"[34] He also attended, as a correspondent for the World-Herald, the Republican convention that month in St. Louis. Each made their cases for gold, and likely changed few votes. 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. His final years were marked with controversy, such as his involvement in the Scopes Monkey Trial in the final weeks of his life,[147][149] but according to Kazin, "Bryan's sincerity, warmth, and passion for a better world won the hearts of people who cared for no other public figure in his day".[150]. He then lowered his arms, and began the journey back to his seat in the silence. Why did the populist party support william jennings Bryan for president in the presidential election of 1896? I come to speak to you in defense of a cause as holy as the cause of libertythe cause of humanity.[59]. But they had limited room to maneuver in a period of extremely tight competition. The minority had indicated its position. As an evangelical Christian and a believer in the literal interpretation of the Bible, Bryan also saw a grave threat in the application of Charles Darwins theory to human society. They hoped the Democrats either would not endorse silver in their platform or if they did, that the Democratic candidate would be someone who could be painted as weak on silver. Populists claim to speak for ordinary people, taking an "us versus them" stance. John Nimick. In the book, Bryan made it clear that the first battle would not be the last, "If we are right, we shall yet triumph. 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. 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. Bryan's supporters raised at most $500,000 for the 1896 campaign; McKinley's raised at least $3.5 million. After running unsuccessfully for the Senate in 1894, Bryan returned to Nebraska and became editor of the Omaha World-Herald. They also lost the next 2 elections, in spite of their strong backing in the popular classes. "[131], The South and most of the West were deemed certain to vote for Bryan. If this robbery is permitted, the farmer will be ruined, and then the cities will suffer. Although not a landslide shift comparable to election swings in the twentieth century, McKinley's victory ended the pattern of close popular margins that had characterized elections since the Civil War. Seward spent his early career as a lawyer before winning a seat in the New York State Senate in 1830. The Democrats nominated Arthur Sewall, a wealthy Maine banker and shipbuilder, for vice president. Biographies of the Secretaries of State: William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925). 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. Bryans pacifist stance put him increasingly at odds with the president, however, and he resigned in 1915 in protest after Wilson sent a second note to Germany demanding an end to submarine warfare after the sinking of the Lusitania, an action Bryan felt went too far toward violating American neutrality. He won the prize in his junior year, and also secured the affection of Mary Baird, a student at a nearby women's academy. As Hill was determined to take the platform fight to the full convention, the committee discussed who should speak in the debate, and allocated 75minutes to each side. [128] For the most part, Bryan ignored the attacks, and made light of them in his account of the 1896 campaign. [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. Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. Bryan often spoke on the issue of the currency. Bryan campaigned heavily on a platform of free silver in 1896, and continued that trend into the election of 1900. His running mate, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigned across the nation, condemning Bryan as a dangerous threat to America's prosperity and status. At the center of these efforts was a campaign to end the teaching of evolution in public schools. On September 27, The New York Times published a letter by an "eminent alienist" who, based on an analysis of the candidate's speeches, concluded that Bryan was mad. 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 coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. 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. Bryan left the convention, returning to his hotel to await the outcome. Ultimately, the incumbent U.S. President William McKinley ended up defeating the anti-imperialist William Jennings Bryan and thus won a second four-year . "[16], Even as Cleveland took office as president in March 1893, there were signs of an economic decline. See. In the 1892 presidential election, former Democratic president Grover Cleveland defeated the Republican incumbent, Benjamin Harrison, to regain his office. Bryan was present when it was announced that his delegation would not be initially seated; reports state he acted "somewhat surprised" at the outcome. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. [124], Bryan rarely emphasized other issues than silver; leader of a disparate coalition linked by the silver question, he feared alienating some of his supporters. Although defeated in the election, Bryan's campaign made him a national figure, which he remained until his death in 1925. The answer was simple, Bryan told Abbothe had prepared a speech that would stampede the convention. "[19] A Minnesota correspondent wrote in Outlook magazine: "high school boys are about equally divided between silver and baseball, with a decided leaning toward the former". overcoming discrimination to become a self made millionaire why is madame CJ walker remembered? Soon afterwards, the delegates, bored, shouted for a speech from Bryan, but he was not to be found. He was young, had a respectable but not burdensome record, came from the West, and understood the arts of conciliation. "I was a Democrat before the Convention and am a Democrat stillvery still. 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. "[57] The Nebraska delegation waved red handkerchiefs as Bryan progressed to the podium;[56] he wore an alpaca sack suit more typical of Lincoln and the West than of Chicago. He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley . Ordinarily, it was torn down after that event. Bryan quipped, "I seem to have plenty of friends now, but I remember well when they were very few. We come to speak of this broader class of business men.[62][63]. [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. Nevertheless, Gold Democrats began plans to hold their own convention, which took place in September. 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 Democratic Party and the nation. [129] Republican newspapers and spokesmen claimed that Bryan's campaign was expensively financed by the silver interests. T.G.O.D Y.O.L.O These included Vice President Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, Senator Joseph C. Blackburn of Kentucky, Indiana Governor Claude Matthews, and Bryan. The paper editorialized on the same page that even if the Democratic candidate was not insane, he was at least "of unsound mind". voting restrictions what political restrictions did southern states place on african americans? In anticipation of a presidential campaign, he spent much of 1895 and early 1896 making speeches across the United States; his compelling oratory increased his popularity in his party. The shortness of the speech did not dismay the crowds, who knew his arguments well: they were there to see and hear William Jennings Bryanone listener told him that he had read every one of his speeches, and had ridden 50 miles (80km) to hear him, "And, by gum, if I wasn't a Republican, I'd vote for you. 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. [49] Bryan had been widely supported as a candidate for permanent chairman by the silver men, but some western delegates on the Committee on Permanent Organization objected, stating that they wanted the chance to support Bryan for the nomination (the permanent chairman was customarily ruled out as a candidate). Mary Bryan had joined her husband in late September; on The Idler, the Bryans were able to eat and sleep in relative comfort. Hayes and Harrison both won in the electoral college but lost the popular vote, for example. 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 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. After a candidate backed by the nascent Populists withdrew, Bryan defeated Connell for the seat by 6,700 votes (nearly doubling Connell's 1888 margin), receiving support from the Populists and Prohibitionists. The first report from the Credentials Committee, on the afternoon of July 8, recommended the seating of Bryan's delegation. It was badly received even by silver delegates, who wished to think of silver as a patriotic, national issue. Great Commoner Bryan dies in sleep, apoplexy given as cause of death. UPI Archives, July 27, 1925. https://www.history.com/topics/us-government/william-jennings-bryan. "[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. Rumors that Europeans were about to redeem a large sum for gold caused desperate selling on the stock market, the start of the Panic of 1893. [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. Taken prisoner after his plane was shot down, he suffered five and a half years of torture and confinement before his release in 1973. 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. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and the 1908 elections. Senator Tillman, a fiery speaker who wore a pitchfork on his lapel, began the debate. [22][23] In the 17months between his departure from Congress and the Democratic National Convention in July 1896, Bryan travelled widely through the South and West, speaking on silver. Bimtallism. [41], Bryan's Nebraska delegation left Lincoln by train on July 5. The central issue was the country's money supply. On July 26, 1925, five days after the verdict was issued, Bryan died in his sleep after suffering a stroke. [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. United States presidential election of 1900, American presidential election held on November 6, 1900, in which Republican incumbent Pres. With little money, poor organization, and a hostile press, Bryan was his campaign's most important asset, and he wanted to reach the voters by traveling to them. Both had openly declared their candidacies, and were the only Democrats to have organizations seeking to obtain pledged delegates. There was loud cheering as Bryan stood at the lectern; it took him a full minute to gain silence. His campaign focused on silver, an issue that failed to appeal to the urban voter, and he was defeated. If the USA had been on a bimetallic standard between 1875 and 1890, the economy could have expanded far more than it did, restricted as it was in its monetary straight jacket. This was not the case: the mining industry was seeing poor times, and had little money to donate to Bryan. Meanwhile, Hanna raised millions from business men to pay for speakers on the currency question and to flood the nation with hundreds of millions of pamphlets. How could a boy in appearance, one not yet admitted to the convention, without a single state behind him, dare claim the nomination? [33] Bryan spoke at her funeral, quoting lines from Second Timothy: "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Set off by the collapse of the powerful Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the Panic of 1893 plunged the nation into a deep economic depression. 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. [99], Even before their convention in late July, the Populists faced dissent in their ranks. [62][64] He responded to an argument by Senator Vilas that from silver forces might arise a Robespierre. Through 1895 and early 1896, Bryan sought to make himself as widely known as an advocate for silver as possible. He knew personally more delegates than did any other candidate and he was on the ground to supervise his strategy. William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan, winning 292 electoral votes to Bryan's 155. The left-wing Populist Party (which had hoped to nominate the only silver-supporting candidate) endorsed Bryan for president, but found Sewall unacceptable, substituting Thomas E. Watson of Georgia. Despite his electoral losses, Bryan continued to exert considerable influence through his fervently religious speeches as well as a weekly magazine, the Commoner. To those who cling to the gold standard, he declared in closing: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.. The Populists proposed both greater government control over the economy (with some calling for government ownership of railroads) and giving the people power over government through the secret ballot, direct election of United States Senators (who were, until 1913, elected by state legislatures), and replacement of the Electoral College with direct election of the president and vice president by popular vote. [105], After the Democratic convention, Bryan had returned triumphantly to Lincoln, making speeches along the way. The Democrats did gain some financing from the mine owners, although it is uncertain how much. South Carolina Senator Benjamin Tillman, a silver supporter, wanted an hour to address the convention, and to close the debate. Gold Democrats had success in the Northeast, and little elsewhere. [115], Bryan's plan for victory was to undertake a strenuous train tour, bringing his message to the people. The election of 1896 was just as much a partisan battle over the future of American economic policy as the 2012 election. Bryan was strongly affected by the emerging Social Gospel movement that called on Protestant activists to seek to cure social problems such as poverty. He was utterly confident that he would succeed, believing "the logic of the situation," as he later put it, dictated his selection. The position involved no day-to-day duties, but allowed him to publish his political commentaries. Governor Altgeld had held Illinois, which was subject to the "unit rule" whereby the entirety of a state's vote was cast as a majority of that state's delegation directed. The train bearing The Idler pulled in after a short journey from the last stop, and after he was greeted by local dignitaries, Bryan would give a brief speech addressing silver and the need for the people to retake the government. There was little advantage to the Democratic Party in nominating a candidate from Nebraska, a state small in population that had never voted for a Democrat. "[72] Bryan had made no arrangements for formal nominating speeches given the short timeframe, and was surprised when word was brought to him at the Clifton House that he had been nominated by Henry Lewis of Georgia: the candidate had expected the Kansas delegation to name him. [27], Through early 1896, Bryan quietly sought the nomination. The 1896 race is generally seen as a realigning election. [37], In the run up to the Democratic National Convention, set to begin at the Chicago Coliseum on July 7, 1896, no candidate was seen as an overwhelming favorite for the presidential nomination. His father, Silas Bryan, was a Jacksonian Democrat, judge, lawyer, and local party activist. Coletta noted the problems faced by Bryan in obtaining the nomination, and how his groundwork helped overcome them: The maneuver that paid Bryan highest dividends was his fifteen months of missionary work in behalf of silver and cultivation of the Chicago delegates. Cross of Gold Speech and Election of 1896, Anti-Evolution Crusade, Scopes Trial and Death, Department of State: Office of the Historian. Former Populist governor of Colorado Davis H. Waite wrote to former congressman Ignatius Donnelly that the Democrats had returned to their roots and "nominated a good & true man on the platform. NAACP what organization used the court system to fight discrimination? [96][97] According to Stanley Jones, "the Democratic endorsement of silver and Bryan at Chicago precipitated the disintegration" of the Populist Party;[98] it was never again a force in national politics after 1896. 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