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William Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold
In 1896, William Jennings Bryan gave a speech that changed the US forever.
Democrats had always claimed to be the party of America’s poor majority, the common (white) man: farmers, urban workers, and immigrants. Its founders — Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson — assumed the wealthy would always dominate politics, abusing government power to exploit the impoverished majority. Thus, they believed the best way to protect the people was to keep taxes low and government small, weak, and passive.
Bryan’s dynamic speech at the 1896 Democratic Convention steered the party and the country in a new direction. He believed the impoverished majority had the votes to end the political domination of monied elites, that a powerful, activist government could reverse the exploitation of the many by the few, ensuring economic justice. His vision set the agenda for Progressives for the next two decades, has guided Democratic platforms since the New Deal, and has influenced Republican policies since the 1950s.
America’s Gilded Age Economic Crisis
Understanding Bryan’s speech requires some historical context.
