What if William J. Bryan had won the elections?

I dunno, nimh. I tend to think of Bryant as more of a libertarian than a socialist. But I could be wrong.

Libertarian? How so?

Bryan was conservative in many of his views, because of his religious conviction. His religious conviction lead him to sponsor the free silver issue, and issue of the "little man," and particularly of farmers in the Great Plains, from when he arose politically. His religious conviction also lead him to take the prosecution of John Scopes in the famous Tennessee "Monkey Trial." I would not have necessarily described him as a libertarian as MA did, but i can see the justice of the description. Very likely there would have been little change in the course of events had Bryan won the 1896 election. The most significant feature of the political landscape from 1896 until the American declaration of war on Germany in 1917 was the growth of the United States as world power (or, more accurately, the recognition of the rest of the world of the military reach and power of the United States--Europe had already learned that the U.S. was an economic power house). Many Republicans and Democrats wanted war with Spain. McKinley was actually opposed, but after the Maine incident, Joseph Pulitizer's yellow press fanned the war fervor which made it necessary for McKinely to go to Congress for a declaration of war. Although the sequence of events might have varied in detail, i doubt the Bryan would have been any more likely to have avoided war.

Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was a "radical" Republican, with an anti-capitalist agenda (anti-corporate capitalism, at least--he was famous and popular with the people as "the trust buster"). Given the necessity of working with Congress, i suspect that Bryan would not have had a much different effect in 1897-1905 than Roosevelt had in 1901-1909.

So, basically, i don't think much would have changed.

One thing does occur to me, and that is the career of Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. He campaigned against Bryan as a dangerous radical. I doubt that he'd have gotten a job from Bryan. McKinely made Roosevelt the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, with an understanding that in the event of war with Spain, Roosevelt could resign and would recieve a commission in the army. War with Spain was seen as that inevitable, despite McKinley's sincere efforts to avoid it.

Roosevelt became a war hero, and though he was not for long in harm's way, his personal, physical courage is not to be disputed, here is the Medal of Honor citation which he received:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to Lt. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, United States Army, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Roosevelt distinguished himself by acts of bravery on 1 July, 1898, near Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, while leading a daring charge up San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt, in total disregard for his personal safety, and accompanied by only four or five men, led a desperate and gallant charge up San Juan Hill, encouraging his troops to continue the assault through withering enemy fire over open countryside. Facing the enemy's heavy fire, he displayed extraordinary bravery throughout the charge, and was the first to reach the enemy trenches, where he quickly killed one of the enemy with his pistol, allowing his men to continue the assault. His leadership and valor turned the tide in the Battle for San Juan Hill. Lieutenant Colonel Roosevelt's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

This was crucial--Roosevelt became Governor of New York as a result, and that was to the despair of Boss Platt, the head of the New York Republican Party. Platt therefore worked hard to get the Vice Presidential nomination for Roosevelt in 1900, to get him out of the New York Governor's Mansion. Roosevelt became President in September, 1901, when McKinley was shot by an anarchist, and died of his wound. Roosevelt proved to be just about the most popular President in American history, saving only Washington. But he was the despair of the Republican Party leadership, who would never have wanted him to run for the highest office on his own credentials and with his own policies. Without the war with Spain, and the part he played because of his position in McKinley's administration, Roosevelt would likely never have entered the White House.

nimh, That's an interesting question. Just a brief part of W.J.B's speech:

Bryan's "Cross of Gold" Speech: Mesmerizing the Masses
The most famous speech in American political history was delivered by William Jennings Bryan on July 9, 1896, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The issue was whether to endorse the free coinage of silver at a ratio of silver to gold of 16 to 1. (This inflationary measure would have increased the amount of money in circulation and aided cash-poor and debt-burdened farmers.) After speeches on the subject by several U.S. Senators, Bryan rose to speak. The thirty-six-year-old former Congressman from Nebraska aspired to be the Democratic nominee for president, and he had been skillfully, but quietly, building support for himself among the delegates. His dramatic speaking style and rhetoric roused the crowd to a frenzy. The response, wrote one reporter, "came like one great burst of artillery." Men and women screamed and waved their hats and canes. "Some," wrote another reporter, "like demented things, divested themselves of their coats and flung them high in the air." The next day the convention nominated Bryan for President on the fifth ballot. : In 1896 recording technology was in its infancy, and recording a political convention would have been impossible. But in the early 20th century, the fame of Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech led him to repeat it numerous times on the Chautauqua lecture circuit where he was an enormously popular speaker. In 1921 (25 years after the original speech), he recorded portions of the speech for Gennett Records in Richmond, Indiana. Although the recording does not capture the power and drama of the original address, it does allow us to hear Bryan delivering this famous speech.

So I think things may have been better in America, but the religious fervor, as Setanta has pointed out, would have been a handicap.

nimh, 'libertarian' might be too strong a term, I admit. The fact is that the labels of today -- libertarian, conservative, liberal etc. etc. -- do not adhere readily to 19th Century figures. And the two major political parties -- Democrats and Republicans -- were quite different entities back then. T. Roosevelt, a Republican, was in many ways much more 'liberal' than Bryan, using today's terminology. But Roosevelt was also a 'hawk', again using today's terminology.

Given the political climate of the time, I must agree with Set that Bryan's presidency would have made little or no difference in the direction the country took.

I think this discussion about Bryan has been fascinating. I read the descriptions given by Setanta and Merry Andrew carefully. They were most instructive. I am happy to see that it is allowed to comment on political personages even if they were active a hundred years ago.

Yes, I'm glad I started it, and especially appreciated Set's contributions.

Bryan's defense of a literal interpretation of Genesis as an advocate of Creationism appears to have damaged his health severly and he died shortly after the Scopes trial. Maybe some on this forum might take heed. :wink:

I don't believe Bryan ever had a chance in the political machine of the time. We will never know exactly what kind of President he would have been but I don't think I'd want to know.

Bryan polled just over six and half million votes, as compared to McKinley's slightly more than seven million. It's a bit much for you to judge Bryan based solely upon having seen Inherit the Wind, but i'm not surprised.

Sorry, didn't mean to infer that only a movie reference would lead me to judge Bryan not fit to be President. I would prefer, no matter what time in history, that someone who believed in the foolishness of the Old Testament with such fervor would not become President. It's looked to me like we have one of those right now. (I also know how you hate emoticons). I stand corrected on the loss of Bryan not being a mandate -- I had forgotten that. I guess I could be biased as I did work on Maude McKinley's house in LA restoring her art after an earthquake.

Bryan was not different from any of the politicians of his day with regard to his religious beliefs, other than the extent to which one might ascribe cynicism to this or that politician who thumped his bible. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. considered him a dangerous radical, and campaigned vigorously against him. Roosevelt was raised in the Dutch Reformed Chruch tradition of his family, and was a sincere believer in Christianity. Whatever side of an issue one took in those times, one was likely to find the outspoken promoters of that position to be religiously devout, and usually genuinely so. Bryan's religious devotion was an asset to his campaign, as well.

McKinley was a Methodist (!) and did desire that Christianity be spread around the world (I guess like butter).

LW,

The "Inherit the Wind" character is only a caricature. Both the play and movie are overly dramatic.

You can find actual trial transcripts on the exchanges between Bryan and Darrow on the internet. The transcripts are far less dramatic than "Inherit the Wind".

Bryan died several weeks after the trial. He got sick after eating too much at a church picnic (true story).

Great story about old Bill McKinley. After MacArthur had landed in the Philippines (Arthur MacArthur, the daddy of Douglas), reporters crowded around McKinley to ask him what his plans were in the Philippines. One of the things he mentioned was that Americans would bring Christianity to the benighted natives of that land.

Reporter: But, Mr. President, the Philippinos are Catholic.

McKinely: Exactly.

Well, of course, I was being facetious about Bryan dying from a belief in Creationism (the purpose of the emoticons). Maybe he got sick eating his own words.

The play and the movie "Inherit the Wind" dramatized a rather dull court proceeding but the subject matter had become even more relevant. As depicted in the film and for its purposes, it's visceral statement about bias against evolution is still effective.