According to Barnes: The people of the South and the West had for years been convinced of the enormity of the "crime of 1873", and they had long since come to regard silver as the sword that would cut the Gordian knot of privilege. The Democratic party has won the greatest success in its history. What will the decision be today? From the money plank of the Democratic platform[48], Good luck favored Bryanhe was considered for various convention roles by the silverites, but each time was not selected. Now, my friends, let me come to the great paramount issue. The audio portion is an excerpt. Therefore, we care not upon what lines the battle is fought. Old leaders have been cast aside when they refused to give expression to the sentiments of those whom they would lead, and new leaders have sprung up to give direction to this cause of freedom. [32], The 1896 Democratic convention opened at the Chicago Coliseum on July 7, 1896. The Democratic idea has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous their prosperity will find its way up and through every class that rests upon it. They complain about the plank which declares against the life tenure in office. Forward-Looking Statements Except for historical information, this presentation may contain certain "forward-looking statements". I shall not slander the fair state of Massachusetts nor the state of New York by saying that when citizens are confronted with the proposition, Is this nation able to attend to its own business?I will not slander either one by saying that the people of those states will declare our helpless impotency as a nation to attend to our own business. This handout is a great resource for helping students analyze this key political cartoon from the Populist Movement and the Election of 1896 featuring William Jennings Bryan and the "Cross of Gold" speech. It did not become unconstitutional until one judge changed his mind; and we cannot be expected to know when a judge will change his mind. He did for Rome what Jackson did when he destroyed the bank conspiracy and saved America. Content can enter the public domain when copyright has expired, has been forfeited or is not applicable. Never before in the history of this country has there been witnessed such a contest as that through which we have passed. He says that he wants this country to try to secure an international agreement. They can find where the holders of fixed investments have. Conditions have arisen and we are attempting to meet those conditions. [4] In 1830, Treasury Secretary Samuel D. Ingham proposed adjusting the ratio between gold and silver in US currency to 15.8:1, which had for some time been the ratio in Europe. [57] Bryan then defended the right of silver supporters to make their argument against opposition from gold men, who were associated with financial interests, especially in the East. 2023 The Granger Collection LTD d/b/a GRANGER - Historical Picture Archive. Unfortunately, no recordings exist of his original speech. Bryan, once seated, was Nebraska's representative to the Committee on Resolutions (generally called the "platform committee"), which allocated 80minutes to each side in the debate and selected Bryan as one of the speakers. William Jennings Bryan. Consciousness of grievances of years and not of months was reflected in the decisive action of the state Democratic conventions in the spring and early summer of 1896. Our war is not a war of conquest; we are fighting in the defense of our homes, our families, and posterity. In 1896 William Jennings Bryan gave possibly his most famous speech, " The Cross of Gold" Speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. These were the only two candidates to put together organizations to try to secure delegate votes, though both efforts were cash-starved. Handout 4: Cross of Gold Speech, one copy for each student Handout 4: Cross of Gold SpeechTeacher Answer Key Handout 5: Assessment, one copy for each student Five signs on large sheets of paper or cardstock with one of the following written on each: Inflation, Deflation, Gold Notes, Silver Notes, and Greenbacks. Four years previously, the former Nebraska congressman had electrified Democratic delegates with his "Cross of Gold" speech, which defined the policy of "free silver" as a moral crusade and helped propel him to the party's presidential nomination . . Second, like many people, Bryan thought the gold standard disadvantaged the working classes and farmers by keeping the price of debt high. Although Bryan ran again on a silver platform in the 1900 presidential election, the issue failed to produce the same resonance with the voters. Here is the line of battle. Introduction. It demonstrated the need for better communications in wartime. [38] On the evening of July 5, Bryan was visited by a delegation of Coloradans, seeking his support for Senator Teller. The individual is but an atom; he is born, he acts, he dies; but principles are eternal, and this has been a contest over a principle. In his "Cross of Gold" speech, Bryan argued that the debate over monetary policy was part of a broader struggle for democracy, political independence and the welfare of the "common man." Bryan's speech was met with rapturous applause and a celebration on the floor of the convention that lasted for over half an hour. Bryan had been a dark horse candidate with little support in the convention. Shall we, their descendants, when we have grown to 70 million, declare that we are less independent than our forefathers? There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. This statement attracted great cheering, and Bryan turned to rhetorically demolish the compromise position on bimetallismthat it should only be accomplished through international agreement: It is the issue of 1776 over again. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. Document Analysis: "Cross of Gold" In 1896, three years after the "Panic of 1893", a man by the name of William Jennings Bryan delivered one of the most historical speeches to this day. If you want criticisms, read the dissenting opinions of the Court. Although Bryan had decided on a strategy to gain the nominationto give a speech which would make him the logical candidate in the eyes of delegateshe faced obstacles along the way. The sympathies of the Democratic Party, as shown by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses, who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic Party.[77]. Updates? [19] Among those defeated for Senate was Bryan in Nebraska. BRYAN: CROSS OF GOLD. There was loud cheering as Bryan stood there, waiting for his audience to calm. The 1880s saw a steep decline in the prices of grain and other agricultural commodities. [97] Bryan won the South and most of the West, but McKinley's victories in the more populous Northeast and Midwest carried him to the presidency. This was not the case; Bryan was well known as an orator on the tariff and silver questions. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cross_of_Gold_speech&oldid=1138712489, United States National Recording Registry recordings, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox event with unknown parameters, Pages using infobox event with blank parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Bryan nominated for president by the Democrats, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 05:01. Mr. McKinley was the most popular man among the Republicans ; and everybody three months ago in the Republican Party prophesied his election. Another reporter approached him and asked him who he thought would win the nomination. But if he means to say that we cannot change our monetary system without protecting those who have loaned money before the change was made, I want to ask him where, in law or in morals, he can find authority for not protecting the debtors when the act of 1873 was passed when he now insists that we must protect the creditor. [74], With this call to action, Bryan abandoned any hint at compromise, and adopted the techniques of the radical, polarizing orator, finding no common ground between silver and gold forces. As the gold men spoke, Bryan ate a sandwich to settle his stomach; he was often nervous before major speeches. A third attempt in early 1878 again passed the House, and eventually both houses after being amended in the Senate. There are those who believe that if you just legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, that their prosperity will leak through on those below. We reply to them that changing conditions make new issues; that the principles upon which rest Democracy are as everlasting as the hills; but that they must be applied to new conditions as they arise. Governmental response to this shortage was hampered by the fact that officials did not clearly understand what had happened. Historian Stanley Jones, in his study of the 1896 election, suggests that western Democrats would have opposed Cleveland even if the party had held its congressional majority in 1894; with the disastrous defeat, they believed the party would be wiped out in the West if it did not support silver. [Note on the recording: In 1896 recording technology was in its infancy, and recording a political convention would have been impossible. So if they come to meet us on that, we can present the history of our nation. Standing upon this victory-crowned summit, will it turn its face to the rising or the setting sun? [79] He soon retired from the convention, returning to his hotel to await the outcome. I had never had such an opportunity before in my life and never expect to have again. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. The 36-year old Bryan was an avowed bimetallist, placed himself in the tradition of Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson against moneyed interests and in favor of "hardy pioneers who braved all. Bryan traveled 18,000 miles by train to give over 600 speeches (36 in one day) to about five million people. We have begged, and they have mocked when our calamity came. Born Mark Elliot Zuckerberg May 14, 1984 (age 38) White Plains, New York, U.S. Education: Harvard University (dropped out) Occupations: Internet entrepreneur, philanthropist. Trained as a lawyer, Bryan represented the state of Nebraska in the United States Congress, 1891-95. However, he lost the general election to William McKinley, and the United States formally adopted the gold standard in 1900. Although Hamilton understood that adjustment might be needed from time to time as precious metal prices fluctuated, he believed that if the nation's unit of value were defined only by one of the two precious metals used for coins, the other would descend to the status of mere merchandise, unusable as a store of value. Mr. McKinley was nominated at St. Louis upon a platform which declared for the maintenance of the gold standard until it can be changed into bimetallism by international agreement. The issue was whether to endorse the free coinage of silver at a ratio of silver to gold of 16 to 1. Three months later, at Memphis, an organization was perfected, and the silver Democrats went forth openly and boldly and courageously proclaiming their belief and declaring that if successful they would crystallize in a platform the declaration which they had made; and then began the conflict with a zeal approaching the zeal which inspired the crusaders who followed Peter the Hermit. Edition of 10 (this copy is #5). [59] As he concluded his historical recitation, he reminded the silver delegates that they had come to crown their victory, "not to discuss, not to debate, but to enter up the judgment already rendered by the plain people of this country".[66]. [72] When Bryan resumed, his comparison of miner with miser again electrified the audience; the uproar prevented him from continuing for several minutes. In his address, Bryan supported "free silver" (i.e. [49][50], Delegates, as they waited for the committees to complete their work, spent much of the first two days listening to various orators. (This inflationary measure would have increased the amount of money in circulation and aided cash-poor and debt-burdened farmers.) These cartoons are grouped by the general sentiment they represent about William Jennings Bryan, his political campaigns, and his ambitions. German-born political cartoonist Thomas Nast gave America some of its most enduring symbols: the Republican elephant, the Democratic donkey, and Uncle Sam. This was close enough to the market value to make it uneconomic to export either US gold or silver coins. We have entreated, and our entreaties have been disregarded. He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate, former Ohio governor William McKinley . What we oppose in that plank is the life tenure that is being built up in Washington which establishes an office-holding class and excludes from participation in the benefits the humbler members of our society. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.[76]. Analysis Of William Bryan'S The Cross Of Gold Speech: [Essay Example], 692 words GradesFixer. Our silver Democrats went forth from victory unto victory, until they are assembled now, not to discuss, not to debate, but to enter up the judgment rendered by the plain people of this country. Why, if they tell us that the gold standard is a good thing, we point to their platform and tell them that their platform pledges the party to get rid of a gold standard and substitute bimetallism. He says he also wants to amend this platform so as to provide that if we fail to maintain the parity within a year that we will then suspend the coinage of silver. At Bryan's words, he threw his hat into the air, slapped the empty seat in front of him with his coat, and shouted, "My God! It is for these that we speak. Students will be engaged by analyzing this speech, a political cartoon, and being able to critically think . "[92], When McKinley heard that Bryan was likely to be the nominee, he called the report "rot" and hung up the phone. The government pledged to stand behind the silver dollars and treasury notes issued under the act by redeeming them in gold. It offers discussion questions, classroom activities, and primary source analysis tools. This exhibit features cartoons from Jay N. "Ding" Darling, Homer C . His subsequent canvass [campaign] for the United States senatorship in Nebraska was noteworthy and conspicuous on many accounts. 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