Who did the Populists nominate for president in 1896?
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The Republicans met first, nominating former Ohio governor William McKinley. McKinley appointed Mark Hanna, a political boss from Ohio, as his campaign manager. No one had ever hired a manager for a campaign but Hanna took his new position serious, organizing McKinley’s campaign down to the smallest detail, creating many still-used techniques. Hanna raised $10 million and brought people to Canton, Ohio, on trains to listen to McKinley give speeches. McKinley did not have to leave his front porch. The Republican platform called for pro-business, pro-Northeast measures, including a protective tariff and the gold standard. Show When the Democrats convened they introduced dramatic changes to their previous political philosophy. Rejecting Grover Cleveland as a possible candidate, the Democrats wrote a platform favoring the South, West, farmers, and reform. Adopting several of the more moderate Populist platform planks, Democrats supported free silver, an income tax, more aggressive breaking of trusts, and stronger regulation of railroads. The Democratic party chose William Jennings Bryan, a 36 year-old congressman from Nebraska, as their nominee.  McKinley campaign poster. McKinley stands atop a gold coin, representing the gold standard William Jennings Bryan Because the Democrats adopted free silver, the Populists faced a dilemma. If they nominated their own free silver candidate, the vote would be split and the Republicans would win easily. To prevent this, the Populists also nominated William Jennings Bryan (with a different vice presidential nominee). William Jennings Bryan was a dynamic speaker who travelled thousands of miles by train giving speeches to reach voters across the nation. Democratic campaign poster William Jennings Bryan was actually a delegate to the 1896 Democratic convention. The convention was divided over several issues, including the issue of free silver and whom to choose as the nominee. At a debate over monetary policy, Bryan spoke on the issue of free silver. He delivered an oration known as the “Cross of Gold” speech. Speaking against the gold standard, Bryan ended by stating:
His powerful speech electrified the crowd and led to his nomination for president. William Jennings Bryan repeated his speech many times over the years, and segments of it were recorded in 1921. Listen to Bryan deliver portions of his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the Earliest Voices website. The election of 1896 exposed three fundamental divisions in American society::
The Significance of the Election of 1896More so than any election since Rutherford B. Hayes’ 1876 victory ended Reconstruction, the election of 1896 had long-term consequences. The Populists’ decision to join the Democrats, and their combined loss, signaled the end of the Populist Party. Eventually prosperity returned to the United States and the depression ended. The Democratic Party made a major shift, changing from Grover Cleveland’s laissez faire, conservative style of leadership to a reform-oriented party. It never returned to a conservative platform. The push for reform started by the Populists did not end in 1896. Widespread calls for reforms returned with the Progressives a decade later, and several tenants of the Populist platform eventually became law. Learn more about the cultural impact of the election of 1896 by playing the Wizard of Oz interactive. The Republican Party won the presidency and control of Congress, despite the defection of pro-silver Republicans from the West. The Democratic Party held the presidency when the campaign began, but President Grover Cleveland did not support his own party's candidate. The party split, and Cleveland expressed his support for the Gold Democratic "bolters." National delegates of the People's Party divided over whether to endorse William Jennings Bryan, whom Silver Democrats had already chosen as their nominee (see the campaign chronology). The convention endorsed him over strenuous protests from "middle-of-the-road" Populists, who remained strong enough to force the nomination of a separate vice-presidential candidate, Tom Watson. The resulting confusion contributed to the continuing decline of Populist fortunes. The Prohibitionist Party had peaked in strength in 1888; its convention also divided over whether to address the money question or to present a "narrow-gauge" platform focused solely on the prohibition of liquor. The Silver Party, tiny and overwhelmingly Western, endorsed the Silver Democratic candidates but drafted and passed their own platform. The Socialist Labor Party nominated candidates, though Socialism had not yet achieved the strength it would after 1900. Many future Socialists, such as Eugene V. Debs, called themselves Populists in 1896 and supported William Jennings Bryan. Who did the populists nominate for president in 1896 quizlet?what were the main achievements of the populism movement? - 1892 James Weaver, populist candidate, won over a million votes and 4 states. - Democrats chose William Jennings Bryan as their candidate for the 1896 election.
Who did the populists nominate for president in 1892?Presidential Election of 1892: A Resource Guide. Who were the candidates for the 1896 election quizlet?Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in 1896. Bryan was the nominee of the Democrats, the Populist Party, and the Silver Republicans.
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