William Jennings Bryan, gifted orator and three-time presidential candidate was born on March 19, 1860, in Salem, Illinois. Trained as a lawyer, Bryan represented the state of Nebraska in the United States Congress, 1891-95. He was known for his deeply held religious beliefs and his popular touch, which earned him the moniker “the Great Commoner.” William Jennings Bryan, 1860-1925. c1908. Prints & Photographs Division After serving two terms in the House of Representatives, Bryan reached the pinnacle of his political career. In 1896, he won the Democratic party nomination for president as incumbent President Grover Cleveland did not seek reelection . Just thirty-six, Bryan managed to attract the support of mainstream Democrats as well as third party Populists. His historic “Cross of Gold” speech, delivered prior to his nomination, criticized supporters of the gold standard for U.S. currency, which he believed benefited the wealthy at the expense of the average worker. Bryan’s eloquent support of the alternative silver standard united splintered Democrats and won the “Boy Orator of the Platte” the nomination. Norwegian immigrant Nils Nilsen Rønning considered himself “an enthusiastic Bryan man”:
Scholar, editor, businessman, and diplomat, Rasmus B. Anderson, who was not a Bryan supporter, abandoned the Democratic Party when Bryan received the nomination. Characterizing Bryan as “America’s greatest demagogue” and the “wide-mouthed orator of the Platte-itude” Anderson summed up Bryan’s platform:
Bryan logged more than 18,000 miles in the campaign of 1896. The unpopularity of the incumbent Democratic Party combined with the well-filled war chest of Republican candidate William McKinley, catapulted McKinley into the White House. Still, Bryan’s following was large enough to result in two additional runs for president. Bryan lost again to McKinley in 1900 and to William Howard Taft in 1908. Although he never won an election after 1892, Bryan wielded considerable influence. After helping Woodrow Wilson secure the Democratic nomination in 1912, he served as secretary of state. A committed pacifist, Bryan resigned his position in 1915, after the sinking of the Lusitania, as the nation appeared likely to enter World War I. Towards the end of his career, Bryan was an active speaker on the Chautauqua circuit External. Always pious, during the final years of his life he was extremely active in religious organizations. By the 1920s, Bryan was among America’s most outspoken critics of the theory of evolution, and he was a long-term advocate of Prohibition. His participation in the famous 1925 Scopes Trial served as a capstone to his career. ‘Neath Palms and Sunshine; William Jennings Bryan’s Presbyterian Tourist Bible Class, Miami, Fla., Feb. 6th, 1921. W.A. Fishbaugh, cFebruary 11, 1921. Panoramic Photographs. Prints & Photographs Division |