Campaign Trail Results: Game #725217

This Game:

  • Year: 1896
  • Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
  • Running Mate: Arthur Sewall
  • Difficulty Level: Normal
  • Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
  • Game Played:
  • thebensheppard
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View overall results, or a specific state:
CandidateElectoral VotesPopular VotesPop. Vote %
---- William Jennings Bryan3047,300,39752.54
---- William McKinley1436,469,95546.56
---- John Palmer0125,6280.90

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?
    McKinley's insistence on the gold standard has alienated many prominent Republicans from his own party, such as Henry Teller.
  • 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?

    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.
  • New York politics are dominated by a highly corrupt, patronage-based outfit known as Tammany Hall. Their boss, Richard Croker, has so far been indifferent to your campaign. Are you willing to make concessions to arouse his enthusiasm?
    I'm sure that Croker is concerned about the patronage positions his men will receive. Patronage jobs for New York men will be plentiful in my administration.
  • 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?

    We will respect the rights of the states. I call for greater understanding, but certainly not for an overthrow of the natural order.
  • 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?
    This sounds like a good idea. Farmers and other laborers need to be unified this fall if we're to have a chance of beating McKinley.
  • 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.
  • Without compromising on the silver issue, what can you say about McKinley to Bourbon Democrats to try and bring them back into the fold?
    With the new perspectives I bring, I will be in a unique position to ensure clean, honest government at the federal level. McKinley, on the other hand, is a Republican hack who will continue the status quo.
  • Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?
    I support the free, unlimited coinage of silver at the current market price of 30-to-1 against gold. This ratio should be frequently adjusted to match actual prices in order to avoid another run on the Treasury's gold supply.
  • 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?
    It's not the job of government to regulate labor disputes, but the fact of the matter is that these strikers were allowing no rail traffic to pass through Chicago whatsoever. Something needed to be done.
  • 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?
    I support the coinage of silver, and this action was a step in the wrong direction. It took money out of the system when we needed it the most, and is partly to blame for the depth of our current downturn.
  • What is your interpretation of the antitrust statutes? Do large American business profit from monopolistic practices?
    I take a very narrow view of the term "monopoly". There is a need for these statutes but they open up a lot of danger for political witch hunts.
  • Should there be greater regulation or even price controls on railroad shipping rates?
    I will examine this issue very carefully. If government has helped to finance some of these railroads, it's only fair for government to have a say in their operations.
  • Do you believe that workers should have the right to bargain collectively?
    This right should be as fundamental as any other right in a free economy. There will only be justice in this country when there is justice for the working class.
  • 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)
    We should have found other methods to end this strike besides legal chicanery.
  • Would you support the abolition of tribal governments in Oklahoma, as a precondition for that territory to obtain statehood?
    Oklahoma must be admitted as a single state. The Indian tribal systems and bureaus are an obstacle to this goal, and they must be disbanded.
  • Do you agree with the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate accommodations for the races can be legally required by certain states?
    I will repeat my firmly held conviction that we should not politicize the decisions of the Supreme Court.
  • Do you think that there should be federal oversight of the New York and Chicago trading markets?
    It was stock market and railroad company chicanery which caused the Panic of 1893. Sensible regulation of this process could have saved us all a lot of trouble.
  • Should the federal government make an effort to build a canal through Nicaragua to more efficiently link trade in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?
    This could be a fantastic method of creating work for our idle workers. What better way is there to implement a massive public works project?
  • 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 make one last general tour of the Midwest. Starting in Ohio, we will travel west and end in North Dakota, before moving down to Nebraska on Election Day.