The Coliseum was located in a "dry" district of Chicago but the hotels were not. This popular treatment of the currency issue was highly influential. Bryan was well rested. No delegation must be permitted to violate instructions given by a state convention. [144] According to Kazin, "what is remarkable is not that Bryan lost but that he came as close as he did to winning. A friend of mine is a student of American religious history with a particular interest in William Jennings Bryan and the Populists. William Jennings Bryan. But they had limited room to maneuver in a period of extremely tight competition. Gold Democrats had success in the Northeast, and little elsewhere. John Nimick. Wherever his train went people, who had travelled from nearby farms and villages, waved and shouted encouragement. His campaign focused on silver, an issue that failed to appeal to the urban voter, and he was defeated. [81][82] Amid talk that the Gold Democrats would form their own party, Senator Hill was asked if he remained a Democrat. 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. [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. Bryan often spoke on the issue of the currency. 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. It began as a simple courtesy, with a telegram that William Jennings Bryan sent. He slept much of the evening of election day, to be wakened by his wife with telegrams showing the election was most likely lost. To this day, countless theater festivals around the world honor his work, students read more. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! [20], In March 1895, the same month he left Congress, Bryan passed his 35thbirthday, making him constitutionally eligible for the presidency. Why did William Jennings Bryan lose? 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. She became his wife, and was his principal assistant throughout his career. The minority report attracted the opposite reaction.[54]. As the presidential election year of 1896 began, things were looking rosy for the Republicans. [6][7][8], In Congress, Bryan was appointed to the powerful Ways and Means Committee and became a major spokesman on the tariff and money questions. It was not until 10:45am, three-quarters of an hour late, that Chairman White called the convention to order. [13] Bryan, who had been elected after the passage of the latter enactment, initially had little to say on the subject. [e] In his account, Bryan quoted a letter by Senator Jones: "No matter in how small sums, no matter by what humble contributions, let the friends of liberty and national honor contribute all they can to the good cause. [46], Just before the convention, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) made initial determinations of which delegations were to be seatedonce convened, delegates would make the final determination after the convention's Credentials Committee reported. Those that served principally as agricultural centers or had been founded along the railroad favored Bryan. "[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. They also lost the next 2 elections, in spite of their strong backing in the popular classes. Populism and the Election of 1896. Book Description Mr. Bryan's unfinished memoirs, which close with an account of the Baltimore convention of 1912, make up less than half the . [148], One legacy of the campaign was the career of William Jennings Bryan. United States presidential election of 1900, American presidential election held on November 6, 1900, in which Republican incumbent Pres. If those in favor of honest money don't do something to offset its influence the country is going to the dogs. Rather than continue the free silver battle, he dedicated himself to opposing American imperialism, which he saw as immoral and undemocratic. [18], In 1893, bimetallism had been just one of many proposals by Populists and others. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. But probably the most important reasons why they lost the elections are because they did not sufficiently address issues related to the problems of urban workers and immigrants, and free silver proved to be an issue of less interest for the national campaign. [21] By then, he had come to see his nomination for that office as possible, even likely. 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. [151] The poet Vachel Lindsay, 16years old in 1896, passionately followed Bryan's first campaign, and wrote of him many years later: Where is that boy, that Heaven-born Bryan,That Homer Bryan, who sang from the West?Gone to join the shadows with Altgeld the Eagle,Where the kings and the slaves and the troubadours rest.[152]. By early October, the DNC, at the urging of Populist officials who felt Bryan was being worn out, procured the services of North Carolina journalist Josephus Daniels to make travel arrangements, and also obtained a private railroad car, The Idlera name Bryan thought somewhat inappropriate due to the strenuous nature of the tour. He was slim, tall, pale, raven-haired, beaked of nose. [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. However, the President ruled this out; his Cabinet members also refused to run. The Scopes monkey trial in Dayton, Tennessee, played out under the national spotlight, with journalists, religious leaders and onlookers crowding the courtroom. The Republicans, at the request of their nominee for president, former Ohio governor William McKinley, included a plank in their party platform supporting the gold standard. [32] Once delegates were selected, Bryan wrote to party officials and obtained a list; he sent copies of his speeches, clippings from the World-Herald, and his photograph to each delegate.[28]. Bryan campaigned heavily on a platform of free silver in 1896, and continued that trend into the election of 1900. These results made the Midwest the crucial battlefield that would decide the presidency. [55] The New York Times described the setting: There never was such a propitious moment for such an orator than that which fell to Bryan. Bryan left the convention, returning to his hotel to await the outcome. His campaign was low-key, without excessive publicity: Bryan did not want to attract the attention of more prominent candidates. [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. [f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. 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. The song was "Sift Sand, Sal", the source does not explain the relevance of this to Bryan. Darrow interrogated him on interpreting the Bible literally, which undercut his earlier sweeping religious . "[16], Even as Cleveland took office as president in March 1893, there were signs of an economic decline. On July 26, 1925, five days after the verdict was issued, Bryan died in his sleep after suffering a stroke. Bryan was quoting from an 1878 speech by Cleveland's Treasury Secretary, Hill remained neutral in the campaign, despite urgings to go over to the Gold Democrats, seeking to preserve his control of the state Democratic party, and also hoping (in vain) to secure his own re-election by the legislature. The 1896 presidential race is generally considered a realigning election, when there is a major shift in voting patterns, upsetting the political balance. The first report from the Credentials Committee, on the afternoon of July 8, recommended the seating of Bryan's delegation. By August, many firms had gone bankrupt, and a special session of Congress convened, called by Cleveland to repeal the silver purchase act. He was young, had a respectable but not burdensome record, came from the West, and understood the arts of conciliation. Thanks in advance if you have any recommendations! [35] Bryan was deeply moved when, after the adoption of the platform, Colorado Senator Henry M. Teller led a walkout of silver-supporting Republicans. 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. 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. It was badly received even by silver delegates, who wished to think of silver as a patriotic, national issue. "[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. 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. The leading candidates were former Missouri congressman Richard P. Bland and former Iowa governor Horace Boies. To that end, it was important that the Populists not nominate a rival silver candidate, and he took pains to cultivate good relations with Populist leaders. By 1896, populist issues had become so important that the Democratic candidate for president, William Jennings Bryan, pledged to support them and went on to win most of the South and West. "[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. "[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. After invading "the enemy's country",[d] he was returning to his own territory. There was loud cheering as Bryan stood at the lectern; it took him a full minute to gain silence. He argued that children being taught the survival of the fittest would in time stop caring about the poor and otherwise needier members of the population. Set off by the collapse of the powerful Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the Panic of 1893 plunged the nation into a deep economic depression. 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. "[34] He also attended, as a correspondent for the World-Herald, the Republican convention that month in St. Louis. A free silver policy would inflate the currency, as the silver in a dollar coin was worth just over half the face value. Bryan's biographer, Paolo Coletta, suggests that Bryan may have played a part in inciting the silver men's departure; he was in close contact with Silver Republicans such as Teller and South Dakota Senator Richard Pettigrew. [120], On September 11, 1896, Bryan departed on a train trip that continued until November 1, two days before the election. The Republican William Howard Taft worked as a judge in Ohio Superior Court and in the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals before accepting a post as the first civilian governor of the Philippines in 1900. The election of 1896 was just as much a partisan battle over the future of American economic policy as the 2012 election. In the 1892 presidential election, former Democratic president Grover Cleveland defeated the Republican incumbent, Benjamin Harrison, to regain his office. Hayes and Harrison both won in the electoral college but lost the popular vote, for example. "[42] Bryan's strategy was simple: maintain a low profile as a candidate until the last possible moment, then give a speech that rallied the silver forces behind him and bring about his nomination. In 2007, Gore won a Nobel read more, Considered the greatest English-speaking writer in history and known as Englands national poet, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) has had more theatrical works performed than any other playwright. Populist leaders correctly believed the Republicans unlikely to nominate a silver man. At a speech in Chicago on Labor Day, Bryan varied from the silver issue to urge regulation of corporations. [136] His train reached Lincoln after the polls opened; he journeyed from train station to polling place to his house escorted by a mounted troop of supporters. The campaign, as it proved, was badly organized: This was Jones' first national campaign, and the party structure in many states was either only newly in the control of silver forces, or in gold states wanted no part of the national ticket. He lost a presidential bid to George W. Bush in 2000. In the speech, Bryan, who was from . 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. McKinley did well in the border states of Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky. It is the substance we are after, and we have it with William J. T.G.O.D Y.O.L.O He introduced several proposals for the direct election of senators and to eliminate tariff barriers in industries dominated by monopolies or trusts. I come to speak to you in defense of a cause as holy as the cause of libertythe cause of humanity.[59]. However, he was deemed unlikely to succeed, as many Democrats feared that if elected, he might fill some patronage jobs with Republicans. Perhaps a vote taken then would have given Bryan the election. The increasing economic struggles of poor farmers during the 1870s and 1880s led to the Populist movement. United States presidential election of 1896, American presidential election held on November 3, 1896, in which Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat - Populist William Jennings Bryan. After the defense called Bryan himself as an expert on the Bible, Darrow subjected him to a brutal examination in the sweltering courtroom, revealing his lack of theological as well as scientific knowledge. Morgan noted, "full organization, [Republican] party harmony, a campaign of education with the printed and spoken word would more than counteract" Bryan's speechmaking. He was utterly confident that he would succeed, believing "the logic of the situation," as he later put it, dictated his selection. 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. 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