United States presidential election, 1896
Encyclopedia
The United States presidential election held on November 3, 1896, saw Republican William McKinley
defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan
in a campaign considered by political scientists
to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history.
The 1896 campaign is often considered to be a realigning election
that ended the old Third Party System
and began the Fourth Party System
. McKinley forged a coalition in which businessmen, professionals, skilled factory workers, and prosperous farmers were heavily represented. He was strongest in the Northeast
, Upper Midwest
, and Pacific Coast
. Bryan was the nominee of the Democrats
, the Populist Party, and the Silver Republicans
. He was strongest in the South, rural Midwest, and Rocky Mountain states.
Economic issues, including bimetallism
, the gold standard
, free silver
, and tariffs, were of primary importance. Republican campaign manager
Mark Hanna
pioneered many modern campaign techniques, facilitated by a $3.5 million budget. He outspent Bryan by a factor of five. The Democratic Party's repudiation of the Bourbon Democrats (their pro-business wing, represented by incumbent President Grover Cleveland
), set the stage for 36 years of Republican control of the White House, interrupted only by the two terms of Democrat Woodrow Wilson
. Although Bryan lost the election, his coalition of "outsiders" would dominate the Democratic Party well into the twentieth century and would play a crucial role in promoting the liberal economic programs of Presidents Woodrow Wilson
, Franklin D. Roosevelt
, and Lyndon Johnson. For the time being, McKinley's Republican approach was triumphant, and his policies regarding pluralism, industrial growth, and the gold standard determined national policies until Woodrow Wilson became president in 1913.
and 1880
, the Republicans dipped into the talent pool of the Governor's office of Ohio
to nominate William McKinley
for president and New Jersey
's Garret Hobart for vice-president. With the platform calling for strong support for the gold standard, many Western Republicans walked out of the Republican Convention held St. Louis, Missouri
on June 16-18, 1896, to form the National Silver Party
in support of the Democratic ticket. Among them was Utah delegate Thomas Kearns
, a silver mining magnate and eventual U.S. Senator.
McKinley's campaign manager, a wealthy and talented Ohio businessman named Mark Hanna
, visited the leaders of large corporations and major banks after the Republican Convention to raise funds for the campaign. Given that many businessmen and bankers were terrified of Bryan's populist rhetoric and support for ending the gold standard, Hanna had few problems in raising record amounts of money. In the end, Hanna raised a staggering $3.5 million for the campaign, outspending the Democrats by an estimated 5-to-1 margin. As a percentage of GDP, this is equivalent to $3 billion today. McKinley was the last veteran of the American Civil War
to be nominated for President by either major party.
One month after McKinley’s nomination, the silverites took control of the Democratic convention held in Chicago
on July 7-11. Most of the Southern and Western delegates were committed to implementing the free silver ideas of the Populist Party. The convention repudiated President Cleveland's gold standard policies and then repudiated Cleveland himself. This, however, left the convention wide open: there was no obvious successor to Cleveland.
An attorney, former congressman, and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate named William Jennings Bryan
filled the void. A superb orator, Bryan hailed from Nebraska
and was widely regarded as a prominent spokesman for millions of rural
Americans who were suffering from the economic depression following the Panic of 1893
. At the Democratic Convention, Bryan delivered what many historians regard as one of the greatest political speeches in American history, the "Cross of Gold" Speech
. In this speech, Bryan presented a passionate defense of farmers and factory workers struggling to survive the economic depression, and he attacked big-city business owners and leaders as the cause of much of the economic suffering. He called for reform of the monetary system, an end to the gold standard
, and promised government relief efforts for farmers and others hurt by the economic depression. Bryan's speech was so dramatic that after he had finished many delegates carried him on their shoulders around the convention hall. The speech also united the convention delegates and earned Bryan their presidential nomination; he defeated his closest competitor, former Senator Richard "Silver Dick" Bland
by a 3-to-1 margin. Arthur Sewall
, a wealthy shipbuilder from Maine
, was chosen as the vice- presidential nominee. It was felt that Sewall's wealth might encourage him to help pay some campaign expenses. At just 36 years of age, Bryan was only a year older than the minimum age required by the Constitution to be president. Bryan remains the youngest man ever nominated by a major party for president.
Source: US President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (March 10, 2011).
. A follow-up meeting in August scheduled a nominating convention for September in Indianapolis
and issued an appeal to fellow Democrats. In this document, the National Democratic Party portrayed itself as the legitimate heir to Presidents Jefferson
, Jackson
, and Cleveland
.
Delegates from forty-one states gathered at the National Democratic Party’s national nominating convention in Indianapolis on September 2. Some delegates planned to nominate Cleveland, but they relented after a telegram arrived stating that he would not accept. Senator William Freeman Vilas
, the main drafter of the National Democratic Party's platform, was a favorite of the delegates. However, Vilas refused to run as the party's sacrificial lamb. At this point, nearly everyone in attendance wanted John M. Palmer
, a Senator from Illinois, nominated for president. In a decisive first-ballot victory, Palmer defeated former Representative Edward S. Bragg
of Wisconsin for the nomination. Simon Bolivar Buckner
, a former governor of Kentucky, was nominated unanimously by acclamation for vice-president. Cleveland supported Palmer, rather than Bryan, and sent a letter of encouragement to the delegates that gave them an important psychological boost: “I am delighted with the outcome of the Indianapolis Convention and as a Democrat I feel very grateful to those who have relieved the bad political atmosphere with such a delicious infusion of fresh air”.
Palmer seemed the ideal candidate except for one critical flaw: at seventy-nine, he was far too old to persuade voters to take the campaign seriously. The same liability attached to Buckner, his seventy-three-year-old running mate. In other respects, the pair complemented each other nicely: having fought in the Civil War on opposite sides, they formed a team that emphasized sectional unity. As state governors, each had achieved a solid reputation for independence and strenuous use of the veto pen.
Despite their advanced ages, Palmer and Buckner embarked on a busy speaking tour. This won them considerable respect from the party faithful, although some found it hard to take the geriatric campaigning seriously. “You would laugh yourself sick could you see old Palmer,” wrote Kenesaw Mountain Landis
to Secretary of War
Daniel S. Lamont
. “He has actually gotten it into his head he is running for office.”
On one extreme of the National Democratic Party were those who regarded the Palmer ticket as little more than a vehicle to elect McKinley. Gold Democrats who subscribed to this point of view included William Collins Whitney and Abram Hewitt, the treasurer of the National Democratic Party. To Hewitt, the election of McKinley, and thus protection of the gold standard, overrode all other issues. He had initially opposed a third ticket, but had come to the conclusion that it would help defeat Bryan. Palmer himself said at a campaign stop that if “this vast crowd casts its vote for William McKinley next Tuesday, I shall charge them with no sin”.
There was even some cooperation with the Republican Party, especially in finances. The Republicans hoped that Palmer could draw enough Democratic votes from Bryan to tip marginal Midwestern and border states into McKinley's column. In a private letter, Hewitt underscored the “entire harmony of action” between both parties in standing against Bryan. To this end, the Republicans contributed one-half to an National Democratic Party fund of $100,000 in the battleground states of Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. The two parties joined forces in the distribution of “sound money” literature, and in some areas the Republicans gave direct aid to the National Democratic Party. Although it brought obvious financial benefits, the alliance with the GOP did tremendous damage to the National Democratic Party's credibility.
However, the National Democratic Party was not, as one historian put it, merely “an adjunct to the Republican campaign”. Although party leaders preferred that McKinley rather than Bryan be elected, a more important goal was to nurture a loyal remnant for future victory. Repeatedly they depicted Bryan’s prospective defeat, and a credible showing for Palmer, as paving the way for ultimate recapture of the Democratic Party. For Bragg, it was critical to “keep the vestal fires burning” of old Democratic traditions. Palmer hoped to create a “nucleus around which the true Democrats . . . can rally once more, and to preserve a place for our erring brothers, if the time comes when they repent . . . we will be ready to receive them with open arms! Come back to the party of your fathers”.
with the Republicans against the dominant Bourbon Democrat
s, whereas in the rest of the country, fusion, if practiced, was typically undertaken with the Democrats, as in the state of Washington. By 1896 some Populists believed that they could replace the Democrats as the main opposition party to the Republicans. However, the Democrats' nomination of Bryan—who supported many Populist goals and ideas—placed the party in a dilemma. Torn between choosing their own presidential candidate or supporting Bryan, the party leadership decided that nominating their own candidate would simply divide the forces of reform and hand the election to the more conservative Republicans. At their national convention in 1896, the Populists chose Bryan as their presidential nominee. However, to demonstrate that they were still independent from the Democrats, the Populists also chose Georgia Senator Thomas E. Watson
as their vice-presidential candidate instead of Arthur Sewall. Bryan eagerly accepted the Populist nomination, but was vague as to whether, if elected, he would choose Watson as his vice-president instead of Sewall. With this election, the Populists began to be absorbed into the Democratic Party; within a few elections the party would disappear completely. The 1896 election was particularly detrimental to the Populist Party in the South, dividing the party between members who favored cooperation with the Democrats to achieve results at the national level and members who favored cooperation with the Republicans to achieve reform at a state level.
As a result of the double nomination, in many states both the Bryan-Sewall Democratic ticket and the Bryan-Watson Populist ticket appeared on the ballot. Although the Populist ticket did not win the popular vote in any state, 27 electors for Bryan cast their vice-presidential vote for Watson instead of Sewall. (The votes came from the following states: Arkansas 3, Louisiana 4, Missouri 4, Montana 1, Nebraska 4, North Carolina 5, South Dakota 2, Utah 1, Washington 2, Wyoming 1.)
Convention was held in New York on July 9, 1896. The convention nominated Charles Matchett
of New York and Matthew Maguire of New Jersey. Its platform favored reduction in hours of labor, possession by the United States government of mines, railroads, canals, telegraphs, and telephones; possession by municipalities of water-works, gas-works, and electric plants; the issue of money by the United States alone; the employment of the unemployed by the public authorities; abolition of the veto power; abolition of the United States Senate; women's suffrage; and uniform criminal law throughout the Union.
, National Prohibition and National Democratic parties each offering tickets for president and vice-president. The Democratic ticket was also endorsed by Nevada's Silver Party
.
, as McKinley and the Republicans wished, or would the nation's economy switch to the free silver
theories espoused by Bryan and the Populists?
Bryan argued that by abandoning the gold standard and having paper money backed by silver instead of gold, it would allow more paper currency to enter the national economy (a popular Bryan slogan was "16-to-1", based on the claim that 16 silver-backed dollars could be printed for every one dollar backed by gold). Bryan and his supporters argued that this "easy money" would allow impoverished farmers in the South and West to get out of debt and pay their bills, and that having more paper money circulating in the economy would help lift the nation out of the economic depression which had started in 1893.
McKinley and the Republicans responded that the gold standard was vital to the American economy, and that if the nation went off the gold standard, paper currency would lose its value by half and inflation
would soar. To ridicule what they believed were Bryan's radical and unwise economic policies, the Republicans printed fake dollar bills which had Bryan's face and which read "IN GOD WE TRUST...FOR THE OTHER 53 CENTS", thus illustrating their claim that a dollar bill would be worth only 47 cents if it was backed by silver instead of gold.
The Republican Party had amassed an unprecedented war chest at all levels—national, state and local—which amounted to about $16 million as contrasted with about $1 million for the poorer Democrats (roughly "16 to 1"). Since he was being outspent, Bryan decided his best chance to win the election was to conduct a vigorous national speaking tour by train; in that way he could speak to the voters directly. He was the first presidential candidate to travel across the nation and meet voters in person; prior to 1896 it was considered undignified for presidential candidates to widely travel before an election.
The novelty of such an event, combined with Bryan's spellbinding oratory and the passion of his beliefs, led to huge crowds. In many parts of the South and West, Bryan supporters welcomed him with parades, speeches, and wild demonstrations of support. Although Bryan traveled to most sections of the nation, he focused his efforts on the Midwest, which he believed would be the decisive battleground in the election. In just 100 days, Bryan gave over 500 speeches to several million people, a remarkable feat at the time. Relying on just a few hours of sleep a night, he traveled 18,000 miles in three months to address an estimated five million people.
In contrast to Bryan's dramatic efforts, McKinley conducted a traditional "front porch" campaign from his home in Canton, Ohio
. Instead of having McKinley travel to see the voters, Mark Hanna brought thousands of voters by train to McKinley's home. Once there, McKinley would greet the groups of voters and give a speech to them from his porch. McKinley labeled Bryan's proposed social and economic reforms as a serious threat to the national economy. With the depression following the Panic of 1893
coming to an end, support for McKinley's more conservative economic policies increased, while Bryan's more radical policies began to lose support among Midwestern farmers and factory workers.
To ensure victory, Hanna paid large numbers of Republican orators (including Theodore Roosevelt
) to travel around the nation denouncing Bryan as a dangerous radical. There were also reports that some potentially Democratic voters were intimidated into voting for McKinley. For example, some factory owners posted signs the day before the election announcing that, if Bryan won the election, the factory would be closed and the workers would lose their jobs. McKinley gained a narrow, but solid victory, carrying the core of the East and Northeast, while Bryan did well among the farmers of the South, West, and rural Midwest. The large German-American voting bloc supported McKinley, who gained large majorities among the middle class, skilled factory workers, railroad workers, and large-scale farmers. However, the national popular vote was close, as McKinley took 51% to Bryan's 47%. In the electoral college
McKinley received 271 electoral votes to Bryan's 176 (224 were needed to win).
Mayor Tom L. Johnson
of Cleveland, Ohio
, summed up the campaign as the "first great protest of the American people against monopoly - the first great struggle of the masses in our country against the privileged classes."
McKinley received a little more than seven million votes, Bryan a little less than six and a half million. The vote was close enough that any one of a dozen factors could have changed the result: if the Gold Democrats
had not abandoned Bryan; if Bryan had talked less and stuck to sound issues; if the church and the school had been kept out of politics; a legal limit set on the amount of libel and abuse in the press; a legal limit on the extent of campaign expenditures; and if the Republicans had a less thorough and scientific campaign manager.
The National Democrats did not carry any states, but they did divide the Democratic vote in some states and helped the Republicans to carry the state of Kentucky. Gold Democrats made much of the fact that Palmer’s small vote in Kentucky was higher than McKinley’s thin margin in that state. From this, they concluded that Palmer had drained off needed Democratic votes and thrown the state to McKinley. However, McKinley would have won the election even if he had lost in Kentucky. If Palmer's support had gone to Bryan in California, McKinley's margin of victory would have been reduced from 1,922 votes to only 192.
After the election of McKinley, some Gold Democratic partisans tried to portray the election as a stunning victory for their party. They confidently predicted that the defeat of the despised Bryan would open the door for the recapture of the Democratic Party. In a post-election editorial, Henry Watterson claimed that “Palmer and Buckner have saved the country from shame and have saved the party from destruction”.
Political scientists widely regard the 1896 election as a realigning election
. An often forgotten facet of that realignment was the disappearance of the old Democratic Party, which had upheld free trade, hard money, and minimalist government.
Source (Popular Vote): Source (Electoral Vote): (a) Sewall was Bryan's Democratic running mate.
(b) Watson was Bryan's Populist running mate.
Journal articles
Journal articles
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
defeat Democrat William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
in a campaign considered by political scientists
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
to be one of the most dramatic and complex in American history.
The 1896 campaign is often considered to be a realigning election
Realigning election
Realigning election are terms from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Scholars frequently apply the term to American elections and occasionally to other countries...
that ended the old Third Party System
Third Party System
The Third Party System is a term of periodization used by historians and political scientists to describe a period in American political history from about 1854 to the mid-1890s that featured profound developments in issues of nationalism, modernization, and race...
and began the Fourth Party System
Fourth Party System
The Fourth Party System is the term used in political science and history for the period in American political history from about 1896 to 1932 that was dominated by the Republican party, excepting the 1912 split in which Democrats held the White House for eight years. History texts usually call it...
. McKinley forged a coalition in which businessmen, professionals, skilled factory workers, and prosperous farmers were heavily represented. He was strongest in the Northeast
Northeastern United States
The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...
, Upper Midwest
Upper Midwest
The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the midwest. Although there are no uniformly agreed-upon boundaries, the region is most commonly used to refer to the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and...
, and Pacific Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. Bryan was the nominee of the Democrats
History of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
, the Populist Party, and the Silver Republicans
Silver Republican Party
The Silver Republican Party was a United States political faction active in the 1890s. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party over the issues of "Free Silver" and bimetallism. The main Republican Party supported the gold standard....
. He was strongest in the South, rural Midwest, and Rocky Mountain states.
Economic issues, including bimetallism
Bimetallism
In economics, bimetallism is a monetary standard in which the value of the monetary unit is defined as equivalent both to a certain quantity of gold and to a certain quantity of silver; such a system establishes a fixed rate of exchange between the two metals...
, the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
, free silver
Free Silver
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
, and tariffs, were of primary importance. Republican campaign manager
Campaign manager
A campaign manager is a paid or volunteer individual, whose role is to coordinate the campaign's operations such as fundraising, advertising, polling, getting out the vote , and other activities supporting the effort, directly.Apart from the candidate, they are often a campaign's most visible leader...
Mark Hanna
Mark Hanna
Marcus Alonzo "Mark" Hanna was a United States Senator from Ohio and the friend and political manager of President William McKinley...
pioneered many modern campaign techniques, facilitated by a $3.5 million budget. He outspent Bryan by a factor of five. The Democratic Party's repudiation of the Bourbon Democrats (their pro-business wing, represented by incumbent President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
), set the stage for 36 years of Republican control of the White House, interrupted only by the two terms of Democrat Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
. Although Bryan lost the election, his coalition of "outsiders" would dominate the Democratic Party well into the twentieth century and would play a crucial role in promoting the liberal economic programs of Presidents Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, and Lyndon Johnson. For the time being, McKinley's Republican approach was triumphant, and his policies regarding pluralism, industrial growth, and the gold standard determined national policies until Woodrow Wilson became president in 1913.
Republican Party nomination
Republican candidates:- William McKinleyWilliam McKinleyWilliam McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, former governor of Ohio - Thomas Brackett ReedThomas Brackett ReedThomas Brackett Reed, , occasionally ridiculed as Czar Reed, was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889–1891 and from 1895–1899...
of MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, Speaker of the House of RepresentativesSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives... - Matthew S. Quay of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, U.S. senator - Levi P. MortonLevi P. MortonLevi Parsons Morton was a Representative from New York and the 22nd Vice President of the United States . He also later served as the 31st Governor of New York.-Biography:...
, governor of New YorkGovernor of New YorkThe Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
and former Vice President - William B. AllisonWilliam B. AllisonWilliam Boyd Allison was an early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, who represented northeastern Iowa for four consecutive terms in the U.S. House before representing his state for six consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate...
of IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, U.S. Senator
Candidates gallery
As they did in 1876United States presidential election, 1876
The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed and controversial presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes uncounted...
and 1880
United States presidential election, 1880
The United States presidential election of 1880 was largely seen as a referendum on the end of Reconstruction in Southern states carried out by the Republicans. There were no pressing issues of the day save tariffs, with the Republicans supporting higher tariffs and the Democrats supporting lower...
, the Republicans dipped into the talent pool of the Governor's office of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
to nominate William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
for president and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
's Garret Hobart for vice-president. With the platform calling for strong support for the gold standard, many Western Republicans walked out of the Republican Convention held St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
on June 16-18, 1896, to form the National Silver Party
Silver Republican Party
The Silver Republican Party was a United States political faction active in the 1890s. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party over the issues of "Free Silver" and bimetallism. The main Republican Party supported the gold standard....
in support of the Democratic ticket. Among them was Utah delegate Thomas Kearns
Thomas Kearns
Thomas Kearns was a mining, banking, railroad and newspaper magnate. He was elected United States Senator from Utah from 1901 to 1905.- Immigration and mining :...
, a silver mining magnate and eventual U.S. Senator.
McKinley's campaign manager, a wealthy and talented Ohio businessman named Mark Hanna
Mark Hanna
Marcus Alonzo "Mark" Hanna was a United States Senator from Ohio and the friend and political manager of President William McKinley...
, visited the leaders of large corporations and major banks after the Republican Convention to raise funds for the campaign. Given that many businessmen and bankers were terrified of Bryan's populist rhetoric and support for ending the gold standard, Hanna had few problems in raising record amounts of money. In the end, Hanna raised a staggering $3.5 million for the campaign, outspending the Democrats by an estimated 5-to-1 margin. As a percentage of GDP, this is equivalent to $3 billion today. McKinley was the last veteran of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
to be nominated for President by either major party.
| Vice Presidential Ballot | |
| Garret A. Hobart | 523.5 |
|---|---|
| H. Clay Evans H. Clay Evans Henry Clay Evans was a U.S. Representative from Tennessee.-Biography:Born in Juniata County, Pennsylvania, Evans moved to Wisconsin in 1844, with his parents, who settled in Platteville, Grant County.... | 287.5 |
| Morgan Bulkeley | 39 |
| James A. Walker James A. Walker James Alexander Walker was a Virginia lawyer, politician, and Confederate general during the American Civil War, later serving as a United States Congressman for two terms... | 24 |
| Charles W. Lippitt Charles W. Lippitt Charles Warren Lippitt was an American politician and the 44th Governor of Rhode Island.-Early Life and Family:... | 8 |
| Thomas Brackett Reed Thomas Brackett Reed Thomas Brackett Reed, , occasionally ridiculed as Czar Reed, was a U.S. Representative from Maine, and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1889–1891 and from 1895–1899... | 3 |
| Chauncey Depew Chauncey Depew Chauncey Mitchell Depew was an attorney for Cornelius Vanderbilt's railroad interests, president of the New York Central Railroad System, and a United States Senator from New York from 1899 to 1911.- Biography:... | 3 |
| John Mellen Thurston | 2 |
| Frederick Dent Grant Frederick Dent Grant Frederick Dent Grant was a soldier and United States minister to Austria-Hungary. Grant was the first son of General of the Army and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Grant. He was named after his uncle, Frederick Tracy Dent... | 2 |
| Levi P. Morton Levi P. Morton Levi Parsons Morton was a Representative from New York and the 22nd Vice President of the United States . He also later served as the 31st Governor of New York.-Biography:... | 1 |
Democratic Party nomination
Democratic candidates:- William Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings BryanWilliam Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
of NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, former U.S. representative - Richard P. BlandRichard P. BlandRichard Parks Bland , American school teacher, lawyer, and Democratic Congressman between 1873 and 1899, serving except from 1895 to 1897, when he returned to office....
of MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, former U.S. representative - Robert E. PattisonRobert E. PattisonRobert Emory Pattison was the 19th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1883 to 1887 and 1891 to 1895. Born at Quantico in Somerset County, Maryland, Pattison's family moved to Philadelphia when he was five. He practiced law from 1872 to 1877 and was elected Controller of the city of Philadelphia in 1880...
, former governor of PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... - Horace BoiesHorace BoiesHorace Boies served as the 14th Governor of Iowa from 1890 to 1894 as a member of the United States Democratic Party. Boies was the only Democrat to serve in that position from 1855-1933.- Life before Iowa :...
, former governor of IowaIowaIowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New... - Joseph Clay Styles Blackburn of KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, former U.S. senator - Claude MatthewsClaude MatthewsClaude Matthews was the 23rd Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1893 to 1897. A farmer, he was nominated to prevent the loss of voters to the Populist Party. The Panic of 1893 occurred just before he took office, leading to severe economic problems during his term...
, governor of IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
Candidates gallery
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on July 7-11. Most of the Southern and Western delegates were committed to implementing the free silver ideas of the Populist Party. The convention repudiated President Cleveland's gold standard policies and then repudiated Cleveland himself. This, however, left the convention wide open: there was no obvious successor to Cleveland.
An attorney, former congressman, and unsuccessful U.S. Senate candidate named William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
filled the void. A superb orator, Bryan hailed from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and was widely regarded as a prominent spokesman for millions of rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
Americans who were suffering from the economic depression following the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
. At the Democratic Convention, Bryan delivered what many historians regard as one of the greatest political speeches in American history, the "Cross of Gold" Speech
Cross of Gold speech
The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 8, 1896. The speech advocated bimetallism. Following the Coinage Act , the United States abandoned its policy of bimetallism and began to operate a de facto gold...
. In this speech, Bryan presented a passionate defense of farmers and factory workers struggling to survive the economic depression, and he attacked big-city business owners and leaders as the cause of much of the economic suffering. He called for reform of the monetary system, an end to the gold standard
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
, and promised government relief efforts for farmers and others hurt by the economic depression. Bryan's speech was so dramatic that after he had finished many delegates carried him on their shoulders around the convention hall. The speech also united the convention delegates and earned Bryan their presidential nomination; he defeated his closest competitor, former Senator Richard "Silver Dick" Bland
Richard P. Bland
Richard Parks Bland , American school teacher, lawyer, and Democratic Congressman between 1873 and 1899, serving except from 1895 to 1897, when he returned to office....
by a 3-to-1 margin. Arthur Sewall
Arthur Sewall
Arthur Sewall was a U.S. Democratic politician from Maine most notable as William Jennings Bryan's first running mate in 1896. As the Populist Party nominee, Bryan had another running mate as well, Thomas E. Watson...
, a wealthy shipbuilder from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, was chosen as the vice- presidential nominee. It was felt that Sewall's wealth might encourage him to help pay some campaign expenses. At just 36 years of age, Bryan was only a year older than the minimum age required by the Constitution to be president. Bryan remains the youngest man ever nominated by a major party for president.
| Presidential Ballot | |||||
| Ballot | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States... | 137 | 197 | 219 | 280 | 652 |
| Richard P. Bland Richard P. Bland Richard Parks Bland , American school teacher, lawyer, and Democratic Congressman between 1873 and 1899, serving except from 1895 to 1897, when he returned to office.... | 235 | 281 | 291 | 241 | 11 |
| Robert E. Pattison Robert E. Pattison Robert Emory Pattison was the 19th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1883 to 1887 and 1891 to 1895. Born at Quantico in Somerset County, Maryland, Pattison's family moved to Philadelphia when he was five. He practiced law from 1872 to 1877 and was elected Controller of the city of Philadelphia in 1880... | 97 | 100 | 97 | 97 | 95 |
| Joseph Clay Styles Blackburn | 82 | 41 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
| Horace Boies Horace Boies Horace Boies served as the 14th Governor of Iowa from 1890 to 1894 as a member of the United States Democratic Party. Boies was the only Democrat to serve in that position from 1855-1933.- Life before Iowa :... | 67 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 0 |
| John Roll McLean John Roll McLean John Roll McLean was the owner and publisher of The Washington Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer. McLean was also a one-time partner in the ownership of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team of the American Association and also the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association.He was born... | 54 | 53 | 54 | 46 | 0 |
| Claude Matthews Claude Matthews Claude Matthews was the 23rd Governor of the U.S. state of Indiana from 1893 to 1897. A farmer, he was nominated to prevent the loss of voters to the Populist Party. The Panic of 1893 occurred just before he took office, leading to severe economic problems during his term... | 37 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 0 |
| Scattering | 43 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 10 |
Source: US President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (March 10, 2011).
| Vice Presidential Ballot | |||||
| Ballot | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Sewall Arthur Sewall Arthur Sewall was a U.S. Democratic politician from Maine most notable as William Jennings Bryan's first running mate in 1896. As the Populist Party nominee, Bryan had another running mate as well, Thomas E. Watson... | 100 | 37 | 97 | 261 | 602 |
| Joseph C. Sibley Joseph C. Sibley Joseph Crocker Sibley was a U.S. Representative from the state of Pennsylvania.Joseph C. Sibley was born in Friendship, New York. In 1859 he moved with his parents to Boston, New York. He attended the county schools and the local academies at Springville and Friendship. He taught school and... | 163 | 113 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| John Roll McLean John Roll McLean John Roll McLean was the owner and publisher of The Washington Post and The Cincinnati Enquirer. McLean was also a one-time partner in the ownership of the Cincinnati Red Stockings baseball team of the American Association and also the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the Union Association.He was born... | 111 | 158 | 210 | 298 | 32 |
| George F. Williams George F. Williams George Fred Williams was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts.Born in Dedham, Massachusetts, Williams attended private schools, and was graduated from the Dedham High School in 1868 and from Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1872.He studied at the Universities of Heidelberg and... | 76 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 9 |
| Richard P. Bland Richard P. Bland Richard Parks Bland , American school teacher, lawyer, and Democratic Congressman between 1873 and 1899, serving except from 1895 to 1897, when he returned to office.... | 62 | 294 | 255 | 0 | 0 |
| Walter Clark Walter Clark (jurist) Walter McKenzie Clark was a North Carolina politician and jurist who served as an associate justice and chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.-Biography:... | 50 | 22 | 22 | 46 | 22 |
| John W. Daniel John W. Daniel John Warwick Daniel was an American lawyer, author, and Democratic politician from Lynchburg, Virginia. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates and represented Virginia in both the U.S. House and then five terms in the Senate... | 11 | 1 | 6 | 54 | 36 |
| Scattering | 97 | 35 | 20 | 12 | 32 |
National Democratic Party (Gold Democrats) nomination
National Democratic candidates- John M. PalmerJohn M. Palmer (politician)John McAuley Palmer , was an Illinois resident, an American Civil War General who fought for the Union, the 15th Governor of Illinois, and presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party in the 1896 election on a platform to defend the gold standard, free trade, and limited...
of IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, U.S. senator - Edward S. BraggEdward S. BraggEdward Stuyvesant Bragg was a Democratic politician, lawyer and Union Army general from Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1877 to 1883 and from 1885 to 1887 and subsequently served as a foreign diplomat.-Early life and career:Born in Unadilla, New York, Bragg attended...
of WisconsinWisconsinWisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, former U.S. representative - William Freeman VilasWilliam Freeman VilasWilliam Freeman Vilas was a member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1891 to 1897. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat....
of Wisconsin, U.S. senator - Grover ClevelandGrover ClevelandStephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
of New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... - John G. Carlisle of KentuckyKentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury - Julius Sterling MortonJulius Sterling MortonJulius Sterling Morton was a Nebraska editor who served as President Grover Cleveland's Secretary of Agriculture. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat, taking the conservative position on political, economic and social issues, and opposing agrarianism...
of NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture - William Lyne WilsonWilliam Lyne WilsonWilliam Lyne Wilson was a Bourbon Democrat politician and lawyer from West Virginia.-Biography:Born in Charles Town, Virginia , Wilson attended Charles Town Academy, graduated from Columbian College in 1860 and subsequently studied at the University of Virginia...
of West VirginiaWest VirginiaWest Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, U.S. Postmaster General - Henry WattersonHenry WattersonHenry Watterson was a United States journalist who founded the Louisville Courier-Journal.He also served part of one term in the United States House of Representatives as a Democrat....
of Kentucky, former U.S. representative
Candidates gallery
The pro-gold Democrats reacted to Bryan's nomination with a mixture of anger, desperation, and confusion. A number of pro-gold Democrats urged a “bolt” and the formation of a third party. In response, a hastily arranged assembly on July 24 organized the National Democratic PartyNational Democratic Party (United States)
The National Democratic Party or Gold Democrats was a short-lived political party of Bourbon Democrats, who opposed the regular party nominee William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Most members were admirers of Grover Cleveland. They considered Bryan a dangerous man and charged that his "free silver"...
. A follow-up meeting in August scheduled a nominating convention for September in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and issued an appeal to fellow Democrats. In this document, the National Democratic Party portrayed itself as the legitimate heir to Presidents Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
, Jackson
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
, and Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
.
Delegates from forty-one states gathered at the National Democratic Party’s national nominating convention in Indianapolis on September 2. Some delegates planned to nominate Cleveland, but they relented after a telegram arrived stating that he would not accept. Senator William Freeman Vilas
William Freeman Vilas
William Freeman Vilas was a member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States Senate for the state of Wisconsin from 1891 to 1897. He was a prominent Bourbon Democrat....
, the main drafter of the National Democratic Party's platform, was a favorite of the delegates. However, Vilas refused to run as the party's sacrificial lamb. At this point, nearly everyone in attendance wanted John M. Palmer
John M. Palmer (politician)
John McAuley Palmer , was an Illinois resident, an American Civil War General who fought for the Union, the 15th Governor of Illinois, and presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party in the 1896 election on a platform to defend the gold standard, free trade, and limited...
, a Senator from Illinois, nominated for president. In a decisive first-ballot victory, Palmer defeated former Representative Edward S. Bragg
Edward S. Bragg
Edward Stuyvesant Bragg was a Democratic politician, lawyer and Union Army general from Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1877 to 1883 and from 1885 to 1887 and subsequently served as a foreign diplomat.-Early life and career:Born in Unadilla, New York, Bragg attended...
of Wisconsin for the nomination. Simon Bolivar Buckner
Simon Bolivar Buckner
Simon Bolivar Buckner fought in the United States Army in the Mexican–American War and in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He later served as the 30th Governor of Kentucky....
, a former governor of Kentucky, was nominated unanimously by acclamation for vice-president. Cleveland supported Palmer, rather than Bryan, and sent a letter of encouragement to the delegates that gave them an important psychological boost: “I am delighted with the outcome of the Indianapolis Convention and as a Democrat I feel very grateful to those who have relieved the bad political atmosphere with such a delicious infusion of fresh air”.
Palmer seemed the ideal candidate except for one critical flaw: at seventy-nine, he was far too old to persuade voters to take the campaign seriously. The same liability attached to Buckner, his seventy-three-year-old running mate. In other respects, the pair complemented each other nicely: having fought in the Civil War on opposite sides, they formed a team that emphasized sectional unity. As state governors, each had achieved a solid reputation for independence and strenuous use of the veto pen.
Despite their advanced ages, Palmer and Buckner embarked on a busy speaking tour. This won them considerable respect from the party faithful, although some found it hard to take the geriatric campaigning seriously. “You would laugh yourself sick could you see old Palmer,” wrote Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
to Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
Daniel S. Lamont
Daniel S. Lamont
Daniel Scott Lamont was the United States Secretary of War during Grover Cleveland's second term.Lamont was born on his family’s farm in Cortland County, New York and attended Union College at Schenectady, New York. While attending Union College he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity...
. “He has actually gotten it into his head he is running for office.”
On one extreme of the National Democratic Party were those who regarded the Palmer ticket as little more than a vehicle to elect McKinley. Gold Democrats who subscribed to this point of view included William Collins Whitney and Abram Hewitt, the treasurer of the National Democratic Party. To Hewitt, the election of McKinley, and thus protection of the gold standard, overrode all other issues. He had initially opposed a third ticket, but had come to the conclusion that it would help defeat Bryan. Palmer himself said at a campaign stop that if “this vast crowd casts its vote for William McKinley next Tuesday, I shall charge them with no sin”.
There was even some cooperation with the Republican Party, especially in finances. The Republicans hoped that Palmer could draw enough Democratic votes from Bryan to tip marginal Midwestern and border states into McKinley's column. In a private letter, Hewitt underscored the “entire harmony of action” between both parties in standing against Bryan. To this end, the Republicans contributed one-half to an National Democratic Party fund of $100,000 in the battleground states of Michigan, Indiana, and Kentucky. The two parties joined forces in the distribution of “sound money” literature, and in some areas the Republicans gave direct aid to the National Democratic Party. Although it brought obvious financial benefits, the alliance with the GOP did tremendous damage to the National Democratic Party's credibility.
However, the National Democratic Party was not, as one historian put it, merely “an adjunct to the Republican campaign”. Although party leaders preferred that McKinley rather than Bryan be elected, a more important goal was to nurture a loyal remnant for future victory. Repeatedly they depicted Bryan’s prospective defeat, and a credible showing for Palmer, as paving the way for ultimate recapture of the Democratic Party. For Bragg, it was critical to “keep the vestal fires burning” of old Democratic traditions. Palmer hoped to create a “nucleus around which the true Democrats . . . can rally once more, and to preserve a place for our erring brothers, if the time comes when they repent . . . we will be ready to receive them with open arms! Come back to the party of your fathers”.
| Presidential Ballot | ||
| Ballot | 1st Before Shifts | 1st After Shifts |
|---|---|---|
| John M. Palmer John M. Palmer (politician) John McAuley Palmer , was an Illinois resident, an American Civil War General who fought for the Union, the 15th Governor of Illinois, and presidential candidate of the National Democratic Party in the 1896 election on a platform to defend the gold standard, free trade, and limited... | 757.5 | 769.5 |
| Edward S. Bragg Edward S. Bragg Edward Stuyvesant Bragg was a Democratic politician, lawyer and Union Army general from Wisconsin. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1877 to 1883 and from 1885 to 1887 and subsequently served as a foreign diplomat.-Early life and career:Born in Unadilla, New York, Bragg attended... | 130.5 | 118.5 |
Populist Party nomination
Several third parties were active in 1896. By far the most prominent was the Populist Party. Formed in 1892, the Populists represented agrarian interests in the South, West, and rural Midwest. In the 1892 presidential election Populist candidate James B. Weaver had carried four states, and in 1894 the Populists had scored victories in congressional and state legislature races in a number of Southern and Western states. In the Southern states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, the wins were obtained by electoral fusionElectoral fusion
Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate...
with the Republicans against the dominant Bourbon Democrat
Bourbon Democrat
Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States from 1876 to 1904 to refer to a member of the Democratic Party, conservative or classical liberal, especially one who supported President Grover Cleveland in 1884–1888/1892–1896 and Alton B. Parker in 1904. After 1904, the Bourbons faded away...
s, whereas in the rest of the country, fusion, if practiced, was typically undertaken with the Democrats, as in the state of Washington. By 1896 some Populists believed that they could replace the Democrats as the main opposition party to the Republicans. However, the Democrats' nomination of Bryan—who supported many Populist goals and ideas—placed the party in a dilemma. Torn between choosing their own presidential candidate or supporting Bryan, the party leadership decided that nominating their own candidate would simply divide the forces of reform and hand the election to the more conservative Republicans. At their national convention in 1896, the Populists chose Bryan as their presidential nominee. However, to demonstrate that they were still independent from the Democrats, the Populists also chose Georgia Senator Thomas E. Watson
Thomas E. Watson
Thomas Edward "Tom" Watson was an American politician, newspaper editor, and writer from Georgia. In the 1890s Watson championed poor farmers as a leader of the Populist Party, articulating an agrarian political viewpoint while attacking business, bankers, railroads, Democratic President Grover...
as their vice-presidential candidate instead of Arthur Sewall. Bryan eagerly accepted the Populist nomination, but was vague as to whether, if elected, he would choose Watson as his vice-president instead of Sewall. With this election, the Populists began to be absorbed into the Democratic Party; within a few elections the party would disappear completely. The 1896 election was particularly detrimental to the Populist Party in the South, dividing the party between members who favored cooperation with the Democrats to achieve results at the national level and members who favored cooperation with the Republicans to achieve reform at a state level.
As a result of the double nomination, in many states both the Bryan-Sewall Democratic ticket and the Bryan-Watson Populist ticket appeared on the ballot. Although the Populist ticket did not win the popular vote in any state, 27 electors for Bryan cast their vice-presidential vote for Watson instead of Sewall. (The votes came from the following states: Arkansas 3, Louisiana 4, Missouri 4, Montana 1, Nebraska 4, North Carolina 5, South Dakota 2, Utah 1, Washington 2, Wyoming 1.)
Socialist Labor nomination
The Socialist LaborSocialist Labor Party of America
The Socialist Labor Party of America , established in 1876 as the Workingmen's Party, is the oldest socialist political party in the United States and the second oldest socialist party in the world. Originally known as the Workingmen's Party of America, the party changed its name in 1877 and has...
Convention was held in New York on July 9, 1896. The convention nominated Charles Matchett
Charles Matchett
Charles Horatio Matchett was an American socialist politician. He is best remembered as the first candidate of the Socialist Labor Party of America for Vice President of the United States in the election of 1892 and as the party's candidate for President in the election of 1896.-Early...
of New York and Matthew Maguire of New Jersey. Its platform favored reduction in hours of labor, possession by the United States government of mines, railroads, canals, telegraphs, and telephones; possession by municipalities of water-works, gas-works, and electric plants; the issue of money by the United States alone; the employment of the unemployed by the public authorities; abolition of the veto power; abolition of the United States Senate; women's suffrage; and uniform criminal law throughout the Union.
Other nomination
Other notable third-party efforts were presented by the ProhibitionProhibition Party
The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...
, National Prohibition and National Democratic parties each offering tickets for president and vice-president. The Democratic ticket was also endorsed by Nevada's Silver Party
Silver Party
The Silver Party was a political party in the United States, most successful in Nevada, active from 1892-1911. The party supported a platform of bimetallism and "Free Silver."...
.
The fall campaign
The primary issue of the 1896 campaign involved this economic question: would America remain on the gold standardGold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed mass of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
, as McKinley and the Republicans wished, or would the nation's economy switch to the free silver
Free Silver
Free Silver was an important United States political policy issue in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Its advocates were in favor of an inflationary monetary policy using the "free coinage of silver" as opposed to the less inflationary Gold Standard; its supporters were called...
theories espoused by Bryan and the Populists?
Bryan argued that by abandoning the gold standard and having paper money backed by silver instead of gold, it would allow more paper currency to enter the national economy (a popular Bryan slogan was "16-to-1", based on the claim that 16 silver-backed dollars could be printed for every one dollar backed by gold). Bryan and his supporters argued that this "easy money" would allow impoverished farmers in the South and West to get out of debt and pay their bills, and that having more paper money circulating in the economy would help lift the nation out of the economic depression which had started in 1893.
McKinley and the Republicans responded that the gold standard was vital to the American economy, and that if the nation went off the gold standard, paper currency would lose its value by half and inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
would soar. To ridicule what they believed were Bryan's radical and unwise economic policies, the Republicans printed fake dollar bills which had Bryan's face and which read "IN GOD WE TRUST...FOR THE OTHER 53 CENTS", thus illustrating their claim that a dollar bill would be worth only 47 cents if it was backed by silver instead of gold.
The novelty of such an event, combined with Bryan's spellbinding oratory and the passion of his beliefs, led to huge crowds. In many parts of the South and West, Bryan supporters welcomed him with parades, speeches, and wild demonstrations of support. Although Bryan traveled to most sections of the nation, he focused his efforts on the Midwest, which he believed would be the decisive battleground in the election. In just 100 days, Bryan gave over 500 speeches to several million people, a remarkable feat at the time. Relying on just a few hours of sleep a night, he traveled 18,000 miles in three months to address an estimated five million people.
In contrast to Bryan's dramatic efforts, McKinley conducted a traditional "front porch" campaign from his home in Canton, Ohio
Canton, Ohio
Canton is the county seat of Stark County in northeastern Ohio, approximately south of Akron and south of Cleveland.The City of Caton is the largest incorporated area within the Canton-Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. Instead of having McKinley travel to see the voters, Mark Hanna brought thousands of voters by train to McKinley's home. Once there, McKinley would greet the groups of voters and give a speech to them from his porch. McKinley labeled Bryan's proposed social and economic reforms as a serious threat to the national economy. With the depression following the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
coming to an end, support for McKinley's more conservative economic policies increased, while Bryan's more radical policies began to lose support among Midwestern farmers and factory workers.
To ensure victory, Hanna paid large numbers of Republican orators (including Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
) to travel around the nation denouncing Bryan as a dangerous radical. There were also reports that some potentially Democratic voters were intimidated into voting for McKinley. For example, some factory owners posted signs the day before the election announcing that, if Bryan won the election, the factory would be closed and the workers would lose their jobs. McKinley gained a narrow, but solid victory, carrying the core of the East and Northeast, while Bryan did well among the farmers of the South, West, and rural Midwest. The large German-American voting bloc supported McKinley, who gained large majorities among the middle class, skilled factory workers, railroad workers, and large-scale farmers. However, the national popular vote was close, as McKinley took 51% to Bryan's 47%. In the electoral college
Electoral college
An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way...
McKinley received 271 electoral votes to Bryan's 176 (224 were needed to win).
Mayor Tom L. Johnson
Tom L. Johnson
Thomas Loftin Johnson , better known as Tom L. Johnson, was an American politician of the Democratic Party from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He headed relief efforts after the Johnstown, Pennsylvania floods of 1889, was a U.S. Representative from 1891–1895 and the 35th mayor of...
of Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, summed up the campaign as the "first great protest of the American people against monopoly - the first great struggle of the masses in our country against the privileged classes."
Results
National Democratic Party (United States)
The National Democratic Party or Gold Democrats was a short-lived political party of Bourbon Democrats, who opposed the regular party nominee William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Most members were admirers of Grover Cleveland. They considered Bryan a dangerous man and charged that his "free silver"...
had not abandoned Bryan; if Bryan had talked less and stuck to sound issues; if the church and the school had been kept out of politics; a legal limit set on the amount of libel and abuse in the press; a legal limit on the extent of campaign expenditures; and if the Republicans had a less thorough and scientific campaign manager.
The National Democrats did not carry any states, but they did divide the Democratic vote in some states and helped the Republicans to carry the state of Kentucky. Gold Democrats made much of the fact that Palmer’s small vote in Kentucky was higher than McKinley’s thin margin in that state. From this, they concluded that Palmer had drained off needed Democratic votes and thrown the state to McKinley. However, McKinley would have won the election even if he had lost in Kentucky. If Palmer's support had gone to Bryan in California, McKinley's margin of victory would have been reduced from 1,922 votes to only 192.
After the election of McKinley, some Gold Democratic partisans tried to portray the election as a stunning victory for their party. They confidently predicted that the defeat of the despised Bryan would open the door for the recapture of the Democratic Party. In a post-election editorial, Henry Watterson claimed that “Palmer and Buckner have saved the country from shame and have saved the party from destruction”.
Political scientists widely regard the 1896 election as a realigning election
Realigning election
Realigning election are terms from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system. Scholars frequently apply the term to American elections and occasionally to other countries...
. An often forgotten facet of that realignment was the disappearance of the old Democratic Party, which had upheld free trade, hard money, and minimalist government.
Source (Popular Vote): Source (Electoral Vote): (a) Sewall was Bryan's Democratic running mate.
(b) Watson was Bryan's Populist running mate.
See also
- American election campaigns in the 19th centuryAmerican election campaigns in the 19th CenturyIn the 19th century, a number of new methods for conducting American Election Campaigns developed in the United States. For the most part the techniques were original, not copied from Europe or anywhere else...
- History of the United States (1865–1918)History of the United States (1865–1918)The History of the United States covers Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era, and includes the rise of industrialization and the resulting surge of immigration in the United States. This period of rapid economic growth and soaring prosperity in North and West saw the U.S...
- Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of OzPolitical interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of OzPolitical interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz include treatments of the modern fairy tale as an allegory or metaphor for the political, economic and social events of America in the 1890s...
- Third Party SystemThird Party SystemThe Third Party System is a term of periodization used by historians and political scientists to describe a period in American political history from about 1854 to the mid-1890s that featured profound developments in issues of nationalism, modernization, and race...
- United States House election, 1896United States House election, 1896The U.S. House election, 1896 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1896 which coincided with the election of President William McKinley....
Further reading
Books- William D. Harpine. From the Front Porch to the Front Page: McKinley and Bryan in the 1896 Presidential Campaign (2006) focus on the speeches and rhetoric
- Kazin, Michael. A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan (2006).
- Williams, R. Hal. Realigning America: McKinley, Bryan, and the Remarkable Election of 1896 (University Press of Kansas; 2010) 250 pages
Journal articles
Primary sources
Books- Bryan, William Jennings. The First Battle: A Story of the Campaign of 1896 (1897), speeches from 1896 campaign.
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- This is the handbook of the Gold Democrats and strongly opposed Bryan.
Journal articles
External links
- Presidential Election of 1896: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
- 1896 popular vote by counties
- How close was the 1896 election? — Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- McKinley & Hobart campaign handkerchief in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database