The electoral vote was not as close: 271 for McKinley to 176 for Bryan. [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. why did william jennings bryan lose the election of 1896? [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. 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. 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] 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. 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. The billionaire businessman ran as a Republican and scored an upset victory over his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, in the 2016 read more, John McCain first entered the public spotlight as a Navy fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. [90], Following his nomination in June, McKinley's team had believed that the election would be fought on the issue of the protective tariff. [51], Once seated, Bryan went to the Platform Committee meeting at the Palmer House, displacing the Nebraska gold delegate on the committee. T.G.O.D Y.O.L.O Although Bryan claimed that many employers had intimidated their workers into voting Republican, Williams points out that the Democrats benefited from the disenfranchisement of southern African Americans. 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 Gold Democrats received quiet financial support from Hanna and the Republicans. Others dubbed Bryan a "Popocrat". Nevertheless, Gold Democrats began plans to hold their own convention, which took place in September. [f] McKinley even won the urban vote in Nebraska. William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), the U.S. congressman from Nebraska, three-time presidential nominee and secretary of state, emerged near the end of the 19th century as a leading voice in the Democratic Party and the nation. In late 1894, pro-silver Democrats began to organize in the hope of taking control of the party from Cleveland and other Gold Democrats and nominating a silver candidate in 1896. 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. The presidents of this eraRutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Chester Arthur, Grover Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrisonare often remembered as colorless and ineffective. Decide to endorse William Jennings Bryan (Democratic candidate). 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. 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. [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. 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. Bryan remained at his hotel, sending word to his fellow Nebraskans, "There must be no pledging, no promising, on any subject with anybody. He then lowered his arms, and began the journey back to his seat in the silence. 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. A large banner outside the Clifton House proclaimed the presence of Nebraska's delegation headquarters, but did not mention Bryan's campaign, which was run from Nebraska's rooms. "[79] He left the choice of a running mate to the convention; delegates selected Maine shipbuilder Arthur Sewall. As a result, disillusioned farmers and others formed a new far-left party, which came to be known as the Populist Party. The increasing economic struggles of poor farmers during the 1870s and 1880s led to the Populist movement. He won election to the House of Representatives in 1890, and was re-elected in 1892, before mounting an unsuccessful US Senate run. 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. [128] For the most part, Bryan ignored the attacks, and made light of them in his account of the 1896 campaign. Hayes and Harrison both won in the electoral college but lost the popular vote, for example. [48], As the committees met, the convention proceeded, though in considerable confusion. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Bimtallism. 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. At the center of these efforts was a campaign to end the teaching of evolution in public schools. [94], Despite the confidence of the Republicans, the nomination of Bryan sparked great excitement through the nation. [121], During this tour, Bryan spoke almost exclusively on the silver question, and attempted to mold the speeches to reflect local issues and interests. Although they nominated Bryan for president, they chose Georgia's Thomas E. Watson as vice-presidential candidate; some hoped Bryan would dump Sewall from his ticket. 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. [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. Sherman's act required the government to pay out gold in exchange for silver and paper currency, and through the early months of 1893 gold flowed out of the Treasury. [21] By then, he had come to see his nomination for that office as possible, even likely. 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. 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. [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. Gold Democrats had success in the Northeast, and little elsewhere. His enemies regarded him as an ambitious demagogue, but his supporters viewed him as a champion of liberal causes. Cross of Gold Speech and Election of 1896, Anti-Evolution Crusade, Scopes Trial and Death, Department of State: Office of the Historian. "[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". Through the almost three decades before his death in 1925, he was ever present on political platform and speaking circuit, fighting first for silver, and then for other causes. Advocates of free silver (or bimetallism) wanted the government to accept all silver bullion presented to it and to return it, struck into coin, at the historic value ratio between gold and silver of 16 to 1. [62][64] He responded to an argument by Senator Vilas that from silver forces might arise a Robespierre. William Jennings Bryan on the Stand Calling Bryan to the stand was a shock for the court. The Cleveland Democrats were temporarily weak, and the Southern-Mountain coalition was ready to hand. 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. McKinley and Hanna gently mocked Dawes, telling him that Bland would be the nominee. Born in 1860, Bryan grew up in rural Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska, where he practiced law and entered politics. William Jennings Bryan was born in rural Salem, Illinois, in 1860. "[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. If this robbery is permitted, the farmer will be ruined, and then the cities will suffer. They quickly endorsed Bryan and Sewall, urging all silver forces to unite behind that ticket. William Jennings Bryan. [2][3], While attending law school from 1881 to 1883, Bryan was a clerk to former Illinois senator Lyman Trumbull, who influenced him in a dislike for wealth and business monopolies. No delegation must be permitted to violate instructions given by a state convention. Didn't want to split pro-silver vote Populists 1892 [146] The election of 1896 marked a transition as the concerns of the rural population became secondary to those of the urban; according to Stanley Jones, "the Democratic Party reacted with less sensitivity than the Republicans to the hopes and fears of the new voters which the new age was producing". They also lost the next 2 elections, in spite of their strong backing in the popular classes. United States presidential election of 1900, American presidential election held on November 6, 1900, in which Republican incumbent Pres. [9] Bryan did not support Cleveland, making it clear he preferred the Populist candidate, James B. 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