Campaign Trail Results: Game #1062035
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Horace Boies
- Difficulty Level: Hard
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- purestkiwi2
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 244 | 6,938,978 | 49.06 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 203 | 7,065,225 | 49.95 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 140,800 | 1.00 |
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.
- Can you respond to rumors that you would seek to abolish the Supreme Court if elected, due to their recent decisions on the income tax and antitrust issues?8 years of a William Jennings Bryan presidency will leave the Court in much better shape to address our nation's problems.
- 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?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.
- 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)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.
- The respectable city newspapers are unanimously pro-McKinley. As such, William Randolph Hearst senses that supporting you would be a terrific business opportunity.
Can you reassure him that there are limits to your pacifist ideals, particularly in regards to Cuba?I cannot support the exploitation of foreign peoples in good conscience. The Bible states that thou shalt not kill, and that is my position as well. - Without compromising on the silver issue, what can you say about McKinley to Bourbon Democrats to try and bring them back into the fold?McKinley will run a radical pro-monopolist Administration that should frighten any ordinary American.
- 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?In limited areas where we have new industries forming, tariffs can be higher. They should be low on most products.
- 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.
- 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?This is yet another example of how corrupt special interests use a pliant Congress to further their own concerns. Tariffs should be low for all commodities and wares.
- The federal deficit has recently increased after two decades of steady decline. What are your thoughts on this?Overall the deficit is still low. Furthermore, if we allow the free coinage of silver the amount of our deficit will decrease commensurably as our currency inflates.
- Do you believe that workers should have the right to bargain collectively?This right should be as fundamental as any other right in a free economy. There will only be justice in this country when there is justice for the working class.
- 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.
- Do you believe that immigrant labor is undermining the American worker? Should there be some restrictions put into place on immigration?We accept any European who is able to read and write. America will always serve as a place where the oppressed masses can find a new hope.
- Would you support the abolition of tribal governments in Oklahoma, as a precondition for that territory to obtain statehood?I support the alternative solution to this issue. There should be two states in the Indian Territory -- one for the whites (Oklahoma) and one for the Indians (Sequoyah), whereby the latter one preserves Indian sovereignty.
- 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 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.
- 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.