Campaign Trail Results: Game #1446116
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Claude Matthews
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 232 | 6,876,804 | 49.18 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 215 | 6,967,792 | 49.83 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 139,373 | 1.00 |
Answers:
- Which of the following most closely matches your overall campaign message?We support the free coinage of silver priced at a 16-to-1 ratio against gold. The results will aid farmers and workers of all classes and contribute to an American renewal.
- What do you have to say about William McKinley's campaign, at a high level?McKinley's insistence on the gold standard has alienated many prominent Republicans from his own party, such as Henry Teller.
- 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?Let's not waste our time in a hostile state. We must sow our seed upon the good earth where it will multiply. - 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. - Horace Boies, the former Governor of Iowa, will be making a big speech tomorrow to capitalize on the crowds at the State Fair. Will you make the overnight trip to Iowa in time to deliver a concluding address to the farmers there?Absolutely. I would be honored to give this speech.
- 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.
- Do you have any comments to make about the candidacy of John Palmer, a Gold Democrat and splinter candidate who is currently campaigning?Good riddance. On the issue of silver coinage, you are either with us or you're with the industrialists. Palmer has shown his cards.
- John Palmer, a Gold Democrat, is also running against Bryan. He has offered to remove his name from the ballot on the East and West Coast if you will do the same in the South. He argues that this will consolidate the anti-Bryan vote. What do you think?Absolutely not. Can you imagine how it would look if we removed ourselves from the ticket in any state? And for an old man like Palmer?
- 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?It's not the job of government to regulate labor disputes, but the fact of the matter is that these strikers were allowing no rail traffic to pass through Chicago whatsoever. Something needed to be done.
- What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?These measures are a step in the right direction. Nothing destroys so many lives in this country as does the pernicious habit of drinking alcohol.
- What are your thoughts on the Cleveland Administration in general?Cleveland did some good things and some bad things. I'm disappointed that he's not supporting the silver Democrats, but let's not overlook his achievements on lowering tariffs and on cleaning up the government.
- 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.
- The Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act of 1894 lowered the rates on many goods, while still falling well short of Cleveland's ideal levels. What do you think about this act as a whole?We would also like to move a little more in the direction of lower tariffs, but overall this is a good law.
- What do you say to the notion that high tariffs hurt farmers?The answer here is obvious. High tariffs force farmers to purchase overpriced equipment and do nothing to increase crop prices.
- What is your interpretation of the antitrust statutes? Do large American business profit from monopolistic practices?I take a very narrow view of the term "monopoly". There is a need for these statutes but they open up a lot of danger for political witch hunts.
- 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.
- Would you support a program to compensate workers who are injured on the job? Is this a proper responsibility of the federal government?This is more properly a state responsibility. It is outside the scope of the federal government to regulate working conditions in this manner.
- Will you work towards international agreements to create a monetary system based on "bimetallism", i.e. a combination of gold and silver?This would be a worthwhile arrangement for the laboring classes across the civilized world. When I'm elected, however, we will allow the free coinage of silver regardless of what agreements are or aren't in place.
- Do you think that there should be federal oversight of the New York and Chicago trading markets?It was stock market and railroad company chicanery which caused the Panic of 1893. Sensible regulation of this process could have saved us all a lot of trouble.
- 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.
- 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 focus on Iowa and the Dakotas. My presence can swing those states.