| 1896 presidential election | |
  Nominees Bryan and Sewall | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | July 7–11, 1896 |
| City | Chicago,Illinois |
| Venue | Chicago Coliseum |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | William J. Bryan ofNebraska |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Arthur Sewall ofMaine |
| ‹ 1892 · 1900 › | |
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The1896 Democratic National Convention, held at theChicago Coliseum from July 7 to July 11, was the scene ofWilliam Jennings Bryan's nomination as theDemocratic presidential candidate for the1896 U.S. presidential election.
At age 36, Bryan was the youngest presidential nominee inAmerican history, only one year older than the constitutional minimum. Bryan's keynote"Cross of Gold" address, delivered prior to his nomination, lambasted Eastern monied classes for supporting thegold standard at the expense of the average worker. This was a repudiation ofCleveland administration's policy, but proved popular with the delegates to the convention.
Bryan secured the nomination on the fifth ballot overRichard P. Bland. Bryan declined to choose a Democratic vice presidential nominee, leaving the choice to his fellow delegates.Arthur Sewall of Maine was nominated on the fifth ballot. Bryan and Sewall ultimately lost to theRepublican candidates,William McKinley andGarret Hobart.
For three years the nation had been mired in adeep economic depression, marked by low prices, low profits, high unemployment, and violent strikes. Economic issues, especially silver or gold for the money supply, and tariffs, were central. PresidentGrover Cleveland, aBourbon Democrat was pro-business and a staunch supporter of conservative measures such as thegold standard; he was strongest in the Northeast. Opposed to him were theagrarian andsilver factions based in the South and West, which had been empowered after thePanic of 1893.[1]
A two-thirds vote was required for the Democratic Party nomination and at the convention the silverites just barely had it despite the extreme regional polarization of the delegates. In a test vote on an anti-silver measure, the Eastern states (from Maryland to Maine), with 28% of the delegates voted 96% for gold. The delegates from the rest of the country voted 91% against gold, so the silverites controlled 67% of the delegates.[2]
Bryan was a talented orator. He gave speeches, organized meetings, and adopted resounding resolutions that eventually culminated in the founding of theAmerican Bimetallic League, which then evolved into the National Bimetallic Union, and finally the National Silver Committee.[3] At the time many inflationist farmers believed that by increasing the amount of currency in circulation, the crops they grew would receive higher prices. They were opposed by banks and bond holders who feared inflation, and by urban workers who feared inflation would further erode their purchasing power. The ultimate goal of the League was to garner support on a national level for the reinstatement of the coinage of silver.[4]
With others, he made certain that the Democratic platform reflected the now strengthening spirit of the silverites. With his support, Charles H. Jones, of theSt Louis Post-Dispatch, was put on the platform committee and Bryan's plank for free silver was adopted sixteen to one and silently added to the Chicago Democratic Platform, in order to avoid controversy.[5] As a minority member of the resolutions committee, Bryan was able to push the Democratic Party from its laissez-faire andsmall government roots towards its modern, interventionist character. Through these measures, the public and influential Democrats became convinced of his capacity to lead and bring change, resulting in his being mentioned as a possible chairman for the Chicago convention. Bryan delivered speeches across the country for free silver from 1894 to 1896, building a grass-roots reputation as a powerful champion of the cause.
At the 1896 convention, Bryan lambasted Eastern moneyed classes for supporting thegold standard at the expense of the average worker. His"Cross of Gold" speech made him the sensational new face in the Democratic party. At the start of the convention, former Missouri CongressmanRichard P. Bland, a strong supporter ofbimetallism, was viewed as the favorite.[6] However, Bland was strongly opposed by many in the South, in part because his wife and daughter wereCatholics.[6] Some bimetallist supporters tried to draft Republican SenatorHenry M. Teller of Colorado, but his candidacy never got off the ground.[7]
Several state delegations, mostly from the Northeast, supported the gold standard and refused to take part in the nomination process.[7] Many conservative Democrats looked to former SenatorDavid B. Hill of New York or GovernorWilliam Russell of Massachusetts for leadership, but Russell was in poor health and Hill did not gain support for a presidential bid.[8] Eight names were placed in nomination: Richard P. Bland, William J. Bryan,Claude Matthews,Horace Boies,Joseph Blackburn,John R. McLean,Robert E. Pattison, andSylvester Pennoyer. The only major candidate that did support the gold standard was former Pennsylvania Governor Pattison.[7] After five ballots, Bryan triumphed over Bland and Pattison.[7] Bryan was also nominated for president by thePopulist Party and theSilver Republican Party.
| Presidential Ballot | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | UN | |
| Bryan | 137 | 197 | 219 | 280 | 652 | 930 |
| Bland | 235 | 281 | 291 | 241 | 11 | 0 |
| Pattison | 97 | 100 | 97 | 97 | 95 | 0 |
| Blackburn | 82 | 41 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| Boies | 67 | 37 | 36 | 33 | 0 | 0 |
| McLean | 54 | 53 | 54 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
| Matthews | 37 | 34 | 34 | 36 | 0 | 0 |
| Tillman | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Stevenson | 6 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 0 |
| Pennoyer | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teller | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Russell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hill | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Campbell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Turpie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Blank | 178 | 160 | 162 | 161 | 162 | 0 |
After the selection of Bryan, the convention turned its attention to picking a running mate.[7] Newspaper publisherJohn Roll McLean of Ohio was viewed as a possible candidate, in part because his fortune could help fund the ticket.[7] Former RepresentativeGeorge F. Williams of Massachusetts, businessmanArthur Sewall of Maine, and former Attorney GeneralAugustus Hill Garland of Arkansas were all mentioned as possible candidates.[7]
Eight names were placed in nomination: Arthur Sewall, John R. McLean,Joseph C. Sibley, George F. Williams,Walter Clark,J. Hamilton Lewis,George W. Fithian, and Sylvester Pennoyer.[9] After being placed in nomination, McLean, Sibley, and Fithian made it known to the convention that they were not candidates for the vice presidency. Sewall ultimately received the nomination on the fifth ballot. ThePopulist Party and theSilver Republican Party also both nominated Bryan for president, but the Populists nominated former Georgia RepresentativeThomas E. Watson instead of Sewell.
| Vice Presidential Ballot | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | UN | |
| Sewall | 100 | 37 | 97 | 261 | 568 | 930 |
| McLean | 111 | 158 | 210 | 298 | 32 | 0 |
| Bland | 62 | 294 | 255 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sibley | 163 | 113 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G.F. Williams | 76 | 16 | 15 | 9 | 9 | 0 |
| Daniel | 11 | 0 | 6 | 54 | 36 | 0 |
| Clark | 50 | 22 | 22 | 46 | 22 | 0 |
| J. Williams | 22 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harrity | 19 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| Blackburn | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boies | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lewis | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pattison | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Fithian | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Teller | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| White | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Blank | 260 | 255 | 255 | 250 | 251 | 0 |
| Preceded by 1892 Chicago, Illinois | Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1900 Kansas City, Missouri |