Campaign Trail Results: Game #1168044
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Henry Teller
- Difficulty Level: Impossible
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 386 | 8,581,488 | 61.59 |
| ---- John Palmer | 45 | 1,073,729 | 7.71 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 16 | 4,278,725 | 30.71 |
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?We may have our disagreements, but William McKinley is an honorable man. Our campaign will focus on the issues, not on the opponent.
- 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?The Supreme Court has consistently stood in the way of progress by implementing an overly narrow interpretation of the Constitution. I support drastic measures to reduce its influence.
- 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?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. - New York politics are dominated by a highly corrupt, patronage-based outfit known as Tammany Hall. Their boss, Richard Croker, has so far been indifferent to your campaign. Are you willing to make concessions to arouse his enthusiasm?I'm sure that Croker is concerned about the patronage positions his men will receive. Patronage jobs for New York men will be plentiful in my administration.
- 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. - 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 am a moderate who supports the free coinage of silver. I am not a radical as so many claim. It is McKinley's antiquated insistence on the gold standard that is truly radical.
- Without compromising on the silver issue, what can you say about McKinley to Bourbon Democrats to try and bring them back into the fold?We can all agree that the growth in the deficit is concerning. I will fight for an income tax Amendment that will allow us to close this gap without increasing tariffs.
- 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? If they can get a Bryan-Watson ticket on the ballot, good for them. We will sort this issue out after we win the election in November.
- Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?I support a strict adherence to the gold standard, which is fundamental to American prosperity.
- 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?This was the act of a tyrant. Pullman was engaged in abominable business practices, and in the darkest hour Cleveland cast his lot with the company over the working man.
- What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?It is my dream to see a Prohibition Amendment passed before I die.
- What do you say to the notion that high tariffs hurt farmers?High tariffs protect American industry and increase the purchasing power of the consumer. Free silver would throw this system into chaos and even hurt the farmer in the long-term.
- What is your position on Rural Free Delivery of the mail, signed into law earlier this year by Grover Cleveland? Is this an acceptable strain to place on the finances of the Post Office?This policy will hurt the small storeowner and serves as yet another example of wasteful government spending. We should be looking to reduce the deficit -- not to add new programs.
- The federal deficit has recently increased after two decades of steady decline. What are your thoughts on this?Once we reinstitute our tariffs, this deficit will disappear. Best of all, the lion's share of these taxes will be paid by foreign merchants.
- What are your thoughts on the Women's Christian Temperance Union? Is this group a positive force in American life?This group is Exhibit A in the dangers of allowing women to become politically active. They are engaged in a naive quest to purify American life from an imagined evil.
- Was it an appropriate intervention of the federal government to attach U.S. mail cars to Pullman trains during the strike in 1894? (Thereby making it a federal crime to interfere with the passage of these cars)A good man named Eugene Debs was thrown in prison due to the overreach of President Cleveland.
- Do you believe that America has a duty to civilize the lesser nations of the earth?Where possible, we should certainly allow other places in the world to benefit from a knowledge of our political and economic systems.
- Would you support federal "Blue Laws" to protect the sanctity of Sunday?This debate has no place in our system of federalism. The individual states have every right to decide how they wish to handle the issue of commerce and drinking on Sunday.
- Do you think that there should be federal oversight of the New York and Chicago trading markets?There has already been considerable reform of the stock markets since the dangerous days of the 1860s. There's no need to take this idea any further.
- 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.