Campaign Trail Results: Game #815564
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Horace Boies
- 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 | 232 | 6,743,706 | 48.53 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 215 | 7,021,251 | 50.53 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 131,098 | 0.94 |
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's insistence on the gold standard has alienated many prominent Republicans from his own party, such as Henry Teller.
- 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. - 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?Limited silver coinage is a good compromise. I support a program like that of Bland-Allison where the government purchases around $2 million of silver each month.
- What is your definitive position on the tariff issue?Where we have mature, stable industries, tariffs can be lower. They should be high 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?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?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.
- Do you think that the calls for "free silver" represent a boondoggle for western mining interests? If such a program is put into place, regardless of your overall views on the silver question, should there be measures to make sure mining companies don't benefit disproportionately?The mining companies will not benefit any more or less than the American public will benefit from the free coinage of silver.
- The Dependent Pension Act of 1890 greatly expended the the pension system for Union Army veterans. What are your thoughts on this act?These are men who served honorably in our nation's greatest time of need. I will never allow agitators to attack their honorably granted pensions.
- 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.
- 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.
- Was it an appropriate intervention of the federal government to attach U.S. mail cars to Pullman trains during the strike in 1894? (Thereby making it a federal crime to interfere with the passage of these cars)The Democrats have always been the party of states' rights. I was a little surprised to see Cleveland intervene in this case.
- What are your views on the Darwinian theory of Evolution?Evolution teaches disregard for the security and dignity of our fellow man. Left unchecked this 'survival of the fittest' mentality will eventually cause indifference to life itself, from which only calamity can ensue.
- 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 don't know if an Amendment is the best choice in this situation. As President I will appoint judges with a more reasonable view of the Constitution.
- 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?I will repeat my firmly held conviction that we should not politicize the decisions of the Supreme Court.
- Should corporations be permitted to hire private detectives for security, and to infiltrate into labor movements?I don't see who has the authority to stop this. This is another example of regulation that would fall outside of the scope of the Commerce Clause in the Constitution.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.