In a test vote on an anti-silver measure, the Eastern states (from Maryland to Maine), with 28% of the delegates, voted 96% in favor. A two-thirds vote was required for the nomination and the silverites had it in spite of the extreme regional polarization of the delegates. ![]() This left the convention wide open: there was no obvious successor to Cleveland. The convention repudiated Cleveland's gold standard policies and Cleveland himself. Most of the Southern and Western delegates were committed to implementing the Populist Party's "free silver" ideas. One month after McKinley's nomination, supporters of silver-backed currency took control of the Democratic convention, held in Chicago on July 7–11. McKinley was the last veteran of the American Civil War to be nominated for president by either major party. He raised $3.5 million for the campaign and outspent the Democrats by an estimated 5-to-1 margin. With many businessmen and bankers terrified of Bryan's populist rhetoric and demand for the end of the gold standard, Hanna had little difficulty raising record amounts of money. ![]() McKinley's campaign manager, the wealthy and talented Ohio businessman Mark Hanna, visited the leaders of large corporations and major, influential banks after the Republican Convention to raise funds for the campaign. Both candidates were easily nominated on first ballots. McKinley had just vacated the office of governor of Ohio. Louis, Missouri, held between June 16 and 18, 1896, the Republicans nominated William McKinley for president and New Jersey's Garret Hobart for vice president. Nominations Republican Party nomination Īt their convention in St. The Democratic Party's repudiation of its Bourbon faction largely gave Bryan and his supporters control of the party until the 1920s, and set the stage for Republican domination of the Fourth Party System. Turnout was very high, passing 90% of the eligible voters in many places. Bryan won 46.7% of the popular vote and Palmer just under 1%. At the end of an intensely heated contest, McKinley won a majority of the popular and electoral vote. His moralistic rhetoric and crusade for inflation (to be generated by the institution of bimetallism) alienated conservatives.īryan campaigned vigorously throughout the swing states of the Midwest, while McKinley conducted a "front porch" campaign. Bryan was strongest in the South, rural Midwest, and Rocky Mountain states. Silver, he said, was in ample supply and if coined into money would restore prosperity while undermining the illicit power of the money trust. Bryan presented his campaign as a crusade of the working man against the rich, who impoverished America by limiting the money supply. Republican campaign manager Mark Hanna pioneered many modern campaign techniques, facilitated by a $3.5 million budget. He was strongest in cities and in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and Pacific Coast. McKinley forged a conservative coalition in which businessmen, professionals, prosperous farmers, and skilled factory workers turned off by Bryan's agrarian policies were heavily represented. Economic issues, especially tariff policy and the question of whether the gold standard should be preserved for the money supply, were central issues. Since the onset of the Panic of 1893, the nation had been mired in a deep economic depression, marked by low prices, low profits, high unemployment, and violent strikes. ![]() McKinley prevailed by a wide margin on the first ballot at the 1896 Republican National Convention. In opposition to Bryan, some conservative Bourbon Democrats formed the National Democratic Party and nominated Senator John M. Bryan then won the nomination of the Populist Party, which had won several states in 1892 and shared many of Bryan's policies. The 1896 Democratic National Convention repudiated the Cleveland administration and nominated Bryan on the fifth presidential ballot. An attorney and former congressman, Bryan galvanized support with his Cross of Gold speech, which called for reform of the monetary system and attacked business leaders as the cause of ongoing economic depression. Incumbent Democratic President Grover Cleveland did not seek election to a second consecutive term (which would have been his third overall), leaving the Democratic nomination open. The 1896 campaign, which took place during an economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, was a political realignment that ended the old Third Party System and began the Fourth Party System. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican nominee, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee. The 1896 United States presidential election was the 28th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1896. ![]() Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. Red denotes those won by McKinley/Hobart, blue denotes states won by Bryan/Sewall and the Democratic/Populist ticket of Bryan/Watson.
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