Campaign Trail Results: Game #968782
Play The Campaign Trail
This Game:
- Year: 1896
- Player Candidate: William McKinley
- Running Mate: Lyman Gage
- Difficulty Level: Normal
- Winner Take All Mode?: Yes
- Game Played:
- coolhays1
View overall results, or a specific state:
| Candidate | Electoral Votes | Popular Votes | Pop. Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| ---- William McKinley | 280 | 7,222,272 | 51.64 |
| ---- William Jennings Bryan | 167 | 6,618,987 | 47.32 |
| ---- John Palmer | 0 | 144,992 | 1.04 |
Answers:
- Do you have any comments to make about the candidacy of John Palmer, a Gold Democrat and splinter candidate who is currently campaigning?It's a shame that Grover Cleveland allowed his supporters to bolt the party the moment it became clear their faction had lost this year's nomination.
- Which of the following will be your primary campaign message?I am the candidate who brings the reasonable, tested ideas of sound money, protection, and prosperity. Bryan on the other hand will usher in radicalism and instability.
- What points do you wish to touch upon as you accept the Republican nomination? A written transcript will be transmitted to voters across the country.I appreciate the faith of the American people and consult always with the Lord before I make my decisions. I will run a moderate, sensible agenda that appeals to the broad majority.
- Bryan's nomination has electrified the western voter, and he is now planning to campaign on the rails, six days a week. Will you break precedent as well and make a speaking tour of the nation?Bryan's naked ambition knows no bounds. It is unbecoming of a candidate to make campaign appearances on his own behalf.
- You have received checks for $250,000 from J.P. Morgan and from Standard Oil, not to mention innumerable contributions from other concerned businessmen. How will you exploit this immense advantage in funding that you have?We will print and mail campaign material in massive quantities. We will hire speakers to blanket the four corners of the nation. We will print ads every day in every major paper. Bryan cannot compete with us on money.
- What do you have to say about William Jennings Bryan's campaign, at a high level?Free coinage of silver will debase our currency and make a mockery of us to the rest of the world.
- You have the support of the important newspapers, and they are willing to accept your guidance on the proper campaign message. What do you want them to print?The big newspapers should remind the voters that I represent a return to prosperity after the Democratic disaster of the previous four years. They should be paying as little attention to Bryan as possible.
- The "lily-white" faction of the Republican Party claims that they can make your ticket competitive in some Southern states. Are you willing to make a statement of support?We have already promised patronage jobs to the black-and-tans for their support of my nomination. It will look bad all around if I go back on my word.
- The West Coast is a very competitive region. Can you make the case for Republican policies there, particularly in those places such as San Francisco which rely on foreign trade?One of my highest priorities in office will be a canal through Nicaragua, which will greatly enhance our national trade. Democrats lack the ambition for such far-reaching projects.
- Some of the border states (Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky) are very close this year. Do you have a strategy to make these states jump to the Republican side?As a Civil War veteran, I am uniquely positioned to preach a message of sectional unity and Americanism. These states must know that we have allowed bygones to be bygones.
- Will you send campaigners to Nebraska, in an attempt to deliver an embarrassing defeat to Bryan, or should those resources be focused on South Dakota, Wyoming, and Iowa?We are running a 45-state strategy. I want our victory and repudiation of the silver Democrats to be as large as possible.
- What is your topic du jour?Let's talk about the importance of reviving American business. Our tariff act will give them the protections they need to succeed.
- There is one week left until election day. Every state is important, but where will you give an extra push with what is left of your financial resources to educate the American voters?Let's take the fight to Bryan. I want us to be campaigning the hardest in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa. Our extra cash will ensure a landslide on election night.
- 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?I can't stress this enough. The most important thing we can do right now is increase our tariffs to protect American business.
- 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?We can criticize Cleveland for a lot of things, but his repeal of the Silver Purchase Act is not one of them. I supported Cleveland all the way in the repeal debate.
- 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.
- What is your position on the struggle for independence in Cuba?As President, I will do whatever it takes to defend the sovereignty of the Cuban people from the tyrants of Spain. America remains resolute in the principles of the Monroe Doctrine.
- Would you support an Amendment to the Constitution allowing the people to vote for their Senators directly?I neither support, nor do I oppose this idea for an Amendment. My job as President will be to enforce the law as it stands.
- 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.
- Do you think that there should be federal oversight of the New York and Chicago trading markets?The New York Stock Exchange is a private company providing liquidity to other companies. The last thing our fragile economy needs is some hare-brained intervention in this process.
- 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.