Campaign Trail Results: Game #1191938
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William McKinley
- Running Mate: Garret Hobart
- 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 | 264 | 7,133,908 | 51.31 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 183 | 6,624,153 | 47.65 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 144,893 | 1.04 |
Answers:
- Which of the following will be your primary campaign message?My campaign will reach out to workers across the American spectrum, while Bryan's policies will leave them defenseless against foreign competition and will debase their wages.
- What points do you wish to touch upon as you accept the Republican nomination? A written transcript will be transmitted to voters across the country.I appreciate the faith of the American people and consult always with the Lord before I make my decisions. I will run a moderate, sensible agenda that appeals to the broad majority.
- Bryan's nomination has electrified the western voter, and he is now planning to campaign on the rails, six days a week. Will you break precedent as well and make a speaking tour of the nation?There's no way I can compete with Bryan's oratorical talents. Instead, I will receive groups of visitors at my home in Canton, Ohio. We have the financing to pay for these visits, and anyone who shows up will receive a free sandwich while I deliver a speech.
- You have the support of the important newspapers, and they are willing to accept your guidance on the proper campaign message. What do you want them to print?I can't attack Bryan like the papers can without losing some of my luster. Let them publish the defamatory cartoons and opinion pieces.
- The "lily-white" faction of the Republican Party claims that they can make your ticket competitive in some Southern states. Are you willing to make a statement of support?We have already promised patronage jobs to the black-and-tans for their support of my nomination. It will look bad all around if I go back on my word.
- The West Coast is a very competitive region. Can you make the case for Republican policies there, particularly in those places such as San Francisco which rely on foreign trade?One of my highest priorities in office will be a canal through Nicaragua, which will greatly enhance our national trade. Democrats lack the ambition for such far-reaching projects.
- John Rockefeller is concerned about the possible effects of the Sherman Antitrust Act, passed in 1890. It seems that certain rabble-rousers believe this law should be used to break up Standard Oil. Can you reassure him that you will take a narrow interpretation of this law in your Administration?Rockefeller knows my positions well. I feel as if it would be unbecoming to give him personal assurances, however. I work for all of the American people.
- Some of the border states (Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky) are very close this year. Do you have a strategy to make these states jump to the Republican side?As a Civil War veteran, I am uniquely positioned to preach a message of sectional unity and Americanism. These states must know that we have allowed bygones to be bygones.
- Will you send campaigners to Nebraska, in an attempt to deliver an embarrassing defeat to Bryan, or should those resources be focused on South Dakota, Wyoming, and Iowa?That's not a good idea. Let's be realistic and devote our efforts to the states that matter.
- Word has it that at one of Bryan's nighttime revivals, the torches were arranged to cast a halo around his head. Do you think this kind of religious imagery is appropriate for a presidential candidate?There are far more important issues for us to be focused on than the arrangement of some torches.
- The railroads have agreed to transport any interested voters to Canton, Ohio to meet you at a cut-rate cost. Of course, they only ask that you maintain the traditional Republican policy of amity and good-will towards their business practices. Are you willing to make this commitment?As President, I will ensure that new projects are adequately funded for these essential businesses. Their dominance will continue for another century.
- There is one week left until election day. Every state is important, but where will you give an extra push with what is left of your financial resources to educate the American voters?Let's continue to focus on the Midwest. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, etc.
- 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?Bargaining for wages is the business of a man and his employer. Collective bargaining has no place in American society, and I commend Grover Cleveland for having the courage to act decisively.
- 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.
- 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?My first action as President will be to reinstate higher tariffs. This is an American policy that supports American factories and American workers.
- Should there be some regulation of working hours for children, particularly those under the age of 12 or 13?It falls outside the scope of the Constitution for the federal government to regulate the working conditions within a factory. This is not something that the President has control over.
- 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.
- What is your opinion on the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by the Dole group? Do you support the annexation of Hawaii into the United States?These men are Americans and they are attempting to bring badly-needed order to the islands of Hawaii. If managed properly, an annexation will allow us to enjoy the benefits of Hawaii's innumerable sugar plantations. These islands are also a perfect location for a naval base.
- In United States v. E.C. Knight and Co. the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government cannot regulate manufacturing monopolies under the Commerce Clause. Would you support an Amendment to the Constitution to overturn this ruling?The Supreme Court has made their decision, and we must abide by it.
- 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?Of course the government has a right to do this. Whether it is advisable or whether President Cleveland negotiated a good interest rate is another debate.
- 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.Without federal support including loans and land grants, there are certain railroads which would simply be too large to construct with private capital. I was disappointed by the defeat of this bill.
- Will you press for your party to include a condemnation of lynching in the party platform?This isn't an issue worth addressing. It will please no one and offend everyone, at least within our party's rank-and-file.