Campaign Trail Results: Game #762412
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Arthur Sewall
- Difficulty Level: Impossible
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 232 | 6,747,801 | 48.22 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 215 | 7,111,203 | 50.82 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 134,909 | 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'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?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? I'm not sure what kind of Christianity the Republicans adhere to, but it is of dubious merit in guiding our government.
- 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.
- 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?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.
- 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 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.
- What is your interpretation of the antitrust statutes? Do large American business profit from monopolistic practices?When I am President, you will finally have someone who takes our antitrust legislation seriously. I will break up monopolistic banks and railroads in places where they stifle competition.
- 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.
- What is your position on Rural Free Delivery of the mail, signed into law earlier this year by Grover Cleveland? Is this an acceptable strain to place on the finances of the Post Office?It's a shame that this policy wasn't implemented decades ago. For too long, rural Americans have been forced to travel up to thirty miles to retrieve the mail they are entitled to.
- Would you support an Amendment to the Constitution allowing the people to vote for their Senators directly?The current system for selecting Senators is unimaginably corrupt. State legislatures have every incentive to select the most corrupt, retrograde candidate for the job.
- 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?Absolutely. I will appoint sensible, assertive judges as President. The purpose of the Court is not to simply overturn half of the laws passed by Congress, on picayune Constitutional objections.
- 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.
- 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?This is absolutely the wrong solution to our business downturn. We must allow the free coinage of silver to reduce the burden of our debts.
- 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.
- Will you press for your party to include a condemnation of lynching in the party platform?This isn't an issue worth addressing. It will please no one and offend everyone, at least within our party's rank-and-file.
- Do you support greater regulation on the sale and labeling of opium, cocaine, and morphine when used in patent medicines?Many patent medicine purveyors operate in a single locale, and do not cross state lines. Where appropriate, I would support regulation, but only where the Constitution allows it.
- 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 spend the entire week in Illinois. That is the largest state that we have a chance to win.
