrats – celebrated the move. But others felt the change erased a century of shared history that included McKinley’s symbolic link to the state’s formative years.
Then, in early 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order reinstating the name Mount McKinley, declaring that the 20,310-foot peak should once again honor the nation’s 25th president. He had promised to do just that even before being elected in 2024.
The move reignited the decades-old debate, and today the mountain often carries both names, depending on who’s talking — “Denali” in downtown Anchorage and Talkeetna, but “McKinley” among traditionalists and political conservatives.
So on this day in 1896, when William McKinley rose to national prominence, few could have imagined that his legacy would tower – quite literally – over the North American continent.
McKinley-Denali (McNali to some) remains not only the tallest peak on the continent, but perhaps the most argued-over mountain in America, a summit of pride, politics, and perspective.
Call it what you will, but just don’t call it short.