In post-Civil War America, oratory was highly prized, and Bryan showed aptitude for it from a young age, raised in his father's house in Salem. He promised to enforce the laws against the trusts, procure stricter ones from Congress, and if the Supreme Court struck them down, to seek a constitutional amendment. McKinley was supported by middle-class and wealthy voters, urban laborers, and prosperous farmers; this coalition would keep the Republicans mostly in power until the 1930s. Party members in many states, including Nebraska, demanded inflation of the currency through issuance of paper or silver currency, allowing easier repayment of debt. The election of 1896 was just as much a partisan battle over the future of American economic policy as the 2012 election. By August, many firms had gone bankrupt, and a special session of Congress convened, called by Cleveland to repeal the silver purchase act. 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. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican candidate, defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan. 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. The minority had indicated its position. The coalition of wealthy, middle-class, and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. [105], After the Democratic convention, Bryan had returned triumphantly to Lincoln, making speeches along the way. He was not yet done with campaigning, however; on November 2, he undertook a train journey across Nebraska in support of Democratic congressional candidates. The biggest announcement in the run-up to the 1908 presidential election came in 1904 when, on the evening of his election, Pres. William Jennings Bryan, The First Battle: A Story of the Campaign of 1896[78], At the Clifton House, Bryan's rooms were overwhelmed with those wishing to congratulate him, despite the efforts of police to keep the crowds at bay. This would restore a practice abolished in 1873. In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. 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. [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. [95], The Populist strategy for 1896 was to nominate the candidate most supportive of silver. "[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. In addition to the frontrunners, other silver men were spoken of as candidates. Born in 1860, Bryan grew up in rural Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska, where he practiced law and entered politics. William jennings Bryan supported the cause of what in the 1896 presidential election? The question of the currency had been a major political issue since the mid-1870s. They also lost the next 2 elections, in spite of their strong backing in the popular classes. Stone, chair of the notification committee, essayed a lengthy speech, he was drowned out by the crowd, which wanted to hear "the Boy Orator of the Platte". "[145] Bryan's own explanation was brief: "I have borne the sins of Grover Cleveland. McKinley did well in the border states of Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky. "[110][111][112] August 12 was an extremely hot day in New York, especially for the crowd jammed into the Garden; when Missouri Governor William J. 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. [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. Why did William Jennings Bryan lose the 1896 election? "[131], The South and most of the West were deemed certain to vote for Bryan. 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. [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. [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. Bryan spent most of October there160 of his final 250 train stops were in the Midwest. On July 26, 1925, five days after the verdict was issued, Bryan died in his sleep after suffering a stroke. 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. The position involved no day-to-day duties, but allowed him to publish his political commentaries. He was utterly confident that he would succeed, believing "the logic of the situation," as he later put it, dictated his selection. According to Stanley Jones, The period of this tour, in the return from New York to Lincoln, was the high point of the Bryan campaign. 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". His campaign was low-key, without excessive publicity: Bryan did not want to attract the attention of more prominent candidates. John Nimick. The 1900 United States presidential election was the 29th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1900.In a re-match of the 1896 race, incumbent Republican President William McKinley defeated his Democratic challenger, William Jennings Bryan.McKinley's victory made him the first president to win a consecutive re-election since Ulysses S. Grant had accomplished the same . "[123] After a brief interval for handshakes, the train would pull out again, to another town down the track.[123]. "[52], On the morning of July 9, 1896, thousands of people waited outside the Coliseum, hoping to hear the platform debate. Jill Lepore. [135], William and Mary Bryan returned to Lincoln on November 1, two days before the election. They read Bryan when they couldn't go off to listen to him. Bryan arrived during the delay; he was greeted with a musical tribute from one of the convention bands,[a] which then returned to playing a medley of Irish melodies. Populists claim to speak for ordinary people, taking an "us versus them" stance. Crowds assembled hours or days ahead of Bryan's arrival. 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. Only Bryan was left to speak, and no one at the convention had yet effectively championed the silver cause. The election of 1896 is seen as the beginning of a new era in American politics, or a "realignment" election. Perhaps a vote taken then would have given Bryan the election. New York Senator Hill was next: the leading spokesman for gold, both gold and silver delegates quieted to hear him. [f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. The convention, by voice vote, seated the silver Nebraskans, who arrived in the convention hall a few minutes later, accompanied by a band. [148], One legacy of the campaign was the career of William Jennings Bryan. 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. In the book, Bryan made it clear that the first battle would not be the last, "If we are right, we shall yet triumph. The book, composed of accounts of (fictitious) lectures on the silver issue given by an adolescent named Coin to Chicago audiences, became an immense bestseller. [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. Bryan left the convention, returning to his hotel to await the outcome. He was a fine actor, with a justly famous voice, but was not a charlatan. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1890, when he was just 30 years old, Bryan championed populist causes including the direct election of senators, graduated federal income tax and the free silver movement, which sought to expand the federal money supply by basing U.S. currency on silver as well as gold. It was badly received even by silver delegates, who wished to think of silver as a patriotic, national issue. Confusion over ballots in Minnesota resulted in 15,000voided votes and may have thrown that state to the Republicans. Source (Popular Vote): .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:#d33}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#3a3;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}Leip, David. "[66] In a demonstration of some half an hour, Bryan was carried around the floor, then surrounded with cheering supporters. He knew personally more delegates than did any other candidate and he was on the ground to supervise his strategy. [38] Illinois Governor Altgeld, a leader of the silver movement, was ineligible because he was not a natural-born U.S. citizen as required for the presidency in the Constitution. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Bryan, who was still in Congress, spoke eloquently against the repeal, but Cleveland forced it through. "[79] He left the choice of a running mate to the convention; delegates selected Maine shipbuilder Arthur Sewall. Men and women threw their hats into the air, not caring where they might come down. Many Cleveland supporters decried Bryan as no true Democrat, but a fanatic and socialist, his nomination procured through demagoguery. "[144] Williams believes that Bryan did better than any other Democrat would have, and comments, "The nominee of a divided and discredited party, he had come remarkably close to winning. William Jennings Bryan was born in rural Salem, Illinois, in 1860. McKinley won with 7.1 million votes to Bryan's 6.5 million, 51% to 47%. The sympathies of the Democratic Party, as shown by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses, who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic Party. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. The central issue was the country's money supply. 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. Bryan was well rested. [48], As the committees met, the convention proceeded, though in considerable confusion. [74], The balloting for the presidential nomination was held on July 10, the day after the speech; a two-thirds majority was needed to nominate. How could a boy in appearance, one not yet admitted to the convention, without a single state behind him, dare claim the nomination? [120], On September 11, 1896, Bryan departed on a train trip that continued until November 1, two days before the election. "[102], Historian R. Hal Williams, in his book about the 1896 campaign, believes that the Populist nomination did Bryan little good; most Populists would have voted for him anyway and the endorsement allowed his opponents to paint him and his supporters as extremists. "[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"? The presidential election in 1896, a contest between the Republican candidate, William McKinley (1843-1901), and the Democrat candidate, William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), was contested over McKinley's pledge to maintain the gold standard for the nation's currency, in contrast to Bryan's promise to increase the supply of money by expanding the . The 1896 race is generally seen as a realigning election. These Truths: A History of the United States. At a speech in Chicago on Labor Day, Bryan varied from the silver issue to urge regulation of corporations. [20], In March 1895, the same month he left Congress, Bryan passed his 35thbirthday, making him constitutionally eligible for the presidency. "[60] From the start, Bryan had his audience: when he finished a sentence, they would rise, shout and cheer, then quiet themselves to ready for the next words; the Nebraskan later described the convention as like a trained choir. 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