Campaign Trail Results: Game #770169

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This Game:

  • Year: 1896
  • Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
  • Running Mate: Adlai Stevenson
  • Difficulty Level: Easy
  • Winner Take All Mode?: No
  • Game Played:
  • james970097
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View overall results, or a specific state:
CandidateElectoral VotesPopular VotesPop. Vote %
---- William McKinley2397,475,16453.51
---- William Jennings Bryan1334,899,67435.08
---- John Palmer751,593,58611.41

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?
    The Supreme Court has consistently stood in the way of progress by implementing an overly narrow interpretation of the Constitution. I support drastic measures to reduce its influence.
  • 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?
    I am a moderate who supports the free coinage of silver. I am not a radical as so many claim. It is McKinley's antiquated insistence on the gold standard that is truly radical.
  • 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.
  • 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?
    I am disappointed with the half measures taken in this act. If Senators were directly elected by the people, they would be less beholden to the types of financial interests who wrote their own tariffs into this law.
  • 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?
    Railroads gouge hardworking American farmers year after year, while giving preferred rates to large companies. I won't allow it.
  • Should there be some regulation of working hours for children, particularly those under the age of 12 or 13?
    It agonizes me that we do not have this protection in place. Have we not seen children who are seven years old losing their hands in the cotton looms?
  • 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.
  • 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?
    This decision undermines our antitrust legislation and speeds our descent into oligarchy. It must be rectified with an Amendment.
  • 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 agree with the Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate accommodations for the races can be legally required by certain states?
    This decision will provide the legal cover needed to plunge the South into a new generation of moral darkness.
  • 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?
    The moneychangers of the temple duped (or bribed) Grover Cleveland into issuing gold bonds. While the rest of the country suffered in indignation, bankers like J.P. Morgan and the Rothschilds made off with millions.
  • 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.
  • Do you approve of Grover Cleveland's handing of the federal budget over the previous four years?
    Grover Cleveland has vetoed more pieces of legislation than any President in our history, increased our deficit, and still found a way to provide J.P. Morgan with a financial windfall from the public purse.
  • 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.
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