Campaign Trail Results: Game #55799
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Claude Matthews
- 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 | 379 | 8,006,265 | 57.25 |
| ---- John Palmer | 52 | 1,482,854 | 10.60 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 16 | 4,494,797 | 32.14 |
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?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 us bring our message to the citizens of the Pacific Coast. Winning these three states could swing the entire election. - 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. - 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. - 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.
- Even though Ohio is William McKinley's home state, it is also more competitive than any state further to the east. There is also a good mix of farmers and industrial workers. Will you go to Ohio on this campaign?I will not avoid Ohio. It is a big state and we have a real chance to win it this November.
- 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?New York and California are important states, and of course I support the uplift of primitive peoples with American influence. What's not to like in this arrangement? - Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?Limited silver coinage is a good compromise. I support a program like that of Bland-Allison where the government purchases around $2 million of silver each month.
- 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 are your thoughts on the Cleveland Administration in general?Everyone agrees that Grover Cleveland is an honorable man. Our issue is with the results of his policies. Cleveland is deeply unpopular right now for a reason, and that is because his Administration caused a panic.
- 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?
- A few western states have allowed women the right to vote. Do you take the calls for a women's suffrage Amendment seriously?I would support such an Amendment if it gained traction within our system. I'm just sorry to see that the chances seem unlikely.
- Would you support an Amendment to the Constitution allowing the people to vote for their Senators directly?I neither support, nor do I oppose this idea for an Amendment. My job as President will be to enforce the law as it stands.
- Some labor leaders have called for regulation standardizing a ten or even an eight hour workday. Do you support these calls?Not only would this greatly improve working conditions for Americans, it would increase employment by spreading our working hours amongst more people.
- Do you think that the United States Navy is large enough to adequately defend American interests on a global level?The Navy is more than adequate to meet our current needs, and will remain so as long as imperialist Republicans avoid intervening in Cuba or Hawaii.
- 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.It is my firm position that we need to nationalize the railroads of this country. Their power has stood beyond reproach for too long.
- Will you press for your party to include a condemnation of lynching in the party platform?I abhor any instance where extra-judicial punishment is meted out by the passions of an inflamed mob. My party will speak out against this practice in our platform.
- 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 spend the entire week in Illinois. That is the largest state that we have a chance to win.