Campaign Trail Results: Game #674483
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:
- forafountain
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 386 | 8,439,246 | 60.63 |
| ---- John Palmer | 45 | 1,048,824 | 7.54 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 16 | 4,430,354 | 31.83 |
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.
- 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?Let's not waste our time in a hostile state. We must sow our seed upon the good earth where it will multiply. - 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?On many industrial issues, such as the Pullman Strike and his pardon of the Haymarket anarchists, Altgeld is too radical. I would prefer not to appear with him.
- 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?Boies's time has passed. We need to avoid appearing with such radical politicians and cultivate the moderate wing of the party.
- 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.
- You are making a big speech in Chicago today. What points will you touch on?I will speak to the general issues of the future -- free silver, higher wages, worker's rights, an end to child labor, and women's suffrage.
- 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?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.
- 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?My goal as President is to ensure that 100% of sugar consumed in the United States is made in the United States.
- Should there be greater regulation or even price controls on railroad shipping rates?I doubt that it is even Constitutional for the federal government to control railroad rates. This will never happen in my Administration.
- 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.
- 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?This is just another sad chapter in the fiscal mismanagement of the veterans' pensions. The best we can do now is to remain vigilant for the day when these pensions are universally offered to all aged veterans.
- 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)A good man named Eugene Debs was thrown in prison due to the overreach of President Cleveland.
- 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.
- What are your views on the Darwinian theory of Evolution?I agree with the concept of 'survival of the fittest'. It is the destiny of the strong to expand at the expense of the weak.
- Would you support the abolition of tribal governments in Oklahoma, as a precondition for that territory to obtain statehood?I support the alternative solution to this issue. There should be two states in the Indian Territory -- one for the whites (Oklahoma) and one for the Indians (Sequoyah), whereby the latter one preserves Indian sovereignty.
- Do you think that the United States Navy is large enough to adequately defend American interests on a global level?I am disappointed with the backward status of our Navy. We need a more vigorous fleet, and we need a canal in Nicaragua to more closely link our two coasts.
- 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 increase tariffs to stimulate American business.
- 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.