Campaign Trail Results: Game #750817
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Claude Matthews
- Difficulty Level: Easy
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 345 | 7,383,624 | 53.16 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 75 | 5,709,185 | 41.11 |
| ---- John Palmer | 27 | 795,470 | 5.73 |
Answers:
- 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 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?Let us bring our message to the citizens of the Pacific Coast. Winning these three states could swing the entire election. - 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. - 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. - 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.
- You are making a big speech in Chicago today. What points will you touch on?Let's hit on the issue of tariffs. These voters need to be reminded that tariffs increase the cost of farm equipment and other manufactured goods.
- In an unusual move, the Populist Party has supported you for President while nominating their own running-mate. The man is Thomas Watson of Georgia -- a known radical. What do you have to say about this bizarre situation? If they can get a Bryan-Watson ticket on the ballot, good for them. We will sort this issue out after we win the election in November.
- John Palmer, a Gold Democrat, is also running against Bryan. He has offered to remove his name from the ballot on the East and West Coast if you will do the same in the South. He argues that this will consolidate the anti-Bryan vote. What do you think?If Palmer will remove himself from the ballot in Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, then I will give him free reign in the Deep South.
- 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?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?It's time we think about implementing a series of public works projects to occupy our excess labor force. This will improve business by placing more money in the hands of consumers.
- 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?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?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.
- Should Confederate veterans be included in the federal Civil War pension system?It's time that the two halves of our country fully reconciled. Confederate veterans should be helped as much as Union veterans.
- 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.
- The federal deficit has recently increased after two decades of steady decline. What are your thoughts on this?There would be no increase in the deficit if the Supreme Court hadn't overturned the income tax.
- Should there be some regulation of working hours for children, particularly those under the age of 12 or 13?I believe this is warranted in the industrial trades. Let us not forget that all hands are needed on the farm, not least of all in this day and age.
- 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?There are individuals in this country working for less than a dollar a day. Only through desperation would a man ever consent to such an arrangement.
- 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?I am firmly opposed to the goals of the Sherman Antitrust Act. I'm glad that the Supreme Court also sees through this attempt at government overreach.
- Would you support federal "Blue Laws" to protect the sanctity of Sunday?This debate has no place in our system of federalism. The individual states have every right to decide how they wish to handle the issue of commerce and drinking on Sunday.
- 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?Of course the government has a right to do this. Whether it is advisable or whether President Cleveland negotiated a good interest rate is another debate.
- 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 focus on Iowa and the Dakotas. My presence can swing those states.