In early July 1896, Democratic Party delegates assembled in Chicago to write a platform and choose a candidate for president. The Democrats promptly declared their support for free silver. Although the Democrats had an issue, they still lacked a candidate. That changed when William Jennings Bryan, a 36-year-old former congressman from Nebraska, addressed the convention.
Although already a famous orator, the youthful Bryan had not been considered a serious candidate for president. Known as the “Boy Orator,” he possessed a powerful speaking voice that could reach to the farthest corners of the vast Chicago Coliseum. On July 9, 1896, over 15,000 delegates listened intently as Bryan reminded them that
the White House and Congress had rejected their repeated appeals for monetary reform: “We have petitioned and our petitions have been scorned.” Bryan then thundered defiance as he reached his free silver conclusion: “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.”
Bryan’s electrifying “Cross of Gold” speech galvanized the convention and lifted him into the headlines of American history. Cheering delegates danced in the aisles and triumphantly hoisted him onto their shoulders. Filled with conviction and pride, party leaders pledged their support for Bryan. The next day, euphoric delegates wearing silver badges and waving silver banners nominated Bryan for president.
The Populist Dilemma
The Democrats sudden decision to nominate a pro-silver candidate forced the Populists to resolve and insoluble dilemma. If they chose to support Bryan, the Populists risked losing their identity as an independent third party. However, if they nominated their own candidate the Populists risked being blamed for dividing the silver vote and helping to elect the pro-gold standard Republican William McKinley. After a bitter debate, the deeply divided Populist delegates chose to endorse Bryan hoping he would win a historic victory for their key issue.
An Unprecedented Campaign
Prior to 1896, presidential candidates refrained from actively campaigning. Bryan broke with this tradition by using trains to crisscross the country. In just four months he traveled over 18,000 miles and delivered 600 speeches to as many as 5 million people.
McKinley and his campaign manager Mark Hanna followed a very different strategy. Rather than barnstorm the country, McKinley remained in his home in Canton, Ohio. However, he did not sit in a rocking chair and chat with individual visitors. Instead, friendly railroad companies provided reduced fares enabling 750,000 people to visit Canton and hear McKinley deliver carefully crafted speeches promising “good work, good wages, and good money.” At the same time, a small army of 1,400 Republican speakers spread across the country extolling McKinley and warning of dire consequences if Bryan won the election.
McKinley’s well-organized campaign won a convincing victory. He received 7,035,638 popular votes and 271 electoral votes to 6,467, 946 and 176 for Bryan. Nearly 80 percent of the eligible voters cast their ballots in one of America’s highest electoral turnouts.
The Demise of the Populist Party
The election of 1896 led to the demise of the Populist Party. Bryan’s defeat demoralized the party’s supporters and led to the electoral losses of hundreds of Populist state and local candidates. At the same time, the economic forces that fueled the Populist uprising unexpectedly changed. God strikes in South Africa, the Yukon, and Australia increased the money supply ending the demand for free silver. Meanwhile, crop failures in Europe sparked increasing demand for American wheat and other farm commodities. Rising prices enabled farmers to reduce their debts and enjoy a period of prosperity that continued until the end of World War I. As the twentieth century began, the Populists and their economic causes seemed a distant memory.
So why should you remember the election of 1896? McKinley’s victory began a generation of almost unbroken Republican dominance that lasted until the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. However, a new generation of Progressive reformers successfully enacted many of the Populist Party’s political initiatives. For example, the Seventeenth Amendment provided for the direct election of senators by voters instead of by state legislators.