Get Out The Vote!

The election of 1896 pitted a seasoned, conservative politician, William McKinley, against William Jennings Bryan, a radical Democrat from Nebraska. At thirty-six, Bryan was young, but already known as a skilled politician and orator. He had established a reputation as a Populist-style Democrat attuned to the economic hardships of Western farmers. Central to his campaign was an assault against the gold standard. Byran argued that replacing the gold standard with the free unlimited minting of silver at a ratio of 16 to 1, would bring economic prosperity to all Americans. Fearing that Bryan’s radicalism might alienate moderates, Democrats chose a conservative banker, Arthur Sewall of Maine, to be his running mate. The Populist Party also nominated Bryan, but with a different running mate, Thomas Watson of Georgia, whose political philosophies were more in line with Bryan’s. Thus Bryan was in the confusing position of having two different running mates.

The Republican Party nominated Ohio Governor and former Congressman William McKinley, whose conservative policies sharply contrasted with Bryan’s. McKinley’s campaign focused on protectionism and the gold standard. Although he was remembered as the author of the unpopular tariff bill of 1890, he was also respected as an effective governor who led Ohio though a very difficult time in its history. In 1893, the country had endured a devastating financial crisis, marked by banking failures and railroad company collapses. The resulting depression was the worst in U.S. history until the Great Depression of the 1930s. McKinley handled the situation in his state admirably, showing compassion and firm leadership.

Bryan launched an energetic campaign, crossing 13,000 miles by train and delivering countless stump speeches across the nation. Recognizing Bryan’s superior oratorical skills, McKinley conducted his campaign primarily from his front porch, where reporters came to meet him. In the end, McKinley’s conservative policies won the day, and he became the twenty-fifth President of the United States.

Voters could choose from a variety of buttons to advertise Bryan's populist message. The numbers "16-to-1" indicated support for the silver standard and its promise of an improved life for disadvantaged rural Americans. Pins in the shape of a broom and dustpan hold tiny photographs of Bryan. They allude to the Nebraskan’s reform policies, promising to clean up politics.

The McKinley campaign made liberal use of the color gold to support the gold standard. Buttons and pins represented "the money we want." Other buttons encouraged Conservative Democrats to cross Party lines to support gold over silver: "I am a Democrat, but will vote for Gold Standard." Marcus Hanna, iron magnate and chair of the Republican National Committee, helped the McKinley campaign along by coining the catchy slogan "In God we trust, in Bryan we bust."

These satirical medals ridicule William Jennings Bryan’s plan for silver-based coinage. Their large size is meant to show how big a coin would have to be to contain $1.00 worth of silver.

A portrait of Garret Hobart is affixed to a wooden mount that can be rotated as a fan by manipulating the handle. Its color reinforces the campaign’s emphasis on the gold standard. Hobart’s time as Vice President was short; he died in 1899 before his first term ended. McKinley chose Theodore Roosevelt as his running mate in the 1900 election. McKinley himself was assassinated just six months after his second inauguration in 1901.

During the Democratic convention, Bryan delivered one of the most famous speeches in American political history. His passionate words, "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold," became known as the "Cross of Gold" speech. William McKinley’s campaign took aim at Bryan’s speech, asking Republicans to "nail" themselves to the gold standard's "cross."

While the Populist agenda was gaining support through the country, it also inspired fierce opposition. Republicans were concerned that the Populists would succeed in regulating the railroads. Kansas became a battleground state, where railroad companies and farmers competed for land and resources. In 1890, Populists seemed to be edging out the opposition when they gained control of the Kansas State Legislature. By early 1893, hostilities had begun to escalate, and members of the two parties clashed, narrowly avoiding bloodshed. As a result, the 1896 election became the focus of intensely partisan electioneering. William Allen White, the young editor of the Emporia Gazette, ridiculed the farmers’ hopes of gaining a political voice. His editorial, "What's the Matter with Kansas?," an attack on Populism, was widely reprinted throughout the country, and helped sway voters in the Presidential election.