"[52], On the morning of July 9, 1896, thousands of people waited outside the Coliseum, hoping to hear the platform debate. However, the business man argument was new, though he had hinted at it in an interview he gave at the Republican convention. However, the economy was booming under the leadership of McKinley. Decide to endorse William Jennings Bryan (Democratic candidate). [104] The National Silver Party, mostly former Republicans, met at the same time as the Populists; both conventions were in St. Louis. 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. Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. Many Cleveland supporters decried Bryan as no true Democrat, but a fanatic and socialist, his nomination procured through demagoguery. The vice presidential squabble, Williams argues, worried voters who feared that instability would follow a Bryan victory, and drove them towards McKinley. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. 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. 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. [73] As Missouri Senator George Vest nominated Bland, his oratory was drowned out by the gallery, "Bryan, Bryan, W.J. T.G.O.D Y.O.L.O Bryan's endorsement, soon after Chicago, by the Populists, his statement that he would undertake a nationwide tour on an unprecedented scale, and word from local activists of the strong silver sentiment in areas Republicans had to win to take the election, jarred McKinley's party from its complacency. [87] Large numbers of traditionally Democratic newspapers refused to support Bryan, including the New York World, whose circulation of 800,000 was the nation's largest, and major dailies in cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit, and Brooklyn. [12] Advocates believed these proposals would lead to prosperity, while opponents warned that varying from the gold standard (which the United States had, effectively, used since 1873) would cause problems in international trade. See. 3). He slept much of the evening of election day, to be wakened by his wife with telegrams showing the election was most likely lost. Bryan, who was still in Congress, spoke eloquently against the repeal, but Cleveland forced it through. [125] He occasionally addressed other subjects: in an October speech in Detroit, he spoke out against the Supreme Court's decision ruling the federal income tax unconstitutional. 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. (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018), William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner. Constitutional Rights Foundation, Spring 2010 (Volume 25, No. 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. Only Bryan was left to speak, and no one at the convention had yet effectively championed the silver cause. 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. [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. Members of the Committee on Resolutions (also called the Platform Committee) intended to elect California Senator Stephen M. White as chairman; they found that he had already been co-opted as permanent chairman of the convention. [126] In what Williams describes as "a political campaign that became an American legend",[106] Bryan traveled to 27 of the 45 states, logging 18,000 miles (29,000km), and in his estimated 600 speeches reached some 5,000,000 listeners. 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. He was young, had a respectable but not burdensome record, came from the West, and understood the arts of conciliation. He was slim, tall, pale, raven-haired, beaked of nose. June 1894 marked the publication of William H. Harvey's Coin's Financial School. Lose identity, simplify their cause to one policy (free coinage of silver), sacrifice rest of platform Why did Populists endorse Bryan? [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. 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. That evening, Bryan dined with his wife and with friends. 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. [144] According to Kazin, "what is remarkable is not that Bryan lost but that he came as close as he did to winning. 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. 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. Treat all candidates fairly. NAACP what organization used the court system to fight discrimination? The dark horse is in his stall, feasting on the oats of hope and political straws. Set off by the collapse of the powerful Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the Panic of 1893 plunged the nation into a deep economic depression. [24][25] Several times, in his addresses, Bryan repeated variations on lines he had spoken in Congress in December 1894, decrying the gold standard, "I will not help to crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. They had been passed as compromises between free silver and the gold standard. "[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"? [61] He dismissed arguments that the business men of the East favored the gold standard: We say to you that you have made the definition of a business man too limited in its application. The paper editorialized on the same page that even if the Democratic candidate was not insane, he was at least "of unsound mind". 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. [45], Bryan stayed at the Clifton House, a modest hotel adjoining the opulent Palmer House. [28] He continued to give speeches, and collected his traveling expenses, and most often a speaking fee, from those who had invited him. 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. 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. 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. [4] Looking for a growing city in which his practice could thrive, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1887. When he spoke of himself as the nominee, some reacted as [journalist] Willis J. Abbot did and doubted his mental capacity. These results made the Midwest the crucial battlefield that would decide the presidency. Bryan always regarded that argument as the speech's most powerful part, despite the fame its conclusion would gain. Many Republican leaders had gone on vacation for the summer, believing that the fight, on their terms, would take place in the fall. Why did the populist party support william jennings Bryan for president in the presidential election of 1896? She became his wife, and was his principal assistant throughout his career. Those that served principally as agricultural centers or had been founded along the railroad favored Bryan. William Jennings Bryan. "I was a Democrat before the Convention and am a Democrat stillvery still. [91][92] In the three weeks between the two conventions, McKinley spoke only on the tariff question, and when journalist Murat Halstead telephoned him from Chicago to inform him that Bryan would be nominated, he responded dismissively and hung up the phone. Their enthusiasm at the unrehearsed rear platform appearances and in the formal speeches was spontaneous and contagious. He ran for president a second time in 1900 and a third time in 1908, each time losing. "[16], Even as Cleveland took office as president in March 1893, there were signs of an economic decline. Throughout the nation, voters were intensely interested in the campaign, studying the flood of pamphlets. 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. Bryan did not; Senator Jones (as the new Democratic National Committee chairman, in charge of the campaign) stated, "Mr. Sewall, will, of course, remain on the ticket, and Mr. Watson can do what he likes. The convention, by voice vote, seated the silver Nebraskans, who arrived in the convention hall a few minutes later, accompanied by a band. Why was the 1896 election devastating for Populist movement? He maintained contact with silver partisans in other parties, hopeful of gathering them in after a nomination. Although defeated in the election, Bryan's campaign made him a national figure, which he remained until his death in 1925. Darrow interrogated him on interpreting the Bible literally, which undercut his earlier sweeping religious . Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 17891996". 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 . His running mate, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigned across the nation, condemning Bryan as a dangerous threat to America's prosperity and status. Ordinarily, it was torn down after that event. Chicago banker Charles G. Dawes, a McKinley advisor who had known Bryan when both lived in Lincoln, had predicted to McKinley and his friend and campaign manager, Mark Hanna, that if Bryan had the chance to speak to the convention, he would be its choice. Bryan quipped, "I seem to have plenty of friends now, but I remember well when they were very few. He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley . 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. "[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". [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. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Bryans inability to differentiate between social Darwinism and the scientific theory of evolution galvanized his more fundamentalist, religious supporters but earned him the disdain of many others who shared his progressive politics. In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. To this day, countless theater festivals around the world honor his work, students read more. 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. Neither candidate had much money to spend on his campaign. He introduced several proposals for the direct election of senators and to eliminate tariff barriers in industries dominated by monopolies or trusts. Ever since the election of 1800, American presidential contests had, on some level, been a referendum on whether the country should be governed by agrarian interests (rural indebted farmers-the countryside-"main street") or industrial interests (business-the city-"wall street"). "[101] Many Populists saw the election of Bryan, whose positions on many issues were not far from theirs, as the quickest path to the reforms they sought; a majority of delegates to the convention in St. Louis favored him. However, he was deemed unlikely to succeed, as many Democrats feared that if elected, he might fill some patronage jobs with Republicans. [95], The Populist strategy for 1896 was to nominate the candidate most supportive of silver. Seward spent his early career as a lawyer before winning a seat in the New York State Senate in 1830. 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. "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. [116] Although Hanna and other advisors urged McKinley to get on the road, the Republican candidate declined to match Bryan's gambit, deciding that not only was the Democrat a better stump speaker, but that however McKinley travelled, Bryan would upstage him by journeying in a less comfortable way. All Rights Reserved. The 1896 race is generally seen as a realigning election. [121], During this tour, Bryan spoke almost exclusively on the silver question, and attempted to mold the speeches to reflect local issues and interests. [36] Historian James Barnes wrote of Bryan's preparations: The Nebraskan merely understood the political situation better than most of those who might have been his rivals, and he took advantage in a legitimate and thoroughly honorable manner of the existing conditions. 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. "[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". "[66] In a demonstration of some half an hour, Bryan was carried around the floor, then surrounded with cheering supporters. The effect was deflationary. Bryan spent most of October there160 of his final 250 train stops were in the Midwest. [18], In 1893, bimetallism had been just one of many proposals by Populists and others. Populism and the Election of 1896. Men and women threw their hats into the air, not caring where they might come down. 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. Retrieved May 19, 2012. [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. 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. The biggest announcement in the run-up to the 1908 presidential election came in 1904 when, on the evening of his election, Pres. It began as a simple courtesy, with a telegram that William Jennings Bryan sent. 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. [122] He did not campaign on Sundays, but on most other days spoke between 20 and 30 times. [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. The first report from the Credentials Committee, on the afternoon of July 8, recommended the seating of Bryan's delegation. "[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. Seen as a lawyer before winning a seat in the election, Bryan stayed the. Am a Democrat before the convention and am a Democrat stillvery still championed the silver cause still in Congress spoke! Friends now, but on most other days spoke between 20 and 30 times Democratic candidate ),. Votes to Bryan & # x27 ; s 155 nominee, some reacted [. Booming under the leadership of McKinley, came from the Credentials Committee, on the evening of his,... 17891996 '' principal assistant throughout his career festivals around the world honor his work, read... 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