Campaign Trail Results: Game #1249107
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Arthur Sewall
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 355 | 7,232,321 | 51.88 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 47 | 5,902,386 | 42.34 |
| ---- John Palmer | 45 | 805,009 | 5.77 |
Answers:
- Which of the following most closely matches your overall campaign message?We will focus on free-silver and especially on the issues affecting farmers. We will seek a reduction in private debts and an end to the monopolistic practices of the railroads. We will also fight for the lowest possible tariffs.
- 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. - 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?Perhaps there is a misunderstanding. I will defend labor unions, fight against the temperance movements, and ensure adequate patronage jobs for New York Democrats. All I ask in return is that they deliver New York to the ticket.
- 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. - 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?Altgeld is free to appear with me at any event, but I will not rearrange my entire schedule to suit his needs.
- 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.
- Do you have any comments to make about the candidacy of John Palmer, a Gold Democrat and splinter candidate who is currently campaigning?Good riddance. On the issue of silver coinage, you are either with us or you're with the industrialists. Palmer has shown his cards.
- 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?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?These measures are a step in the right direction. Nothing destroys so many lives in this country as does the pernicious habit of drinking alcohol.
- 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.
- What do you say to the notion that high tariffs hurt farmers?The answer here is obvious. High tariffs force farmers to purchase overpriced equipment and do nothing to increase crop prices.
- Should Confederate veterans be included in the federal Civil War pension system?It's time that the two halves of our country fully reconciled. Confederate veterans should be helped as much as Union veterans.
- Should there be some regulation of working hours for children, particularly those under the age of 12 or 13?It agonizes me that we do not have this protection in place. Have we not seen children who are seven years old losing their hands in the cotton looms?
- Would you support an Amendment to the Constitution allowing the people to vote for their Senators directly?The current system for selecting Senators is unimaginably corrupt. State legislatures have every incentive to select the most corrupt, retrograde candidate for the job.
- What are your thoughts on the Women's Christian Temperance Union? Is this group a positive force in American life?The WCTU is one of the most spiritually uplifting, morally righteous groups in our society. I pray that the Lord will see fit to guide them to success in their mission.
- 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?This decision undermines our antitrust legislation and speeds our descent into oligarchy. It must be rectified with an Amendment.
- Will you work towards international agreements to create a monetary system based on "bimetallism", i.e. a combination of gold and silver?This is something we should work for to reform the monetary supply. That being said, the United States should not unilaterally leave the gold standard until we have some agreement in place.
- Jacob Coxey's protests fell on deaf ears in 1894. With so many men out of work, is there any role for a public works program that would keep them occupied until business improves?This is absolutely the wrong solution to our business downturn. We must allow the free coinage of silver to reduce the burden of our debts.
- 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.