Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English. In the eighteen nineties, the American people were deeply divided over the nation's money system. Should the United States support its currency with gold or with gold and silver? This question became the main issue in the presidential election of eighteen ninety-six. This week in our series, Kay Gallant and Harry Monroe tell the story of that election. Many Americans wanted a gold standard. They said the United States should support its money only with gold. A gold standard, they said, would keep the value of the dollar high. These people were called "gold bugs." Most were businessmen, bankers, and investors. Many people believed the depression would end if the government issued more paper money backed by silver. McKinley was, in fact, nominated on the first ballot at the Republican convention in St. Louis, Missouri. The Democratic Party held its nominating convention in Chicago, Illinois. The most likely candidate was Congressman Richard Bland of Missouri. A majority of convention delegates, however, were silverites. And they expected to nominate a silverite candidate. Supporters of President Cleveland wanted to test the silverites' strength. They demanded a debate on the gold-silver issue. Several men spoke in support of President Cleveland and the gold standard. Several spoke in support of silver. The last to speak was Congressman William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska. He had led an unsuccessful fight in Congress to keep America using silver. Bryan spoke emotionally during the convention debate. He said he represented America's farmers, laborers, and small businessmen who wanted a silver standard. Bryan ended his speech with a line that became famous during the campaign. It called to mind the torture and death of Jesus Christ. Bryan said gold supporters could not force their money system on silver supporters. "You shall not," he said, "crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." With those words, William Jennings Bryan won the nomination away from Congressman Bland. He would be the Democrats' presidential candidate. He was just thirty-six years old. There was a great difference in the way the two presidential candidates campaigned. William McKinley refused to travel. Instead of going to the voters, he let the voters come to him. And they did. Railroad companies supported McKinley. They ran special trains to his home in Ohio. The trip was free. Each trip was the same. A band met the train and marched with the group to McKinley's home. McKinley came outside to hear a statement of support from the leader of the group. Then he made a short speech and shook hands. The group left and another one came. On one day of the campaign, McKinley met thirty groups this way. That was more than eighty thousand people. While McKinley stayed at home, William Jennings Bryan travelled. He visited twenty-seven states and spoke to five million people. Bryan explained that he had to travel, because the Democratic Party did not have enough money to campaign in other ways. Bryan spent six hundred fifty-thousand dollars on his campaign. McKinley spent three-and-a-half-million dollars. Bryan's main campaign idea was that the gold standard would ruin America's economy. McKinley's main campaign idea was that silver money would ruin the economy. For a time, Bryan's campaign seemed to be succeeding. More and more people promised to support him. Then, in the final weeks before election day, the situation began to change. The depressed economy showed signs of improving. The price of wheat rose for the first time in several years. Perhaps, people said, it was wrong to blame gold for the depression. Perhaps, they said, the ideas of William Jennings Bryan were wrong. On election day, it was soon clear who had won. McKinley received two hundred seventy electoral votes. Bryan received one hundred seventy-six. McKinley's election seemed to give new life to the American economy. Within a month, a business publication reported that buying and selling had increased greatly. It said demand for goods had led to the re-opening of factories closed during the depression. At the same time, new supplies of gold were discovered in Alaska, Australia, and South Africa. The extra gold increased the supply of money in the same way silver would have increased it. Taxes on imported goods rose to almost sixty percent. Under this protective tariff, American industry grew fast. The depression ended. The economic depression of the eighteen nineties forced Americans to worry first about developments at home. But there were a number of international developments then which involved the United States. That will be our story next week.

• published: 12 Jul 2013
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