Campaign Trail Results: Game #847876
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:
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 263 | 7,003,467 | 50.82 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 184 | 6,639,007 | 48.17 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 139,613 | 1.01 |
Answers:
- Which of the following most closely matches your overall campaign message?Silver coinage is just one part of my platform. Let's not forget the struggles of the urban worker in his efforts to unionize and obtain fair wages.
- 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?Let's not waste our time in a hostile state. We must sow our seed upon the good earth where it will multiply. - 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?Tillman and others have nothing to fear from me. It is the sacred duty of the white man to properly instruct and civilize the black man and other inferior races. Greater understanding must occur within this context. - 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)It's a shame that we need to even campaign in these beacons of the South. But if we have to, let us do it with effluence.
- 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.
- Even though Ohio is William McKinley's home state, it is also more competitive than any state further to the east. There is also a good mix of farmers and industrial workers. Will you go to Ohio on this campaign?Let's forget about winning McKinley's home state. We can't be everywhere at once.
- 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?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?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?It is my dream to see a Prohibition Amendment passed before I die.
- 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.
- 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)We should have found other methods to end this strike besides legal chicanery.
- Do you believe that America has a duty to civilize the lesser nations of the earth?This isn't something that we should be making an active effort to do. There are enough problems within our own country for us to worry about the state of civilization in some far-off, primitive land.
- 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.
- Should corporations be permitted to hire private detectives for security, and to infiltrate into labor movements?This is another sad attempt to crush the spirit of the working man. It's difficult to distinguish between Pinkertons and vigilantes during some of these repression actions.
- Do you think that local jurisdictions should be allowed to use hanging or other forms of capital punishment for crimes?I have sought the guidance of our Savior on this issue, and I cannot support the execution of our lost souls in good conscience.
- 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?If we could be sure that the benefits would spread equally to the different states, I think a public works program could be helpful at this point.
- Do you approve of Grover Cleveland's handing of the federal budget over the previous four years?Is there anyone left in the United States who approves of Grover Cleveland? We need to move on from his failed Administration.
- 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.I was opposed to this bill. We might have provided land grants and funding for railroads in the past, but that practice will end under my Administration.
- Should the federal government make an effort to build a canal through Nicaragua to more efficiently link trade in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?Am I understand that we will be sending thousands of men to dig through the hills of Nicaragua on this pipe dream of a project? Allow me to predict that there will never be a canal in that country.
- Do you support greater regulation on the sale and labeling of opium, cocaine, and morphine when used in patent medicines?I'm scared to take my own medicine sometimes for fear of what might be in there. Medicines should be clearly labeled with their ingredients, so that those who wish to avoid intoxicating substances can do so.
- 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.