Campaign Trail Results: Game #700831

This Game:

  • Year: 1896
  • Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
  • Running Mate: Arthur Sewall
  • Difficulty Level: Impossible
  • Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
  • Game Played:
  • dancook84
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View overall results, or a specific state:
CandidateElectoral VotesPopular VotesPop. Vote %
---- William McKinley3868,506,88361.01
---- John Palmer451,055,7247.57
---- William Jennings Bryan164,381,35531.42

Answers:

  • What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?
    I am a proud "wet" in the alcohol debate. What a man drinks is no one's business but his own.
  • 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?

    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?
    The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error.
  • 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)
    We need to keep it simple. Our primary goal in this campaign is to win the critical states of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.
  • 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?
    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 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.
  • What is your position on the struggle for independence in Cuba?
    As President, I will do whatever it takes to defend the sovereignty of the Cuban people from the tyrants of Spain. America remains resolute in the principles of the Monroe Doctrine.
  • Do you believe that workers should have the right to bargain collectively?
    Collective bargaining coerces workers into joining unions. Every man has a right to work under the conditions agreed to between him and his employer.
  • A few western states have allowed women the right to vote. Do you take the calls for a women's suffrage Amendment seriously?
    I think there are more important issues for us to be focusing our efforts on. Extending the suffrage to women carries with it a whole host of dangers.
  • 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.
  • 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?
    The Supreme Court has made their decision, and we must abide by it.
  • In general, is the Supreme Court too obstructionist in their rulings on economic issues? Would you appoint judges who would bring a new perspective to these issues?
    If we could manage it, I would increase the number of justices on the Court so that we can dissipate the influence of the reactionaries presently in control there.
  • 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 moneychangers of the temple duped (or bribed) Grover Cleveland into issuing gold bonds. While the rest of the country suffered in indignation, bankers like J.P. Morgan and the Rothschilds made off with millions.
  • Do you believe that the federal government should monitor and improve important waterways in the interests of commerce, such as the Mississippi River?
    This is another costly project that promises very little return on our investment.
  • Should the federal government make an effort to build a canal through Nicaragua to more efficiently link trade in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?
    Am I understand that we will be sending thousands of men to dig through the hills of Nicaragua on this pipe dream of a project? Allow me to predict that there will never be a canal in that country.
  • 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.