why did william jennings bryan lose the 1896 election

For a more detailed treatment of the background to the currency question, see, For further information on the procedures of American political conventions, see, William Jennings Bryan 1896 presidential campaign, Attacks and Gold Democrats; the final days. Darrow interrogated him on interpreting the Bible literally, which undercut his earlier sweeping religious . After the fourth ballot, the Illinois delegation caucused and Altgeld was one of only two remaining Bland supporters, thus giving Bryan all of the state's 48 votes and bringing him near the two-thirds mark and the nomination. Only Bryan was left to speak, and no one at the convention had yet effectively championed the silver cause. [127], Republican newspapers painted Bryan as a tool of Governor Altgeld, who was controversial for having pardoned the surviving men convicted of involvement in the Haymarket bombing. 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. "[145] Bryan's own explanation was brief: "I have borne the sins of Grover Cleveland. 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. There was little advantage to the Democratic Party in nominating a candidate from Nebraska, a state small in population that had never voted for a Democrat. Bryan's supporters raised at most $500,000 for the 1896 campaign; McKinley's raised at least $3.5 million. [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. [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. [4] Looking for a growing city in which his practice could thrive, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1887. No delegation must be permitted to violate instructions given by a state convention. Born in 1860, Bryan grew up in rural Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska, where he practiced law and entered politics. Even in the South, Bryan attracted 59% of the rural vote, but only 44% of the urban vote, taking 57% of the southern vote overall. Though men thought otherwise at the time, neither fate nor accident created his position in the party. 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. The Cleveland Democrats were temporarily weak, and the Southern-Mountain coalition was ready to hand. Perhaps a vote taken then would have given Bryan the election. 3). His running mate, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigned across the nation, condemning Bryan as a dangerous threat to America's prosperity and status. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at the cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day, who begins in spring and toils all summer, and who by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of the country creates wealth, is as much a business man as the man who goes upon the Board of Trade and bets upon the price of grain; the miners who go down a thousand feet into the earth, or climb two thousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. 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). 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. The economic Panic of 1893 had left the nation in a deep recession, which still persisted in early 1896. When early-voting Maine and Vermont went strongly Republican in September, this meant that McKinley would most likely win the Northeast. After invading "the enemy's country",[d] he was returning to his own territory. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and the 1908 elections. [144] According to Kazin, "what is remarkable is not that Bryan lost but that he came as close as he did to winning. Speakers for both parties found eager audiences. It began as a simple courtesy, with a telegram that William Jennings Bryan sent. 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. [27], Through early 1896, Bryan quietly sought the nomination. Taken prisoner after his plane was shot down, he suffered five and a half years of torture and confinement before his release in 1973. [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. [139], In most areas, Bryan did better among rural voters than urban. For the last decade of his life, he largely dedicated himself to reforming the nations moral and religious character. The biggest announcement in the run-up to the 1908 presidential election came in 1904 when, on the evening of his election, Pres. The increasing economic struggles of poor farmers during the 1870s and 1880s led to the Populist movement. In the speech, Bryan, who was from . 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. [22][23] In the 17months between his departure from Congress and the Democratic National Convention in July 1896, Bryan travelled widely through the South and West, speaking on silver. On July 26, 1925, five days after the verdict was issued, Bryan died in his sleep after suffering a stroke. But they had limited room to maneuver in a period of extremely tight competition. Cross of Gold Speech and Election of 1896, Anti-Evolution Crusade, Scopes Trial and Death, Department of State: Office of the Historian. 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 presidents of this eraRutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrisonare often remembered as colorless and ineffective. "[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 (March 19, 1860 - July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. The economy failed to improve, and when the President in 1894 sent federal troops to Illinois to break up the Pullman Strike, he outraged even more Democrats. How could a boy in appearance, one not yet admitted to the convention, without a single state behind him, dare claim the nomination? The day after his Cross of Gold speech, Bryan won the Democratic presidential nomination; he also won the support of the Populist and National Silver parties. [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. [132] Early Republican polls had shown Bryan ahead in crucial Midwestern states, including McKinley's Ohio. [124], Bryan rarely emphasized other issues than silver; leader of a disparate coalition linked by the silver question, he feared alienating some of his supporters. "[34] He also attended, as a correspondent for the World-Herald, the Republican convention that month in St. Louis. Carrying some 200 people, the train bore signs on each of its five cars, such as "The W.J. She became his wife, and was his principal assistant throughout his career. The only areas of the nation where Bryan took a greater percentage of the urban than the rural vote were New England and the Rocky Mountain states; in neither case did this affect the outcome, as Bryan took only 27% of New England's vote overall, while taking 88% of the Rocky Mountain city vote to 81% of the vote there outside the cities. United States presidential election of 1900, American presidential election held on November 6, 1900, in which Republican incumbent Pres. NAACP what organization used the court system to fight discrimination? A streak of the moralist preacher raised his political chances among a people attuned to the biblical phrase and Shakespearan [sic] stance. 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. However, he was deemed unlikely to succeed, as many Democrats feared that if elected, he might fill some patronage jobs with Republicans. Why did William Jennings Bryan lose the 1896 election? Everybody seemed to go mad at once. [120], On September 11, 1896, Bryan departed on a train trip that continued until November 1, two days before the election. 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. However, the President ruled this out; his Cabinet members also refused to run. 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. 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. "[16], Even as Cleveland took office as president in March 1893, there were signs of an economic decline. [80] Bryan and Sewall gained their nominations without the ballots of the gold men, most of whom refused to vote. He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley. This advocacy brought him contributions from silver mine owners in his successful re-election bid in 1892. [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 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. [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 minority report attracted the opposite reaction.[54]. In 1887, Bryan moved to the fast-growing state of Nebraska, where he settled in Lincoln and established a thriving law practice. The Gold Democrats received quiet financial support from Hanna and the Republicans. Bryan spent most of October there160 of his final 250 train stops were in the Midwest. When he spoke of himself as the nominee, some reacted as [journalist] Willis J. Abbot did and doubted his mental capacity. They hoped the Democrats either would not endorse silver in their platform or if they did, that the Democratic candidate would be someone who could be painted as weak on silver. His enemies regarded him as an ambitious demagogue, but his supporters viewed him as a champion of liberal causes. Bryan sensed the possibility of becoming the nominee long before 1896; his ambition was fully matured several months prior to the convention, and there is evidence that his hopes were becoming tinged with certainty before he left for Chicago. 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. We have submitted the issues to the American people and their will is law. Gold Democrats had success in the Northeast, and little elsewhere. 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 and many other Democrats believed the economic malaise could be remedied through a return to bimetallism, or free silvera policy they believed would inflate the currency and make it easier for debtors to repay loans. Through 1895 and early 1896, Bryan sought to make himself as widely known as an advocate for silver as possible. He was utterly confident that he would succeed, believing "the logic of the situation," as he later put it, dictated his selection. He was followed by Senator William Vilas of Wisconsin and former Massachusetts Governor William D. Russell. Why was the 1896 election devastating for Populist movement? [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. "[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. Crowds assembled hours or days ahead of Bryan's arrival. [37], In the run up to the Democratic National Convention, set to begin at the Chicago Coliseum on July 7, 1896, no candidate was seen as an overwhelming favorite for the presidential nomination. Cross of Gold speech, classic of American political oratory delivered on July 8, 1896, by William Jennings Bryan in closing the debate on the party platform at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago during the campaign for the presidential election of 1896. Meanwhile, Hanna raised millions from business men to pay for speakers on the currency question and to flood the nation with hundreds of millions of pamphlets. William jennings Bryan supported the cause of what in the 1896 presidential election? William Jennings Bryan delivering a campaign speech in 1910. In the book, Bryan made it clear that the first battle would not be the last, "If we are right, we shall yet triumph. [21] By then, he had come to see his nomination for that office as possible, even likely. [119] Among the foremost supporters of Bryan was publisher William Randolph Hearst who both contributed to Bryan's campaign and slanted his newspapers' coverage in his favor. He ran for president a second time in 1900 and a third time in 1908, each time losing. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. The 1896 campaign, which took place during an economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, was a realigning election that ended the old Third Party System and began the Fourth Party System. Theodore Roosevelt announced that he would not seek a subsequent term in office. At a speech in Chicago on Labor Day, Bryan varied from the silver issue to urge regulation of corporations. Its leaders have used rhetoric that stirs up anger, floated conspiracy theories, pushed the distrust of read more, William McKinley served in the U.S. Congress and as governor of Ohio before running for the presidency in 1896. The Democrats lost control of both houses of Congress in the 1894 midterm elections, with a number of southern states, usually solid for the Democrats, electing Republican or Populist congressmen. The book included (as foils to the title character) many of Chicago's most prominent men of business; some, such as banker and future Secretary of the Treasury Lyman Gage, issued denials that they had participated in any such lectures. He was a fine actor, with a justly famous voice, but was not a charlatan. T.G.O.D Y.O.L.O [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. [135], William and Mary Bryan returned to Lincoln on November 1, two days before the election. William Jennings Bryan on the Stand Calling Bryan to the stand was a shock for the court. In 1890, he agreed to run for Congress against William James Connell, a Republican, who had won the local congressional seat in 1888. [128] For the most part, Bryan ignored the attacks, and made light of them in his account of the 1896 campaign. There is no legal or constitutional requirement that the loser of a U.S. presidential election must concede. "[66], As he spoke his final sentence, he brought his hands to his head, fingers extended in imitation of thorns; amid dead silence in the Coliseum, he extended his arms, recalling with words and posture the Crucifixion of Jesus, and held that position for several seconds. (W.W. Norton & Company, 2018), William Jennings Bryan, the Great Commoner. Constitutional Rights Foundation, Spring 2010 (Volume 25, No. We come to speak of this broader class of business men.[62][63]. According to Stanley Jones, "the only conclusion to be reached was that the Bryan campaign, with its emphasis on the free coinage of silver at 16 to 1, had not appealed to the urban working classes. Foundation, Spring 2010 ( Volume 25, no religious character state of Nebraska, where he law. We come to speak of this broader class of business men. 62. Northeast, and little elsewhere to see his nomination for that office president! Announcement in the speech, Bryan did better among rural voters than urban Norton... Died in his successful re-election bid in 1892 is no legal or constitutional requirement that the loser a! Presidential election must concede 1925 ) was an American lawyer, orator and politician nickname the Great Commoner from silver! Lincoln and established a thriving law practice [ 139 ], Even.! Law practice coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated kept... The silver cause a deep recession, which still persisted in early 1896 the.! 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