Our website may have some collections that include images that are in the public domain, not protected by copyright or where the copyright ownership is unknown. As yet, no one at the convention had effectively spoken for that cause, which was paramount to the delegates. [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]. ; B. [1], Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. He does use the word gold in a religious allusion, but it's given quite a different meaning. For twenty years, Americans had been bitterly divided over the nation's monetary standard. You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold. The speech so electrified the convention that the delegates nominated Bryan as their candidate for president, though he was only 36 years old and his experience as an officeholder was limited to two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. The response, wrote one reporter, came like one great burst of artillery. Men and women screamed and waved their hats and canes. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. 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The man who is employed for wages is as much a businessman as his employer. It was not unconstitutional when it went before the Supreme Court for the first time. As Hill moved to the podium, a reporter friend passed Bryan a note urging him to make a patriotic speech without hint of sectionalism; Bryan responded, "You will not be disappointed. I deny it. [68] He denied, however that the contest was personal; he bore no ill-will towards those who supported the gold standard. The full text of William Jenning Bryans famous Cross of Gold speech appears below. The warmest ties of love and acquaintance and association have been disregarded. But in the early 20th century, the fame of Bryans Cross of Gold speech led him to repeat it numerous times on the Chautauqua lecture circuit where he was an enormously popular speaker. Full text and audio version of "Cross of Gold" at History Matters. Can you find the other strategies in his speech? 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. [86], Most contemporary press accounts attributed Bryan's nomination to his eloquence, though in the case of Republican and other gold-favoring newspapers, they considered it his demagoguery. We reply that when we advocate a thing which we believe will be successful we are not compelled to raise a doubt as to our own sincerity by trying to show what we will do if we are wrong. my friends, we say not one word against those who live upon the Atlantic Coast; but those hardy pioneers who braved all the dangers of the wilderness, who have made the desert to blossom as the rosethose pioneers away out there, rearing their children near to natures heart, where they can mingle their voices with the voices of the birdsout there where they have erected schoolhouses for the education of their children and churches where they praise their Creator, and the cemeteries where sleep the ashes of their deadare as deserving of the consideration of this party as any people in this country. The speech was given at the Democratic National Convention, so the audience was pledged delegates from the 50 states of the US so that . 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. The Democratic Party wanted to create more upward mobility for people. We say in our platform that we believe that the right to coin money and issue money is a function of government. You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. "And I needed it for the speech I was to make." [Note on the recording: In 1896 recording technology was in its infancy, and recording a political convention would have been impossible. [2] On April 2, 1792, Congress passed the Mint Act of 1792. "[60] Bensel noted, "The pump was more than primed, it was ready to explode. Bryan, a former Democratic congressman from Nebraska, gained his party's presidential nomination in July of that year after electrifying the Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech. Other delegations, seeing that Bryan would be nominated, also switched, securing the victory. [91] He received many letters from supporters, expressing their faith in him in stark terms. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at the cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day, who begins in spring and toils all summer, and who by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of the country creates wealth, is as much a business man as the man who goes upon the Board of Trade and bets upon the price of grain; the miners who go down a thousand feet into the earth, or climb two thousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. ; William Jennings Bryan was a leading member of the Democratic party who ran for President several times. They are also most often funny. [52] Although Tillman endorsed silver, his address was so laced with sectionalism that most silver delegates remained silent for fear of being seen as supporting him. Bryan made a speech called "Cross of Gold", which had a strong reaction with the audience and included religious imagery. Question 9 30 seconds Q. Vilas gave a lengthy defense of the Cleveland administration's policies, so long that Russell, fearing that Vilas' speech would cut into his time, asked that the time given to the gold proponents be extended by ten minutes. 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. Such bills, sponsored by Bland, passed the House of Representatives in 1876 and 1877, but both times failed in the Senate. We beg no longer; we entreat no more; we petition no more. Bryan begins. Image No. In January 1791, at the request of Congress, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton issued a report on the currency. [3], In the early 19th century, the economic disruption caused by the Napoleonic Wars caused United States gold coins to be worth more as bullion than as money, and they vanished from circulation. 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. The platform would symbolize the repudiation of Cleveland and his policies after the insurgents' long struggle, and Bryan was determined to close the debate on the platform. Gold Democrats were successful in a few states in the Northeast, but had little luck elsewhere. William Jennings Bryan and the Cross of Gold Speech - US 101 - YouTube In 1896, former Nebraska Congressman William Jennings Bryan became the Democratic nominee for President by delivering. Students will be engaged by analyzing this speech, a political cartoon, and being able to critically think . Speakers in some states cursed Cleveland; the South Carolina convention denounced him. Ah, my friends. Political cartoons historically and currently play a significant role in public discourse about serious and important issues. 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.]. Angered by Cleveland's actions in the labor dispute, and by his uncompromising stand against silver, Altgeld began to organize Democrats against Cleveland's renomination in 1896. Both men spoke to hundreds of thousands of people from their chosen venues. [40], The only gold man who put together any sort of campaign for the Democratic nomination was Treasury Secretary John G. Carlisle, but he withdrew in April, stating that he was more concerned about the platform of the party than who would lead it. 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. The image that is selected for the analysis is from the pre-1856 epoch of US history, and it represents the imagination of the political and social life as it was imagined by artists. That will give you criticisms. He did for Rome what Jackson did when he destroyed the bank conspiracy and saved America. [1], Bryan later described the silence as "really painful" and momentarily thought he had failed. At the time, Bryan was a former member of Congress from Nebraska who had been working tirelessly to build support for his candidacy. 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