Campaign Trail Results: Game #757109

This Game:

  • Year: 1896
  • Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
  • Running Mate: Horace Boies
  • Difficulty Level: Normal
  • Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
  • Game Played:
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View overall results, or a specific state:
CandidateElectoral VotesPopular VotesPop. Vote %
---- William Jennings Bryan2417,120,46350.97
---- William McKinley2066,716,60448.08
---- John Palmer0132,2830.95

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's support of high tariffs is a crime which strangles American commerce. Similar protectionist programs have twice been rejected by American voters in the past ten years alone.
  • 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?

    I will give one big speech in New York City to open my campaign. Even if winning that state is hopeless, we need the national press.
  • Critics have said that you wrap yourself in religious imagery too much for a presidential candidate. What is your response?
    The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • In an unusual move, the Populist Party has supported you for President while nominating their own running-mate. The man is Thomas Watson of Georgia -- a known radical. What do you have to say about this bizarre situation?
    We have chosen our running mate and our ticket is set. I don't know what they are trying to accomplish.
  • 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?
    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.
  • Grover Cleveland led the push to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1894. What are your thoughts on his actions during that period?
    I support the coinage of silver, and this action was a step in the wrong direction. It took money out of the system when we needed it the most, and is partly to blame for the depth of our current downturn.
  • Would you ever consider government ownership of the railroads?
    The government provided the land that these railroads were built upon. When the railroads gouge the consumer in turn, the government has every right to take ownership of them.
  • The Dependent Pension Act of 1890 greatly expended the the pension system for Union Army veterans. What are your thoughts on this act?
    Off the record, this expansion is ridiculous, but I will hem and haw in public. My chances of being elected would evaporate if I spoke out against Union Army pensions.
  • A few western states have allowed women the right to vote. Do you take the calls for a women's suffrage Amendment seriously?
    We welcome the support of women and men. Where women are granted the vote, we are confident that they will support our ticket.
  • 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?
    There are individuals in this country working for less than a dollar a day. Only through desperation would a man ever consent to such an arrangement.
  • 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.
  • Should corporations be permitted to hire private detectives for security, and to infiltrate into labor movements?
    This is another sad attempt to crush the spirit of the working man. It's difficult to distinguish between Pinkertons and vigilantes during some of these repression actions.
  • Do you believe that the federal government has any right to issue interest-bearing bonds, such as those sold to J.P. Morgan in 1895?
    The moneychangers of the temple duped (or bribed) Grover Cleveland into issuing gold bonds. While the rest of the country suffered in indignation, bankers like J.P. Morgan and the Rothschilds made off with millions.
  • 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 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.