Campaign Trail Results: Game #1152185

This Game:

  • Year: 1896
  • Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
  • Running Mate: Arthur Sewall
  • Difficulty Level: Impossible
  • Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
  • Game Played:
  • amoaratty
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View overall results, or a specific state:
CandidateElectoral VotesPopular VotesPop. Vote %
---- William McKinley3678,508,36060.59
---- John Palmer641,684,37411.99
---- William Jennings Bryan163,849,66327.41

Answers:

  • What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?
    I am a proud "wet" in the alcohol debate. What a man drinks is no one's business but his own.
  • Which of the following most closely matches your overall campaign message?
    We will focus on free-silver and especially on the issues affecting farmers. We will seek a reduction in private debts and an end to the monopolistic practices of the railroads. We will also fight for the lowest possible tariffs.
  • What do you have to say about William McKinley's campaign, at a high level?
    We may have our disagreements, but William McKinley is an honorable man. Our campaign will focus on the issues, not on the opponent.
  • 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?

    Let's keep the tour as short as possible. I will take a train to San Francisco and deliver a few speeches in that city, but will not tour the entire coast.
  • 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?

    There has been a deafening silence for many years on the issue of equal rights in the South. It's time we had a true enforcement of the 14th and 15th Amendment.
  • 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)
    It's a shame that we need to even campaign in these beacons of the South. But if we have to, let us do it with effluence.
  • You are making a big speech in Chicago today. What points will you touch on?
    I will make my standard stump speech highlighting the dangers of the gold standard and advocating for free silver.
  • Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?
    I support the free, unlimited coinage of silver at the current market price of 30-to-1 against gold. This ratio should be frequently adjusted to match actual prices in order to avoid another run on the Treasury's gold supply.
  • What is your definitive position on the tariff issue?
    We need high tariffs on a variety of products and commodities to stimulate American manufacturing.
  • 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?
    I can't stress this enough. The most important thing we can do right now is increase our tariffs to protect American business.
  • 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?
    Bargaining for wages is the business of a man and his employer. Collective bargaining has no place in American society, and I commend Grover Cleveland for having the courage to act decisively.
  • 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 gold standard will support a business recovery, and it will enhance the value of wages. At the end of the day, it is business that creates the jobs, and we must be sure that business is healthy again in America.
  • What do you have to say about the efforts of the "Sugar Trust" to shield itself from the effects of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act?
    My goal as President is to ensure that 100% of sugar consumed in the United States is made in the United States.
  • The Dependent Pension Act of 1890 greatly expended the the pension system for Union Army veterans. What are your thoughts on this act?
    These are men who served honorably in our nation's greatest time of need. I will never allow agitators to attack their honorably granted pensions.
  • Should Confederate veterans be included in the federal Civil War pension system?
    It's time that the two halves of our country fully reconciled. Confederate veterans should be helped as much as Union veterans.
  • Some people have suggested implementing a minimum wage, under which people may not be employed. Do you think this would help increase wages or would it simply put more men out of work?
    This policy is economically unviable. It is also yet another "solution" to our problems which I deem to be unconstitutional.
  • What are your views on the Darwinian theory of Evolution?
    I agree with the concept of 'survival of the fittest'. It is the destiny of the strong to expand at the expense of the weak.
  • Would you support the abolition of tribal governments in Oklahoma, as a precondition for that territory to obtain statehood?
    We have only spent the last ninety years chasing these tribes all over the southern half of our country. I will allow Oklahoma to become a state, but only those parts that are not currently allocated to the Indian tribes.
  • 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?
    Good for the Supreme Court for taking a firm, principled stand on this issue. Increased tariffs will be more than sufficient to cover the funding needs of our federal government.
  • 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?
    If we could manage it, I would increase the number of justices on the Court so that we can dissipate the influence of the reactionaries presently in control there.
  • Do you agree with the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate accommodations for the races can be legally required by certain states?
    This decision will provide the legal cover needed to plunge the South into a new generation of moral darkness.
  • Do you approve of Grover Cleveland's handing of the federal budget over the previous four years?
    Grover Cleveland is a citizen of integrity who has done his best under trying circumstances. He was simply found to be not up to the job.
  • 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 spend the entire week in Illinois. That is the largest state that we have a chance to win.