during the 1896 campaign, william jennings bryan

His proposed policies drew a lot of support from farmers and common people. [93] When Bryan was nominated on a silver platform, the Republicans were briefly gratified, believing that Bryan's selection would result in an easy victory for McKinley. Meanwhile, Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan broke new ground with the "whistle-stop campaign." Bryan and his campaign staff used the newly-built railroad networks to travel across the United States. Though men thought otherwise at the time, neither fate nor accident created his position in the party. See, In New England, Cleveland had won Connecticut in 1892 while losing the region as a whole by 53,000votes, Bryan won no states and lost New England by over 172,000 votes. Bryan was an energetic campaigner, traveling over 18,000 miles and making over 600 speeches in 27 states during the 1896 campaign. 50.In the 1896 campaign, William Jennings Bryan a. Left the Populist Party to join the Democrats. McKinley had a friendly demeanor, was a devout Methodist, and was motivated by a strong and sincere sense of morality.One of the most powerful political themes of the late-nineteenth century Republican Party was American nationalism. During the ruling, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 in favor of evolution. Bryan, who was still in Congress, spoke eloquently against the repeal, but Cleveland forced it through. In addition to his core support in the urban Northeast, McKinley gained strength from prosperous Midwestern farmers, industrial workers, and many ethnic voters. [85][86] Some of the Democratic political machines, such as New York's Tammany Hall, decided to ignore the national ticket and concentrate on electing local and congressional candidates. In 1896 William Jennings Bryan addressed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, giving his famous speech. [105], After the Democratic convention, Bryan had returned triumphantly to Lincoln, making speeches along the way. 1896, a collection of political cartoons from the watershed presidential campaign that marked America's transition to the twentieth century. He had accepted the nominal editorship of the Omaha World-Herald in August 1894. As a result, disillusioned farmers and others formed a new far-left party, which came to be known as the Populist Party. Historian H. Wayne Morgan described Bryan: Robert La Follette remembered Bryan as "a tall, slender, handsome fellow who looked like a young divine". Documents related to this topic William McKinley was riding on a wave of popularity due to the decisive victory over the Spanish in the Spanish-American War. Once in office, McKinley followed through on his proposed economic policy, carefully moving the country toward the gold standard while establishing a protective trade policy. (Wikimedia Commons) U S H I S T O R Y. This cartoon comes against that by: United States nationalism was on the rise and the economy had recovered and . 1740. The Rise of Bryan 27 3. In 1896, it was not yet considered. William Jennings Bryan became the first presidential candidate to spent nearly the entire campaign season on the campaign trail. South Carolina Senator Benjamin Tillman, a silver supporter, wanted an hour to address the convention, and to close the debate. The majority felt exposed, crestfallen, and humiliated.[56]. With the implosion of Dewey's candidacy, 1896 Democratic presidential nominee and former Congressman William Jennings Bryan became the front-runner for the 1900 Democratic presidential nomination. In order that the reader may know how much work can be crowded into one campaign day, I will mention the places at which speeches were made between breakfast and bedtime: Muskegon, Holland, Fennville, Bangor, Hartford, Watervliet, Benton Harbor, Niles, Dowagiac, Decatur, Lawrence, Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Marshall, Albion, Jackson (two speeches), Leslie, Mason, and Lansing (six speeches); total for the day, 25. Hear William Jennings Bryan deliver his Cross of Gold speech at the Democratic National Convention, 43 Questions About Politics (Mostly in the United States) Compiled from Britannicas Quizzes. Bryan was born March 19, 1860, in Salem, Illinois. Instead, party loyalists made the pilgrimage to the candidates house, where they camped out on the front lawn, hoping for a glimpse of the candidate. The Election of 1896 marks an important point in American political history. She became his wife, and was his principal assistant throughout his career. See, United States presidential nominating convention, William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign, National Archives and Records Administration, Official Proceedings of the 1896 Democratic National Convention, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Jennings_Bryan_1896_presidential_campaign&oldid=1118599065, This page was last edited on 27 October 2022, at 21:56. . Bryan affirmed that the people could be counted on to prevent the rise of a tyrant, and noted, "What we need is an Andrew Jackson to stand, as Jackson stood, against the encroachments of organized wealth. [2][3], While attending law school from 1881 to 1883, Bryan was a clerk to former Illinois senator Lyman Trumbull, who influenced him in a dislike for wealth and business monopolies. By repudiating the pro-business wing of their party, the Democrats had set the stage for 16 consecutive years of Republican control of the White House, interrupted only in 1912 when a split in the Republican Party aided the election of Woodrow Wilson. Economic issues, especially tariff policy and the question of whether the gold standard should be preserved for the money supply, were central issues. The Presidential Election of 1900 would be a rematch of the Presidential Election of 1896 against William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan. On November 3, 1896, 14 million American voted. "[145] Bryan's own explanation was brief: "I have borne the sins of Grover Cleveland. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. McKinley did well in the border states of Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky. Mary Bryan had joined her husband in late September; on The Idler, the Bryans were able to eat and sleep in relative comfort. This would restore a practice abolished in 1873. Bryan traveled nearly 20,000 miles by rail around the country during his campaign and gave hundreds of speeches, often out of the back of his railroad car. In 1890, he agreed to run for Congress against William James Connell, a Republican, who had won the local congressional seat in 1888. Although Bryan was successful in winning the non-binding popular vote, Republicans gained a majority in the legislature and elected John Thurston as senator.[11]. Renowned as a gifted debater, he opposed high tariffs and came to be considered the national leader of the Free Silver Movement (bimetallism) as opposed to the hard money policy of the Eastern bankers and industrialists, who favoured the gold standard. Bryan did well in the South and the West, but lacked appeal with unmortgaged farmers and especially the eastern urban laborer, who saw no personal interest in higher inflation. Perhaps most importantly, the 1896 election marked the decisive triumph of the nations urban interestsbanking, manufacturing and industryover its agrarian past. [35] Bryan was deeply moved when, after the adoption of the platform, Colorado Senator Henry M. Teller led a walkout of silver-supporting Republicans. Usually the candidate would give a mid-afternoon speech from his front porch, giving name to the front porch campaign. This tradition had begun to erode prior to 1896. During the 1896 campaign, William Jennings Bryan: Bryan got little support from factory workers in the cities. During the drawn out debate over excluding James, . To that end, it was important that the Populists not nominate a rival silver candidate, and he took pains to cultivate good relations with Populist leaders. Some Populists, called fusionists, wanted to join the Democrats. [119] Among the foremost supporters of Bryan was publisher William Randolph Hearst who both contributed to Bryan's campaign and slanted his newspapers' coverage in his favor. In early 1895, Congressman Richard Bland of Missouri and William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska, a former congressman (1891-1894), led the revolt against President Cleveland. Perhaps a vote taken then would have given Bryan the election. [2] [14] After his election to Congress, Bryan studied the currency question carefully, and came to believe in free silver; he also saw its political potential. . A large banner outside the Clifton House proclaimed the presence of Nebraska's delegation headquarters, but did not mention Bryan's campaign, which was run from Nebraska's rooms. most notably his "Cross of Gold" speech from the 1896 campaign were featured and 1908 . [2] [47] Since the DNC action meant Bryan would not have a seat at the start of proceedings, he could not be the temporary chairman (who would deliver the keynote address); the Nebraskan began looking for other opportunities to make a speech at the convention. Although some delegates from the West and the South intended to vote for him, a pre-convention poll just two days before the conventions opening ranked him last among seven candidates. He was a congressman and then governor of the state, and even had a distinguished Civil War record, which was still a political asset more than three decades after the war had ended. "[63] He continued: Upon which side will the Democratic Party fight; upon the side of "the idle holders of idle capital" or upon the side of "the struggling masses"? [53] Once White started the proceedings, he turned over the gavel to Senator Jones, who read the proposed platform to great applause from silver delegates, and hissing from gold men. He was the Democrat presidential nominee three times but was never elected (1896, 1900, 1912). This advocacy brought him contributions from silver mine owners in his successful re-election bid in 1892. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican candidate, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate. His 'Cross of Gold' speech, given to conclude the debate on the party platform, immediately transformed him into a favorite for the nomination, and he won it the next day. [18], In 1893, bimetallism had been just one of many proposals by Populists and others. Populist leaders correctly believed the Republicans unlikely to nominate a silver man. [103] Populist leader Henry Demarest Lloyd described silver as the "cow-bird" of the Populist Party, which had pushed aside all other issues. They argued that inflation caused by free coinage of silver would create a 53-cent dollar that would rob the workingman of his buyingpower. President Cleveland, stunned by the convention's repudiation of him and his policies, decided against open support for a bolt from the party, either by endorsing McKinley or by publicly backing a rival Democratic ticket. William Jennings Bryan was the youngest man ever to be nominated for president by a major party. These included Vice President Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, Senator Joseph C. Blackburn of Kentucky, Indiana Governor Claude Matthews, and Bryan. He was slim, tall, pale, raven-haired, beaked of nose. [138] Palmer received less than 1% of the vote, but his vote total in Kentucky was greater than McKinley's margin of victory there. Following the depression of 1893 and significant losses in the presidential midterms as well as state and local elections in 1895, the Democratic Party had split. The more radical mid-roaders wanted to remain a separate organization and pursue a larger agenda. B. That summer, Bryan conducted a successful speaking tour in the Midwest and South. Hanna also sent nearly 1500 speakers on the campaign trail to attack Bryan, most notably Theodore Roosevelt, who denounced Bryan as a dangerous radical. [88][89] Newspapers that supported other parties in western silver states, such as the Populist Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado, and Utah's Republican The Salt Lake Tribune, quickly endorsed Bryan. On April 22, 1893, the amount of gold in the Treasury dropped below $100million for the first time since 1879, adding to the unease. What imagery does Bryan use in his speech *? Grover Cleveland did not want to seek a second term as President and the Democrats nominated the charismatic William Jennings Bryan as their nominee. In 1896 it was kept as a forum, and by day and night men and womenmet there to talk about the Crime of '73, the fallacies of the gold standard, bimetallism and international consent, the evils of the tariff, the moneybags of Mark Hanna, the front porch campaign of McKinley. The economy failed to improve, and when the President in 1894 sent federal troops to Illinois to break up the Pullman Strike, he outraged even more Democrats. The cheers and applause went on for over 30 minutes. The convention, by voice vote, seated the silver Nebraskans, who arrived in the convention hall a few minutes later, accompanied by a band. According to historian Stanley Jones in his account of the 1896 election, "it seemed in retrospect a curious logic that gave a capitalist from Maine a leading role in a campaign intended to have a strong appeal to the masses of the South and West". 2022 A&E Television Networks, LLC. "1896 Presidential Election Results". "[130], In September, the Gold Democrats met in convention in Indianapolis. [108] According to Stanley Jones in his study of the 1896 campaign, "Bryan expected that he alone, carrying to the people the message of free silver, would win the election for his party. Which of the following would most likely have been a Gilded Age Democrat? An avowed pacifist, Bryan finally resigned over Wilsons second note to Germany (June 8, 1915) protesting the sinking of the Lusitania. [62][64] He responded to an argument by Senator Vilas that from silver forces might arise a Robespierre. Following the 1893 depression, Coxey's Army: "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!" Bryan later asked the Platform Committee chairman, Arkansas Senator James K. Jones why he was given such a crucial role as closing the platform debate; Senator Jones responded that he had three reasons: Bryan's long service in the silver cause, the Nebraskan was the only major speaker not to have addressed the convention, and that Jones had a sore throat. "[145], The consequences of defeat, however, were severe for the Democratic Party. James Blaine had spent six weeks campaigning. "[100] Populist Kansas Congressman Jerry Simpson wrote, "I care not for party names. The only areas of the nation where Bryan took a greater percentage of the urban than the rural vote were New England and the Rocky Mountain states; in neither case did this affect the outcome, as Bryan took only 27% of New England's vote overall, while taking 88% of the Rocky Mountain city vote to 81% of the vote there outside the cities. Each time, Bryan gained in strength. Dayton, OH Speech, 1896-10-19. Bryan Club" and "Keep Your Eye on Nebraska. But the emergence of a brash, young politician, William Jennings Bryan, soon turned the tide. Facing severe restrictions in their free time, married working women often: Young, urban women eager for recreation frequented all of the following EXCEPT: During the presidential election of 1892, the Populist candidate James B. Weaver: One of the causes of the 1893 depression was failure of: During the depression of 1893, unemployment hovered around: demanded government jobs for the unemployed. Bryan went to the Democratic convention in Chicago as an undeclared candidate, whom the press had given only a small chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), the U.S. congressman from Nebraska, three-time presidential nominee and secretary of state, emerged near the end of the 19th century as a leading voice in the. It allowed larger numbers of people to become commuters and live away from the central city. When the Democrats convened in Chicago to choose their presidential candidate in July 1896, they repudiated Cleveland and changed courses dramatically, making free silver a central plank of their platform. The presidential campaign of 1896 was one of the most exciting in American history. The main candidates headquartered at the Palmer House, their rooms often crowded as they served free alcoholic drinks. This quiz gathers together questions from Britannicas quizzes about politics, law, and government. This was wise, according to Coin, because silver was scattered among the people, and one person could not so easily injure the economy by monopolizing the metal as he could with gold. Bryan spent most of October there160 of his final 250 train stops were in the Midwest. The President's uncompromising stand for gold alienated many in his own party (most southern and western Democrats were pro-silver). Bryan ended his rousing oration with religious imagery: Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. More conservative Democrats, who favored the gold standard, split from the party to nominate their own National (Gold) Democratic candidate, or even threw their support to McKinley. [58] He began: I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this were a mere measuring of abilities; but this is not a contest between persons. The song was "Sift Sand, Sal", the source does not explain the relevance of this to Bryan. America: History and Life, 32:8767. McDonald/Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images. How was he able to win the presidency? "[75] On the first ballot, Bryan had 137 votes, mostly from Nebraska and four southern states, trailing Bland who had 235; Boies was fourth with 67 votes and was never a factor in the balloting. Tried to deemphasize his platform's demand for free silver c. Promised to continue the policies of Grover Cleveland d. Refused to mix politics an religion e. Ran what journalists called a "front-porch campaign" The culmination of the campaign was a decree, issued by Hanna, that November 2 would be designated Flag Day for Republicans, who were expected to assemble in the cities, villages, and hamlets nearest their homes and show their patriotism, devotion to country and the flag, and their intention to support the party which stands for protection, sound money, and good government. [New York Times, October 27, 1896, page 2].