Campaign Trail Results: Game #17529
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William McKinley
- Running Mate: Garret Hobart
- 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 | 268 | 7,058,725 | 50.73 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 179 | 6,663,865 | 47.89 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 192,055 | 1.38 |
Answers:
- Which of the following will be your primary campaign message?My administration will bring back the era of the budget surplus, and will work towards the professionalization of the federal government. We will continue to phase out the 'spoils system' in accordance with the Pendleton Act.
- 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.Democrats who believe in the gold standard are welcome in our party. We will increase tariffs, to be sure, but in a moderate way that addresses their concerns.
- 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'm not comfortable coordinating my message with the press. I trust that they will find the right way to present a contrast between me and my opponent.
- 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?Much of California's livelihood comes from gold mining. I reject any call to undermine gold through the free coinage of silver.
- 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.
- You've got a fairly clean reputation in politics. Can you leverage this to mend the rift between the party establishment and the so-called Mugwumps (who tended to support Grover Cleveland)?I support a concentrated effort to reach out this group, including the promise of some patronage positions.
- 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?We are running a 45-state strategy. I want our victory and repudiation of the silver Democrats to be as large as possible.
- Another day. Another speech from your front porch. What will it be today?Let's talk about the importance of reviving American business. Our tariff act will give them the protections they need to succeed.
- 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?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?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.
- Grover Cleveland led the push to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1894. What are your thoughts on his actions during that period?Anyone who knows me should know the answer to this question. I support the free coinage of silver at a price ratio of 16-to-1 versus gold.
- What are your thoughts on the Cleveland Administration in general?Cleveland's incompetence is entirely responsible for the downturn we are suffering from right now. He has squandered our budget surplus and slashed our tariffs to the bone.
- 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.
- 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?We should monitor this program very carefully to determine if it can be done in a cost-effective manner.
- It has been alleged that opportunistic young women have married Union Army veterans for the sole purpose of exploiting the pension system. Do you consider this to be a form of corruption? Would you implement some standards that widows must meet before they can inherit these pensions?Have you seen some of these couples? I believe if a marriage was initiated after 1880, then the pension benefits should cease upon the death of the veteran.
- A few western states have allowed women the right to vote. Do you take the calls for a women's suffrage Amendment seriously?We welcome the support of women and men. Where women are granted the vote, we are confident that they will support our ticket.
- 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)The entire city of Chicago and half of the Midwest was blocked to rail traffic. It was impossible for this fracas not to interrupt U.S. mail.
- 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?I don't know if an Amendment is the best choice in this situation. As President I will appoint judges with a more reasonable view of the Constitution.
- Will you press for your party to include a condemnation of lynching in the party platform?These types incidents will happen when the federal government's due process Amendments fail to account for the innate differences among the citizens of the South.
- Do you support greater regulation on the sale and labeling of opium, cocaine, and morphine when used in patent medicines?I'm scared to take my own medicine sometimes for fear of what might be in there. Medicines should be clearly labeled with their ingredients, so that those who wish to avoid intoxicating substances can do so.