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William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign

In 1896, William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. 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 was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley.

William Jennings Bryan for President

U.S. presidential election, 1896

William Jennings Bryan
U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 1st
(1891–1895)
Arthur Sewall
(Democratic running mate)
Director of the Maine Central Railroad
Thomas E. Watson
(Populist running mate)
U.S. Representative for Georgia's 10th
(1891–1893)

Democratic Party; also endorsed by Populist Party and National Silver Party

Defeated: November 3, 1896

Chicago

US$500,000 (estimated)

Born in 1860, Bryan grew up in rural Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska, where he practiced law and entered politics. He won election to the House of Representatives in 1890, and was re-elected in 1892, before mounting an unsuccessful US Senate run. He set his sights on higher office, believing he could be elected president in 1896 even though he remained a relatively minor figure in the Democratic Party. 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.


Bryan often spoke on the issue of the currency. The economic Panic of 1893 had left the nation in a deep recession, which still persisted in early 1896. Bryan and many other Democrats believed the economic malaise could be remedied through a return to bimetallism, or free silver—a policy they believed would inflate the currency and make it easier for debtors to repay loans. 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. 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. The Democrats nominated Arthur Sewall, a wealthy Maine banker and shipbuilder, for vice president. 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.


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. He spoke some 600 times, to an estimated 5,000,000 listeners. 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. The coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. Although defeated in the election, Bryan's campaign made him a national figure, which he remained until his death in 1925.

Background[edit]

Bryan[edit]

William Jennings Bryan was born in rural Salem, Illinois, in 1860. His father, Silas Bryan, was a Jacksonian Democrat, judge, lawyer, and local party activist.[1] As a judge's son, the younger Bryan had ample opportunity to observe the art of speechmaking in courtrooms, political rallies, and at church and revival meetings. 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. Attending Illinois College beginning in 1877, Bryan devoted himself to winning the school prize for speaking. He won the prize in his junior year, and also secured the affection of Mary Baird, a student at a nearby women's academy. She became his wife, and was his principal assistant throughout his career.[2][3]

Bensel, Richard Franklin (2008). Passion and Preferences: William Jennings Bryan and the 1896 Democratic National Convention. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.  978-0-521-71762-5.

ISBN

Bryan, William Jennings (1896). . Chicago: W.B. Conkey Company. Retrieved April 25, 2012.

The First Battle: A Story of the Campaign of 1896

Cherny, Robert W. (1985). A Righteous Cause: The Life of William Jennings Bryan. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.  978-0-316-13854-3.

ISBN

Coletta, Paulo E. (1964). . Lincoln, Neb.: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-0022-7.

William Jennings Bryan: Political Evangelist, 1860–1908

Dickinson, Edward B. (official stenographer) (1896). . Logansport, Ind.: Wilson, Humphreys, and Co. Retrieved April 25, 2012.

Official Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention

Harpine, William D. (2005). . Presidential Rhetoric. Vol. 13. College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-559-2. Retrieved April 25, 2012.

From the Front Porch to the Front Page: McKinley and Bryan in the 1896 Presidential Campaign

Horner, William T. (2010). Ohio's Kingmaker: Mark Hanna, Man and Myth. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press.  978-0-8214-1894-9.

ISBN

Jones, Stanley L. (1964). . Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press. OCLC 445683.

The Presidential Election of 1896

Kazin, Michael (2006). . New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-41135-9.

A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan

Koenig, Louis W. (1971). . New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 978-0-399-10104-5.

Bryan

Morgan, H. Wayne (1969). From Hayes to McKinley: National Party Politics, 1877–1896. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse University Press.  978-0-8156-2136-2.

ISBN

Morgan, H. Wayne (2003). William McKinley and His America (revised ed.). Kent, Ohio: The Kent State University Press.  978-0-87338-765-1.

ISBN

Phillips, Kevin (2003). . New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0-8050-6953-2.

William McKinley

Williams, R. Hal (2010). Realigning America: McKinley, Bryan and the Remarkable Election of 1896. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas.  978-0-7006-1721-0.

ISBN

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