Not even supporters thought the Gold Democrats would win; the purpose was to have a candidate who would speak for the gold element in the party, and who would divide the vote and defeat Bryan. "[52], On the morning of July 9, 1896, thousands of people waited outside the Coliseum, hoping to hear the platform debate. Party members in many states, including Nebraska, demanded inflation of the currency through issuance of paper or silver currency, allowing easier repayment of debt. He introduced several proposals for the direct election of senators and to eliminate tariff barriers in industries dominated by monopolies or trusts. [122] He did not campaign on Sundays, but on most other days spoke between 20 and 30 times. 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. I will add for the encouragement of those who still believe that money is not necessary to secure a Presidential nomination that my entire expenses while in attendance upon the convention were less than $100. [69] In the midst of the crazed crowd, Altgeld, a Bland supporter, commented to his friend, lawyer Clarence Darrow, "That is the greatest speech I ever listened to. [49] Bryan had been widely supported as a candidate for permanent chairman by the silver men, but some western delegates on the Committee on Permanent Organization objected, stating that they wanted the chance to support Bryan for the nomination (the permanent chairman was customarily ruled out as a candidate). For the last decade of his life, he largely dedicated himself to reforming the nations moral and religious character. William Jennings Bryan (D) Loading. [4] Looking for a growing city in which his practice could thrive, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1887. A free silver policy would inflate the currency, as the silver in a dollar coin was worth just over half the face value. His campaign was low-key, without excessive publicity: Bryan did not want to attract the attention of more prominent candidates. [39] When Senator Teller walked out of the Republican convention in protest over the currency plank, he immediately became another possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for president. The biggest announcement in the run-up to the 1908 presidential election came in 1904 when, on the evening of his election, Pres. [18], In 1893, bimetallism had been just one of many proposals by Populists and others. He knew personally more delegates than did any other candidate and he was on the ground to supervise his strategy. Former Populist governor of Colorado Davis H. Waite wrote to former congressman Ignatius Donnelly that the Democrats had returned to their roots and "nominated a good & true man on the platform. Stone, chair of the notification committee, essayed a lengthy speech, he was drowned out by the crowd, which wanted to hear "the Boy Orator of the Platte". Speakers for both parties found eager audiences. At first, he rode in public cars, and made his own travel arrangements, looking up train schedules and even carrying his own bags from train station to hotel. Neither candidate had much money to spend on his campaign. Bryan was present when it was announced that his delegation would not be initially seated; reports state he acted "somewhat surprised" at the outcome. He supported many Populist policies. 3). Many Republican leaders had gone on vacation for the summer, believing that the fight, on their terms, would take place in the fall. "[142] By the end of 1896, Bryan had published his account of the campaign, The First Battle. [50], Delegates spent most of the first two days listening to various speeches by silver supporters. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Populists claim to speak for ordinary people, taking an "us versus them" stance. [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. [38] Illinois Governor Altgeld, a leader of the silver movement, was ineligible because he was not a natural-born U.S. citizen as required for the presidency in the Constitution. The Democrats nominated Arthur Sewall, a wealthy Maine banker and shipbuilder, for vice president. Loyal to Cleveland, they wanted to nominate him. [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. He then lowered his arms, and began the journey back to his seat in the silence. The minority report attracted the opposite reaction.[54]. "[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"? William jennings Bryan supported the cause of what in the 1896 presidential election? Their enthusiasm at the unrehearsed rear platform appearances and in the formal speeches was spontaneous and contagious. 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. The position involved no day-to-day duties, but allowed him to publish his political commentaries. The Cleveland Democrats were temporarily weak, and the Southern-Mountain coalition was ready to hand. While the farmers of the south and west continued to support Bryan's proposed economic policies, many found McKinley's to be effective enough. [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. 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. [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. [120], On September 11, 1896, Bryan departed on a train trip that continued until November 1, two days before the election. In addition to the frontrunners, other silver men were spoken of as candidates. "[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. Gold Democrats had success in the Northeast, and little elsewhere. The main candidates headquartered at the Palmer House, their rooms often crowded as they served free alcoholic drinks. [121], During this tour, Bryan spoke almost exclusively on the silver question, and attempted to mold the speeches to reflect local issues and interests. Those that served principally as agricultural centers or had been founded along the railroad favored Bryan. No delegation must be permitted to violate instructions given by a state convention. The increasing economic struggles of poor farmers during the 1870s and 1880s led to the Populist movement. As Bryan had called New York in an ill-considered statement to the press before leaving Lincoln. "[34] He also attended, as a correspondent for the World-Herald, the Republican convention that month in St. Louis. Each made their cases for gold, and likely changed few votes. [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. However, the President ruled this out; his Cabinet members also refused to run. 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. Ultimately, the incumbent U.S. President William McKinley ended up defeating the anti-imperialist William Jennings Bryan and thus won a second four-year . Why did the populist party support william jennings Bryan for president in the presidential election of 1896? [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. On September 27, The New York Times published a letter by an "eminent alienist" who, based on an analysis of the candidate's speeches, concluded that Bryan was mad. They had been passed as compromises between free silver and the gold standard. 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. 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. 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. Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Of course I support him. But the emergence of a brash, young politician, William Jennings Bryan, soon turned the. Bryan was well rested. [27], Through early 1896, Bryan quietly sought the nomination. "[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. The coalition of wealthy, middle-class and urban voters that defeated Bryan kept the Republicans in power for most of the time until 1932. 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). [95], The Populist strategy for 1896 was to nominate the candidate most supportive of silver. Both had openly declared their candidacies, and were the only Democrats to have organizations seeking to obtain pledged delegates. After Bryan helped rally support behind Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential election, Wilson chose the now-elder Democratic statesman as his secretary of state. All Rights Reserved. He was admitted to the Illinois bar and began practicing law in Jacksonville, marrying Mary Elizabeth Baird in 1884; the couple went on to have three children. 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 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 . [90], Following his nomination in June, McKinley's team had believed that the election would be fought on the issue of the protective tariff. Despite his defeat, Bryan's campaign inspired many of his contemporaries. 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. [105], After the Democratic convention, Bryan had returned triumphantly to Lincoln, making speeches along the way. "[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. [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. "[123] After a brief interval for handshakes, the train would pull out again, to another town down the track.[123]. Lose identity, simplify their cause to one policy (free coinage of silver), sacrifice rest of platform Why did Populists endorse Bryan? 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. On April 22, 1893, the amount of gold in the Treasury dropped below $100million for the first time since 1879, adding to the unease. Any possible candidacy depended on silver supporters being successful in electing the bulk of convention delegates; accordingly Bryan backed such efforts. In 1890, he agreed to run for Congress against William James Connell, a Republican, who had won the local congressional seat in 1888. When he spoke of himself as the nominee, some reacted as [journalist] Willis J. Abbot did and doubted his mental capacity. When both Hill and Bryan (who was selected as the other pro-silver speaker) objected to such a long closing address, Tillman settled for 50minutes and for opening the debate rather than closing it; Bryan was given 25minutes to close. 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. Most cities that were financial or manufacturing centers voted for McKinley. 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. 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. 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. 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. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! At home, he took a short rest, and was visited by Senator Jones to discuss plans for the campaign. The Scopes monkey trial in Dayton, Tennessee, played out under the national spotlight, with journalists, religious leaders and onlookers crowding the courtroom. She became his wife, and was his principal assistant throughout his career. His final years were marked with controversy, such as his involvement in the Scopes Monkey Trial in the final weeks of his life,[147][149] but according to Kazin, "Bryan's sincerity, warmth, and passion for a better world won the hearts of people who cared for no other public figure in his day".[150]. [f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. When early-voting Maine and Vermont went strongly Republican in September, this meant that McKinley would most likely win the Northeast. [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. [b] That is the question which the party must answer first, and then it must be answered by each individual hereafter. This was a matter of intense interest for the silver delegates: Bryan had written to large numbers of delegates urging them to support his men over their gold rivals; once in Chicago, he and his fellow Nebraskans had spoken with many others about the dispute. [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. Elected to the House of Representatives in 1890, when he was just 30 years old, Bryan championed populist causes including the direct election of senators, graduated federal income tax and the free silver movement, which sought to expand the federal money supply by basing U.S. currency on silver as well as gold. 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. [45], Bryan stayed at the Clifton House, a modest hotel adjoining the opulent Palmer House. 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. 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. [41], Bryan's Nebraska delegation left Lincoln by train on July 5. [138] Palmer received less than 1% of the vote, but his vote total in Kentucky was greater than McKinley's margin of victory there. [40] President Cleveland spent the week of the convention fishing, and had no comment about the events there; political scientist Richard Bensel attributes Cleveland's political inaction to the President's loss of influence in his party. 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. His father, Silas, was a dedicated Jacksonian Democrat and a successful lawyer who served in various local elected positions and passed on his politics to his son. [103] Populist leader Henry Demarest Lloyd described silver as the "cow-bird" of the Populist Party, which had pushed aside all other issues. The shortness of the speech did not dismay the crowds, who knew his arguments well: they were there to see and hear William Jennings Bryanone listener told him that he had read every one of his speeches, and had ridden 50 miles (80km) to hear him, "And, by gum, if I wasn't a Republican, I'd vote for you. The 1896 presidential race is generally considered a realigning election, when there is a major shift in voting patterns, upsetting the political balance. "[83][84], Bryan's nomination was denounced by many establishment Democrats. See. 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. National Archives and Records Administration. [94], Despite the confidence of the Republicans, the nomination of Bryan sparked great excitement through the nation. By August, many firms had gone bankrupt, and a special session of Congress convened, called by Cleveland to repeal the silver purchase act. [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. 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. 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. 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. He campaigned relentlessly, traveling around the country and giving hundreds of speeches to millions of people, while his Republican opponent, Ohio Governor William McKinley, stayed home and gave speeches from his porch. "[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. Discuss plans for the last decade of his life, he took a short rest, and began journey... 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