Campaign Trail Results: Game #725605
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Arthur Sewall
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- BryanEricson
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 287 | 7,327,321 | 52.44 |
| ---- William McKinley | 160 | 6,518,283 | 46.65 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 128,253 | 0.92 |
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.
- 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?This is an unfounded rumor that the McKinley campaign has disseminated to discredit my candidacy.
- 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. - 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. - 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.
- 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?William Randolph Hearst knows my opinions and he is free to endorse me or not endorse me. I will not cater to his whims. - Can you state your definitive position on the American monetary system?I support the free, unlimited coinage of silver at a fixed price ratio of 16-to-1 against gold.
- What is your definitive position on the tariff issue?Tariffs should be limited to the minimum amount necessary to raise sufficient revenue for the federal government.
- 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?Cleveland's incompetence is entirely responsible for the downturn we are suffering from right now. He has squandered our budget surplus and slashed our tariffs to the bone.
- 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?Absolutely it will. When farmers are made whole again, their prosperity will work its way up to all of the classes which they support.
- 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?This is yet another example of how corrupt special interests use a pliant Congress to further their own concerns. Tariffs should be low for all commodities and wares.
- What do you say to the notion that high tariffs hurt farmers?The answer here is obvious. High tariffs force farmers to purchase overpriced equipment and do nothing to increase crop prices.
- Should there be greater regulation or even price controls on railroad shipping rates?Railroads gouge hardworking American farmers year after year, while giving preferred rates to large companies. I won't allow it.
- The federal deficit has recently increased after two decades of steady decline. What are your thoughts on this?Overall the deficit is still low. Furthermore, if we allow the free coinage of silver the amount of our deficit will decrease commensurably as our currency inflates.
- 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.
- What are your thoughts on the Women's Christian Temperance Union? Is this group a positive force in American life?The WCTU is one of the most spiritually uplifting, morally righteous groups in our society. I pray that the Lord will see fit to guide them to success in their mission.
- 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.
- Will you work towards international agreements to create a monetary system based on "bimetallism", i.e. a combination of gold and silver?This would be a worthwhile arrangement for the laboring classes across the civilized world. When I'm elected, however, we will allow the free coinage of silver regardless of what agreements are or aren't in place.
- 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.I was opposed to this bill. We might have provided land grants and funding for railroads in the past, but that practice will end under my Administration.
- 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.