Campaign Trail Results: Game #613893
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Adlai Stevenson
- Difficulty Level: Impossible
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- henryandalden
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 367 | 8,583,644 | 61.38 |
| ---- John Palmer | 64 | 1,586,941 | 11.35 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 16 | 3,813,732 | 27.27 |
Answers:
- Which of the following most closely matches your overall campaign message?I am 100% committed to the coinage of silver. It's important however, that we strike a moderate tone on other issues to expand our appeal as widely as we can.
- 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.
- 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's keep the tour as short as possible. I will take a train to San Francisco and deliver a few speeches in that city, but will not tour the entire coast. - 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. - Critics have said that you wrap yourself in religious imagery too much for a presidential candidate. What is your response? I'm not sure what kind of Christianity the Republicans adhere to, but it is of dubious merit in guiding our government.
- 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?We need to focus more on Indiana and Michigan. Iowa should already be in the bag for us.
- 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.
- 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?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?We need to reaffirm our commitment to non-intervention in business affairs. Companies need stability before they will have the confidence to expand.
- 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?It is my dream to see a Prohibition Amendment passed before I die.
- Do you think coinage of silver would have a positive effect on industrial workers? Or conversely, how would they benefit from the continuance of the gold standard?The gold standard will support a business recovery, and it will enhance the value of wages. At the end of the day, it is business that creates the jobs, and we must be sure that business is healthy again in America.
- 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 Confederate veterans be included in the federal Civil War pension system?I will not support a program that delivers pension funds to the very men who rebelled against our Constitution. I hope this is the last time I ever have to answer this question.
- Would you support a program to compensate workers who are injured on the job? Is this a proper responsibility of the federal government?It is the responsibility of the worker to put aside such funds as are necessary to protect them from these events. This is why we have mutual aid societies in place.
- Some labor leaders have called for regulation standardizing a ten or even an eight hour workday. Do you support these calls?I do not see the authority for regulating this under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. This is something that individual states would need to investigate.
- Some people have suggested implementing a minimum wage, under which people may not be employed. Do you think this would help increase wages or would it simply put more men out of work?This policy is economically unviable. It is also yet another "solution" to our problems which I deem to be unconstitutional.
- Would you support federal "Blue Laws" to protect the sanctity of Sunday?I don't support the mandated closing of shops on Sunday.
- Do you think that there should be federal oversight of the New York and Chicago trading markets?The New York Stock Exchange is a private company providing liquidity to other companies. The last thing our fragile economy needs is some hare-brained intervention in this process.
- 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?The federal government has every right to issue interest bearing bonds. Of course, under a solvent Administration there would be no cause for doing so. This whole episode reflects more poorly on the performance of President Cleveland than it does on any great legal issue.
- 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.
- Is it generally appropriate for federal courts to issue injunctions against striking unions?The Pullman Strike of 1894 disrupted half of the nation's rail traffic and threatened to throw our society into complete turmoil. A small group of radicals should never have the power to disrupt the lives of millions.
- 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?Indiana has always been the critical swing state. Let's spend most of our time there while also crossing over into Illinois and Kentucky.