At the outset of the 1890s, with drought destroying the livelihoods of many American farmers, the Peoples Party (also known as the Populist Party) was growing as a force in U.S. politics by appealing to small farmers, shopkeepers and other less wealthy voters. Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. They had been passed as compromises between free silver and the gold standard. His campaign focused on silver, an issue that failed to appeal to the urban voter, and he was defeated. Morgan noted, "full organization, [Republican] party harmony, a campaign of education with the printed and spoken word would more than counteract" Bryan's speechmaking. 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.". 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. This would restore a practice abolished in 1873. The main candidates headquartered at the Palmer House, their rooms often crowded as they served free alcoholic drinks. June 1894 marked the publication of William H. Harvey's Coin's Financial School. United States presidential election of 1900, American presidential election held on November 6, 1900, in which Republican incumbent Pres. Mary Bryan had joined her husband in late September; on The Idler, the Bryans were able to eat and sleep in relative comfort. In August 1893, Bryan earned admiration from free silverites with his three-hour speech in Congress decrying President Grover Clevelands (ultimately successful) effort to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 and again tie U.S. currency to the gold standard. Attending Illinois College beginning in 1877, Bryan devoted himself to winning the school prize for speaking. Perhaps a vote taken then would have given Bryan the election. [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. "[16], Even as Cleveland took office as president in March 1893, there were signs of an economic decline. William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan, winning 292 electoral votes to Bryan's 155. While the farmers of the south and west continued to support Bryan's proposed economic policies, many found McKinley's to be effective enough. His enemies regarded him as an ambitious demagogue, but his supporters viewed him as a champion of liberal causes. When early-voting Maine and Vermont went strongly Republican in September, this meant that McKinley would most likely win the Northeast. Bryan's supporters raised at most $500,000 for the 1896 campaign; McKinley's raised at least $3.5 million. Ultimately, the incumbent U.S. President William McKinley ended up defeating the anti-imperialist William Jennings Bryan and thus won a second four-year . 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. 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 coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. The 1900 United States presidential election took place after an economic recovery from the Panic of 1893 as well as after the Spanish-American War, with the economy, foreign policy, and imperialism being the main issues of the campaign. After graduating from Illinois College, Bryan earned a law degree from the Union College of Law in Chicago in 1883. Book Description Mr. Bryan's unfinished memoirs, which close with an account of the Baltimore convention of 1912, make up less than half the . Though men thought otherwise at the time, neither fate nor accident created his position in the party. No delegation must be permitted to violate instructions given by a state convention. 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. All Rights Reserved. Although they nominated Bryan for president, they chose Georgia's Thomas E. Watson as vice-presidential candidate; some hoped Bryan would dump Sewall from his ticket. The election of 1896 is seen as the beginning of a new era in American politics, or a "realignment" election. [10], In May 1894, Bryan announced he would not seek re-election to the House of Representatives, feeling the incessant need to raise money to campaign in a marginal district was inhibiting his political career. Bryan left the convention, returning to his hotel to await the outcome. The Cleveland Democrats were temporarily weak, and the Southern-Mountain coalition was ready to hand. 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. 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. "Silver Dick" Bland was seen as the elder statesman of the silver movement; he had originated the Bland-Allison Act of 1878, while Boies' victories for governor in a normally Republican state made him attractive as a candidate who might compete with McKinley in the crucial Midwest. In 1890, he agreed to run for Congress against William James Connell, a Republican, who had won the local congressional seat in 1888. Bryan was present when it was announced that his delegation would not be initially seated; reports state he acted "somewhat surprised" at the outcome. 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. 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. 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. Active in Democratic Party politics, Sewall was one of the few eastern party leaders to support silver, was wealthy and could help finance the campaign; he also balanced the ticket geographically. [81][82] Amid talk that the Gold Democrats would form their own party, Senator Hill was asked if he remained a Democrat. [148], One legacy of the campaign was the career of William Jennings Bryan. [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. "[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. Despite his defeat, Bryan's campaign inspired many of his contemporaries. The increasing economic struggles of poor farmers during the 1870s and 1880s led to the Populist movement. [80] Bryan and Sewall gained their nominations without the ballots of the gold men, most of whom refused to vote. [140] The Democratic Party preserved control in the eastern cities through machine politics and the continued loyalty of the Irish-American voter; Bryan's loss over the silver issue of many German-American voters, previously solidly Democratic, helped ensure his defeat in the Midwest. In 1986, he began his long tenure as the U.S. read more, William Seward (1801-1872) was a politician who served as governor of New York, as a U.S. senator and as secretary of state during the Civil War (1861-65). William Jennings Bryan, (born March 19, 1860, Salem, Illinois, U.S.died July 26, 1925, Dayton, Tennessee), Democratic and Populist leader and a magnetic orator who ran unsuccessfully three times for the U.S. presidency (1896, 1900, and 1908). In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. I was thinking of finding a book for him for Christmas that could help his research. [31] Most state conventions did not bind, or "instruct", their delegates to vote for a specific candidate for the nomination; this course was strongly supported by Bryan. Although Bryan claimed that many employers had intimidated their workers into voting Republican, Williams points out that the Democrats benefited from the disenfranchisement of southern African Americans. However, the business man argument was new, though he had hinted at it in an interview he gave at the Republican convention. Didn't want to split pro-silver vote Populists 1892 The Democrats nominated Arthur Sewall, a wealthy Maine banker and shipbuilder, for vice president. 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. As a longtime champion of protective tariffs, the Republican McKinley ran on a platform of promoting American prosperity and won a landslide victory over Democrat read more, New York City real estate developer and reality TV star Donald Trump (1946- ) served as Americas 45th president from January 2017-January 2021. "[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". He introduced several proposals for the direct election of senators and to eliminate tariff barriers in industries dominated by monopolies or trusts. "[143], Michael Kazin, Bryan's biographer, notes the many handicaps he faced in his 1896 campaign: "A severe economic downturn that occurred with Democrats in power, a party deserted by its men of wealth and national prominence, the vehement opposition of most prominent publishers and academics and ministers, and hostility from the nation's largest employers". William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 - July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Lose identity, simplify their cause to one policy (free coinage of silver), sacrifice rest of platform Why did Populists endorse Bryan? 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. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. Populists claim to speak for ordinary people, taking an "us versus them" stance. "[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. Abandoned by many gold-supporting party leaders and newspapers after the Chicago convention, Bryan undertook an extensive tour by rail to bring his campaign to the people. Bryan, an attorney and former Congressman, galvanized support with his Cross of Gold speech, which called for a reform of the monetary system and attacked business leaders as the cause of ongoing economic depression. At every stop, he made contacts that he later cultivated. In the book, Bryan made it clear that the first battle would not be the last, "If we are right, we shall yet triumph. 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. They quickly endorsed Bryan and Sewall, urging all silver forces to unite behind that ticket. That evening, Bryan dined with his wife and with friends. Bryan. "[79] He left the choice of a running mate to the convention; delegates selected Maine shipbuilder Arthur Sewall. Bryan believed he could use the coalition-building techniques he had applied in gaining election to Congress, uniting pro-silver forces behind him to gain the Democratic nomination and the presidency. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. In 1896, Bryan captivated the audience at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with a passionate oration urging his countrymen to stand up for the common man against big business interests and support free silver. A bowery had been built for the Fourth of July picnic and dance. 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). Sherman's act required the government to pay out gold in exchange for silver and paper currency, and through the early months of 1893 gold flowed out of the Treasury. William Jennings Bryan was born in rural Salem, Illinois, in 1860. The galleries were quickly packed, but the delegates, slowed by fatigue from the first two days and the long journey from the downtown hotels, were slower to arrive. [57][71] According to The Boston Globe, Bryan "had locked himself within the four walls at the Clifton House, down town, and there blushes unseen. Hayes and Harrison both won in the electoral college but lost the popular vote, for example. 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. The Scopes monkey trial in Dayton, Tennessee, played out under the national spotlight, with journalists, religious leaders and onlookers crowding the courtroom. [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. The coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. Taken prisoner after his plane was shot down, he suffered five and a half years of torture and confinement before his release in 1973. 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. The proposed platform was pro-silver; Senator Hill had offered an amendment backing the gold standard, which had been defeated by committee vote. Treat all candidates fairly. [f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. 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. 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. [106][107] Bryan was not interested in campaign organization; what he wanted from the DNC was enough money to conduct a national tour by train. 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. However, he was deemed unlikely to succeed, as many Democrats feared that if elected, he might fill some patronage jobs with Republicans. Though he continued to publicly oppose U.S. involvement in World War I after his resignation, Bryan changed course after the nation entered the conflict in 1917 due to extensive popular support for the war effort. 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. [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. Through 1895 and early 1896, Bryan sought to make himself as widely known as an advocate for silver as possible. The jury predictably found Scopes guilty, but Bryans performance in the trial, and his thrashing in the national press, marked a less than stellar end to his long career as a public figure. The leading candidates were former Missouri congressman Richard P. Bland and former Iowa governor Horace Boies. The President's uncompromising stand for gold alienated many in his own party (most southern and western Democrats were pro-silver). In 1904, Taft took on the role of secretary of war in the administration read more, William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951) launched his career by taking charge of his fathers struggling newspaper the San Francisco Examiner in 1887. South Carolina Senator Benjamin Tillman, a silver supporter, wanted an hour to address the convention, and to close the debate. William Jennings Bryan. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! "[83][84], Bryan's nomination was denounced by many establishment Democrats. T.G.O.D Y.O.L.O His program of prosperity through free silver struck an emotional chord with the American people in a way that McKinley's protective tariff did not. Writer Edgar Lee Masters, who witnessed Bryan's speech, remembered, "Suddenly I saw a man spring up from his seat among the delegates and with the agility and swiftness of an eager boxer hurry to the speaker's rostrum. why did william jennings bryan lose the election of 1896? 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. (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018), William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner. Constitutional Rights Foundation, Spring 2010 (Volume 25, No. Now among the most famous politicians in the country, Bryan would run twice more for president, losing again to McKinley in 1900 and to William Howard Taft in 1908. His father, Silas Bryan, was a Jacksonian Democrat, judge, lawyer, and local party activist. Many seats were vacant before he concluded.[113][114]. [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. [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. 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. 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