Campaign Trail Results: Game #730870
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Horace Boies
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- DanielGochnour
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 232 | 6,696,592 | 48.27 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 215 | 7,042,459 | 50.77 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 132,953 | 0.96 |
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 is a fanatical defender of an obsolete monetary system. He is a front-man for big business and the New York financiers.
- 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. - Critics have said that you wrap yourself in religious imagery too much for a presidential candidate. What is your response? The word of the Lord demands that we give our attention to the poor, the sick, and the feeble. This campaign is not about me -- I am a mere servant of Christ.
- 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.
- Do you have any comments to make about the candidacy of John Palmer, a Gold Democrat and splinter candidate who is currently campaigning?It's a shame that Grover Cleveland allowed his supporters to bolt the party the moment it became clear their faction had lost this year's nomination.
- 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?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?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.
- 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?We would also like to move a little more in the direction of lower tariffs, but overall this is a good law.
- Should Confederate veterans be included in the federal Civil War pension system?There's just one problem with this idea -- Confederate veterans will never accept money from the Federal government. Since they deem this idea to be an exercise in humiliation, I am left with no choice but to oppose it myself.
- 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?One can never be sure when the inspiration of love will strike. Widows' pensions should be protected unconditionally.
- What is your position on the struggle for independence in Cuba?We extend our sympathies to the people of Cuba in their struggle for independence from Spain.
- A few western states have allowed women the right to vote. Do you take the calls for a women's suffrage Amendment seriously?We welcome the support of women and men. Where women are granted the vote, we are confident that they will support our ticket.
- Would you support the abolition of tribal governments in Oklahoma, as a precondition for that territory to obtain statehood?We have only spent the last ninety years chasing these tribes all over the southern half of our country. I will allow Oklahoma to become a state, but only those parts that are not currently allocated to the Indian tribes.
- Would you support federal "Blue Laws" to protect the sanctity of Sunday?At the very least, a federal law prohibiting the sale of alcohol of Sunday seems appropriate.
- 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.
- Do you think that the United States Navy is large enough to adequately defend American interests on a global level?The Navy is more than adequate to meet our current needs, and will remain so as long as imperialist Republicans avoid intervening in Cuba or Hawaii.
- 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?I'm sure that Mr. Coxey is a well-intentioned citizen, but I see no constitutional authority for implementing a federal public works program.
- 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.For all of their talk about small government, the Republicans are quite adept at funneling public money to the railroads. I only support that practice when there is a clear rationale, and in this case the rationale was corruption.
- 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.