Campaign Trail Results: Game #887200
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William Jennings Bryan
- Running Mate: Adlai Stevenson
- 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 | 342 | 7,437,513 | 53.62 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 60 | 5,607,647 | 40.42 |
| ---- John Palmer | 45 | 826,883 | 5.96 |
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?New York is a traditional Democratic stronghold, and I'm confident that the people of that state will support my message. We will campaign there extensively. - New York politics are dominated by a highly corrupt, patronage-based outfit known as Tammany Hall. Their boss, Richard Croker, has so far been indifferent to your campaign. Are you willing to make concessions to arouse his enthusiasm?Corrupt organizations such as Tammany Hall drag the good name of the Democrats through the dirt. I would never debase my Christian ideals for their support.
- 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)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 will speak to the general issues of the future -- free silver, higher wages, worker's rights, an end to child labor, and women's suffrage.
- 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?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?This was the act of a tyrant. Pullman was engaged in abominable business practices, and in the darkest hour Cleveland cast his lot with the company over the working man.
- What is your opinion on measures that would aim to restrict the sale or production of alcohol?These measures are a step in the right direction. Nothing destroys so many lives in this country as does the pernicious habit of drinking alcohol.
- Would you ever consider government ownership of the railroads?I'm no fan of the railroads, but we should avoid radical solutions where other options exist. I would start by increasing the regulation of freight charges to benefit the working classes of our country.
- Do you believe that workers should have the right to bargain collectively?This right should be as fundamental as any other right in a free economy. There will only be justice in this country when there is justice for the working class.
- 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.
- What are your thoughts on the Women's Christian Temperance Union? Is this group a positive force in American life?This is a well-meaning group of honest Christian women. I am neither especially opposed to nor especially supportive of their goals.
- 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.
- 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.
- Would you support federal "Blue Laws" to protect the sanctity of Sunday?At the very least, a federal law prohibiting the sale of alcohol of Sunday seems appropriate.
- Are you prepared to reaffirm our commitment to the Monroe Doctrine, should any new territories in Latin America gain independence from Spain?We will vigorously enforce the Monroe Doctrine, the same way that we have since 1823. This includes support for the struggles of the people in Cuba, should they gain independence. We also appreciate Grover Cleveland's vigorous action in Venezuela last year.
- 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.
- Do you believe that the federal government should monitor and improve important waterways in the interests of commerce, such as the Mississippi River?Internal areas of the country have the same rights to use our waterways as the coastal regions. Making the Mississippi more navigable and more flood-resistant could prove to be an economic windfall.
- Will you press for your party to include a condemnation of lynching in the party platform?These types incidents will happen when the federal government's due process Amendments fail to account for the innate differences among the citizens of the South.
- 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.