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. It began as a simple courtesy, with a telegram that William Jennings Bryan sent. Everybody seemed to go mad at once. Advocates of free silver (or bimetallism) wanted the government to accept all silver bullion presented to it and to return it, struck into coin, at the historic value ratio between gold and silver of 16 to 1. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. The convention, by voice vote, seated the silver Nebraskans, who arrived in the convention hall a few minutes later, accompanied by a band. [104] The National Silver Party, mostly former Republicans, met at the same time as the Populists; both conventions were in St. Louis. The Republican William Howard Taft worked as a judge in Ohio Superior Court and in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals before accepting a post as the first civilian governor of the Philippines in 1900. Bryan's sterling record on the issue left the Populists with a stark choice: They could endorse Bryan, and risk losing their separate identity as a party, or nominate another candidate, thus dividing the pro-silver vote to McKinley's benefit. However, the economy was booming under the leadership of McKinley. Bryan served as Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915, resigning as Wilson moved the nation closer to intervention in World War I. By the 1930s, he had built the nations largest media empire, including more than two dozen newspapers in major cities nationwide, read more, Populism is a style of politics used to mobilize mass movements against ruling powers. "[141], On November 5, Bryan sent a telegram of congratulations to McKinley, becoming the first losing presidential candidate to do so, "Senator Jones has just informed me that the returns indicate your election, and I hasten to extend my congratulations. He made 27speeches, including seven in Omaha, the last concluding a few minutes before midnight. Although defeated in the election, Bryan's campaign made him a national figure, which he remained until his death in 1925. Bryan, with this declaration, set the theme of his argument, and as it would prove, his campaign: that the welfare of humanity was at stake with the silver issue. Cross of Gold speech, classic of American political oratory delivered on July 8, 1896, by William Jennings Bryan in closing the debate on the party platform at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago during the campaign for the presidential election of 1896. They quickly endorsed Bryan and Sewall, urging all silver forces to unite behind that ticket. Crowds assembled hours or days ahead of Bryan's arrival. Palmer was a 79-year-old former Union general, Buckner a 73-year-old former Confederate of that rank; the ticket was the oldest in combined age in American history, and Palmer the second-oldest presidential candidate (behind Peter Cooper of the Greenback Party; Bryan was the youngest). Hayes and Harrison both won in the electoral college but lost the popular vote, for example. His campaign focused on silver, an issue that failed to appeal to the urban voter, and he was defeated in what is generally seen as a realigning election. Taken prisoner after his plane was shot down, he suffered five and a half years of torture and confinement before his release in 1973. Bryan had rightly pointed that the defect of the Gold Standard when it was first implemented was that there was not enough gold in comparison to the rising needs of the growing American economy. [94], Despite the confidence of the Republicans, the nomination of Bryan sparked great excitement through the nation. Bryan, a former Democratic congressman from Nebraska, gained his party's presidential nomination in July of that year after electrifying the Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech. He knew that hard work could turn the discontent of the people into a revolt against the gold wing of the party, and no group of individuals ever labored more diligently to gain their political ends than did the silver men in the [Democratic Party] between 1893 and 1896. The answer was simple, Bryan told Abbothe had prepared a speech that would stampede the convention. Why did the populist party support william jennings Bryan for president in the presidential election of 1896? Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. However, the business man argument was new, though he had hinted at it in an interview he gave at the Republican convention. Palmer proved an able campaigner who visited most major cities in the East, and in the final week of his campaign, told listeners, "I will not count it any great fault if next Tuesday you decide to cast your ballots for William McKinley. Wherever his train went people, who had travelled from nearby farms and villages, waved and shouted encouragement. [13] Bryan, who had been elected after the passage of the latter enactment, initially had little to say on the subject. On the fifth ballot, other states joined the Bryan bandwagon, making him the Democratic candidate for president.[76][77]. On this day in 1896, William Jennings Bryan delivered his rousing speech as a delegate to the Democratic convention declaring that mankind would not be "crucified on a cross of gold.". [128] For the most part, Bryan ignored the attacks, and made light of them in his account of the 1896 campaign. Though men thought otherwise at the time, neither fate nor accident created his position in the party. He spoke some 600 times, to an estimated 5,000,000 listeners. [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. Bryan was strongly affected by the emerging Social Gospel movement that called on Protestant activists to seek to cure social problems such as poverty. Didn't want to split pro-silver vote Populists 1892 He campaigned relentlessly, traveling around the country and giving hundreds of speeches to millions of people, while his Republican opponent, Ohio Governor William McKinley, stayed home and gave speeches from his porch. Bryan was quoting from an 1878 speech by Cleveland's Treasury Secretary, Hill remained neutral in the campaign, despite urgings to go over to the Gold Democrats, seeking to preserve his control of the state Democratic party, and also hoping (in vain) to secure his own re-election by the legislature. The song was "Sift Sand, Sal", the source does not explain the relevance of this to Bryan. "[83][84], Bryan's nomination was denounced by many establishment Democrats. 3). In 1887, Bryan moved to the fast-growing state of Nebraska, where he settled in Lincoln and established a thriving law practice. [129] Republican newspapers and spokesmen claimed that Bryan's campaign was expensively financed by the silver interests. Many Cleveland supporters decried Bryan as no true Democrat, but a fanatic and socialist, his nomination procured through demagoguery. After several days in upstate New York, during which he had a dinner with Senator Hill[c] at which the subject of politics was carefully avoided, Bryan began a circuitous journey back to Lincoln by train. The 1908 United States presidential election was the 31st quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1908. To this day, countless theater festivals around the world honor his work, students read more. Bryan sensed the possibility of becoming the nominee long before 1896; his ambition was fully matured several months prior to the convention, and there is evidence that his hopes were becoming tinged with certainty before he left for Chicago. William Jennings Bryan delivering a campaign speech in 1910. "[145], The consequences of defeat, however, were severe for the Democratic Party. [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. "[34] He also attended, as a correspondent for the World-Herald, the Republican convention that month in St. Louis. He also argued in support of a graduated income tax, antitrust laws and other government regulation of business, womens suffrage and the prohibition of alcohol. [29], Bryan faced a number of disadvantages in seeking the Democratic nomination: he was little-known among Americans who did not follow politics closely, he had no money to pour into his campaign, he lacked public office, and had incurred the enmity of Cleveland and his administration through his stance on silver and other issues. He won the prize in his junior year, and also secured the affection of Mary Baird, a student at a nearby women's academy. When he spoke of himself as the nominee, some reacted as [journalist] Willis J. Abbot did and doubted his mental capacity. In addition to the frontrunners, other silver men were spoken of as candidates. 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. This would restore a practice abolished in 1873. South Carolina Senator Benjamin Tillman, a silver supporter, wanted an hour to address the convention, and to close the debate. After running unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1894, Bryan returned to Nebraska and became editor of the Omaha World-Herald. The DNC seated a rival, pro-gold Nebraska delegation, and recommended New York Senator David B. Hill as the convention's temporary chairman, each by a vote of 2723. Southern newspapers stayed with Bryan; they were unwilling to endorse McKinley, the choice of most African Americans, though few of them could vote in the South. "[66], As he spoke his final sentence, he brought his hands to his head, fingers extended in imitation of thorns; amid dead silence in the Coliseum, he extended his arms, recalling with words and posture the Crucifixion of Jesus, and held that position for several seconds. The central issue was the country's money supply. [65], Bryan concluded the address, seizing a place in American history:[66], 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. [80] Bryan and Sewall gained their nominations without the ballots of the gold men, most of whom refused to vote. Bland maintained his lead on the second and third ballots, but on the fourth, with the convention in a huge uproar, Bryan took the lead. [4] Looking for a growing city in which his practice could thrive, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1887. In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. Those that served principally as agricultural centers or had been founded along the railroad favored Bryan. Each made their cases for gold, and likely changed few votes. In 2007, Gore won a Nobel read more, Considered the greatest English-speaking writer in history and known as Englands national poet, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) has had more theatrical works performed than any other playwright. This popular treatment of the currency issue was highly influential. [103] Populist leader Henry Demarest Lloyd described silver as the "cow-bird" of the Populist Party, which had pushed aside all other issues. Bryan spent most of October there160 of his final 250 train stops were in the Midwest. Looking upon the loud Boies and Bland supporters, Bryan commented, "These people don't know it, but they will be cheering for me just this way tomorrow night. A bowery had been built for the Fourth of July picnic and dance. Bryan Club" and "Keep Your Eye on Nebraska. (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018), William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner. Constitutional Rights Foundation, Spring 2010 (Volume 25, No. At that time, Nebraska was suffering hard times as many farmers had difficulties making ends meet due to low grain prices, and many Americans were discontented with the existing two major political parties. These included Vice President Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, Senator Joseph C. Blackburn of Kentucky, Indiana Governor Claude Matthews, and Bryan. [67], Bryan described the stillness as "really painful"; his anxieties that he might have failed were soon broken by pandemonium. Poor Grover Cleveland a hard-money, laissez-faire Democrat was blamed for the panic of 1893, and many leading Cleveland Democrats lost their gubernatorial and senatorial posts in the 1894 elections. Confusion over ballots in Minnesota resulted in 15,000voided votes and may have thrown that state to the Republicans. Through 1895 and early 1896, Bryan sought to make himself as widely known as an advocate for silver as possible. Bryan. 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. See, Last edited on 24 November 2022, at 01:09, 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=1123490165, This page was last edited on 24 November 2022, at 01:09. Ordinarily, it was torn down after that event. Free silver especially resonated among farmers in the South and West, as well as miners. But they had limited room to maneuver in a period of extremely tight competition. Not even supporters thought the Gold Democrats would win; the purpose was to have a candidate who would speak for the gold element in the party, and who would divide the vote and defeat Bryan. [50], Delegates spent most of the first two days listening to various speeches by silver supporters. Their enthusiasm at the unrehearsed rear platform appearances and in the formal speeches was spontaneous and contagious. The billionaire businessman ran as a Republican and scored an upset victory over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 read more, John McCain first entered the public spotlight as a Navy fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. "[79] He left the choice of a running mate to the convention; delegates selected Maine shipbuilder Arthur Sewall. His campaign was low-key, without excessive publicity: Bryan did not want to attract the attention of more prominent candidates. The 1896 race is generally seen as a realigning election. Its leaders have used rhetoric that stirs up anger, floated conspiracy theories, pushed the distrust of read more, William McKinley served in the U.S. Congress and as governor of Ohio before running for the presidency in 1896. [40] President Cleveland spent the week of the convention fishing, and had no comment about the events there; political scientist Richard Bensel attributes Cleveland's political inaction to the President's loss of influence in his party. [117] McKinley's chosen strategy was a front porch campaign; he would remain at home, giving carefully scripted speeches to visiting delegations, much to the gratification of Canton's hot dog vendors and souvenir salesmen, who expanded facilities to meet the demand. The position involved no day-to-day duties, but allowed him to publish his political commentaries. At home, he took a short rest, and was visited by Senator Jones to discuss plans for the campaign. After the fourth ballot, the Illinois delegation caucused and Altgeld was one of only two remaining Bland supporters, thus giving Bryan all of the state's 48 votes and bringing him near the two-thirds mark and the nomination. [151] The poet Vachel Lindsay, 16years old in 1896, passionately followed Bryan's first campaign, and wrote of him many years later: Where is that boy, that Heaven-born Bryan,That Homer Bryan, who sang from the West?Gone to join the shadows with Altgeld the Eagle,Where the kings and the slaves and the troubadours rest.[152]. A devout Protestant, his populist rhetoric and policies earned him the nickname the Great Commoner. In his later years, Bryan campaigned against the teaching of evolution in public schools, culminating with his leading role in the Scopes Trial. Even in the South, Bryan attracted 59% of the rural vote, but only 44% of the urban vote, taking 57% of the southern vote overall. Writers such as Edgar Lee Masters, Hamlin Garland and his fellow Nebraskan, Willa Cather, like Bryan came from the prairies; they wrote of their admiration for him and his first battle. 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