Campaign Trail Results: Game #1128261
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Horace Boies
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 318 | 7,487,227 | 54.02 |
| ---- William McKinley | 129 | 6,248,791 | 45.09 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 123,626 | 0.89 |
Answers:
- Which of the following most closely matches your overall campaign message?Silver coinage is just one part of my platform. Let's not forget the struggles of the urban worker in his efforts to unionize and obtain fair wages.
- What do you have to say about William McKinley's campaign, at a high level?McKinley is a fanatical defender of an obsolete monetary system. He is a front-man for big business and the New York financiers.
- The novelty of a personal visit from the "Great Commoner" could probably swing the West Coast states in your direction. However, it will take two weeks to travel and return via train.
Will you divert your attention from the Midwest long enough to visit California, Oregon, and Washington?There is no time for that diversion. Heaven knows what rumors McKinley will spread while I am gone, and winning the Midwest should be our primary focus. - You have very little chance of winning New York this fall, and nearly all of that city's newspapers are anti-Bryan. That doesn't mean you couldn't draw a frenzied crowd in New York City.
Perhaps the media attention would be beneficial in building excitement for your campaign on a national scale?New York is a traditional Democratic stronghold, and I'm confident that the people of that state will support my message. We will campaign there extensively. - You have alluded to the need for less prejudice between the races. Senator "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman, of South Carolina, privately seeks your clarification.
Can you reassure him that the federal government will respect the rights of the states under your Administration?We will respect the rights of the states. I call for greater understanding, but certainly not for an overthrow of the natural order. - Governor Altgeld of Illinois has proposed that you appear with him in Chicago for a couple of big speeches. Later on he would appear with you in southern Illinois to solidify his support with rural voters. What do you think of this idea?This sounds like a good idea. Farmers and other laborers need to be unified this fall if we're to have a chance of beating McKinley.
- What do you think of leaving the Midwest for a week and making a circuit of the crucial upper South states? (i.e. Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky)We need to keep it simple. Our primary goal in this campaign is to win the critical states of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.
- Even though Ohio is William McKinley's home state, it is also more competitive than any state further to the east. There is also a good mix of farmers and industrial workers. Will you go to Ohio on this campaign?I will not avoid Ohio. It is a big state and we have a real chance to win it this November.
- Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?I support the free, unlimited coinage of silver at a fixed price ratio of 16-to-1 against gold.
- What is your definitive position on the tariff issue?Tariffs should be limited to the minimum amount necessary to raise sufficient revenue for the federal government.
- The United States is in the midst of a financial calamity, with masses of unemployed men on the streets. What will you do to revive business in this country?The Democratic idea has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. We need to help our farmers and our workers by allowing the coinage of silver.
- Grover Cleveland sent federal troops to Illinois to end the Pullman Strike without the request of Governor Altgeld. Was this an overreach on his part?Governor Altgeld was working to mediate the dispute between the Pullman Company and the strikers when Cleveland interfered. There should have absolutely been more time given for these sides to reach an accommodation.
- What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?Perhaps if our goal is to prevent drinking on Sunday, or public drunkenness, I am all for those measures. But a blanket temperance law is a different story.
- Do you think coinage of silver would have a positive effect on industrial workers? Or conversely, how would they benefit from the continuance of the gold standard?The free coinage of silver will lead to increased business activity, which will increase wages and reduce idleness.
- Does the success of the tin-plate industry within the U.S. prove that protectionism stimulates industry?I'm glad for the men who produce tin for a living, but we need to consider the overall effect of this policy. I don't have a glib answer for you at this point.
- Should Confederate veterans be included in the federal Civil War pension system?There's just one problem with this idea -- Confederate veterans will never accept money from the Federal government. Since they deem this idea to be an exercise in humiliation, I am left with no choice but to oppose it myself.
- Should there be some regulation of working hours for children, particularly those under the age of 12 or 13?I believe this is warranted in the industrial trades. Let us not forget that all hands are needed on the farm, not least of all in this day and age.
- In Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Co. the Supreme Court ruled that a 2% income tax contained in the Wilson-Gorman Tariff was unconstitutional. Would you support a Constitutional Amendment allowing the federal government to collect an income tax? I would like to see an income tax, but since that idea has been ruled unconstitutional, we will have to explore other solutions (besides increased tariffs) for our revenue problem.
- In general, is the Supreme Court too obstructionist in their rulings on economic issues? Would you appoint judges who would bring a new perspective to these issues?It is not my place as a politician, running for a position in the Executive Branch, to comment on the performance of the Court.
- Do you think that the United States Navy is large enough to adequately defend American interests on a global level?The Navy is more than adequate to meet our current needs, and will remain so as long as imperialist Republicans avoid intervening in Cuba or Hawaii.
- Jacob Coxey's protests fell on deaf ears in 1894. With so many men out of work, is there any role for a public works program that would keep them occupied until business improves?This is absolutely the wrong solution to our business downturn. We must allow the free coinage of silver to reduce the burden of our debts.
- Do you approve of Grover Cleveland's handing of the federal budget over the previous four years?Is there anyone left in the United States who approves of Grover Cleveland? We need to move on from his failed Administration.
- Are you pleased with the recent defeat in Congress of the Pacific Railroad Funding Bill, which would have provided federal support to the Southern and Central Pacific railroads.For all of their talk about small government, the Republicans are quite adept at funneling public money to the railroads. I only support that practice when there is a clear rationale, and in this case the rationale was corruption.
- Do you believe that the federal government should monitor and improve important waterways in the interests of commerce, such as the Mississippi River?Internal areas of the country have the same rights to use our waterways as the coastal regions. Making the Mississippi more navigable and more flood-resistant could prove to be an economic windfall.
- There is one week left until election day. Every state is important, but where will you give an extra push with your personal campaigning to swing the final results?Let's make one last general tour of the Midwest. Starting in Ohio, we will travel west and end in North Dakota, before moving down to Nebraska on Election Day.