File talk:William McKinley voice.ogg

Authenticity of Recording

The authenticity of this recording is doubtful. It was almost certainly of an actor reciting a speech of McKinley's in a studio. Back in the day it was almost impossible for phonographs to capture live sound, and it would have been near-impossible to record presidential nominee McKinley speaking to a live audience from his porch.

If it was indeed McKinley's voice, then it would have had to have been made in a studio. However, it is likely an actor. The fact that people can be heard cheering (if not in this recording, in other versions of it) suggests that they were standing behind whoever was speaking--if McKinley had recorded this in a studio, there wouldn't have been this kind of simulated "live" sound. The person's "deep" voice also implies that they were an actor from New England, speaking in a "fashionable" accent reminiscent of that used by actors and performers at this time. All this strongly suggests that this was recorded by an actor in a studio. R23$94ACQ3R (talk) 19:42, 22 January 2023 (UTC)