35. To The Rescue                                    

Source:  Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO), July 14, 1896

The Populist strategy of holding a late convention backfired badly in 1896.  Republicans nominated William McKinley and (in a roundabout fashion) endorsed the gold standard.  They chose to emphasize the tariff issue for the campaign.  But, Democrats bolted from Cleveland's dominance and nominated William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska for president.  Bryan was close to Populist on some issues, particularly "free silver."  This left Populists and pro-silver Republicans with little choice but to support the Democratic nominee.  Splitting pro-silver forces would surely result in victory for McKinley and pro-gold standard forces. 

|Document -- Bryan's "Cross of Gold Speech"|

|Document -- 1896 Populist Platform|  

Republicans used all the forces of ridicule that the establishment could muster to defeat the Democratic-Populist coalition of 1896.  William Allen White, Republican editor of the Emporia Gazette (KS) penned the most widely used broadside against Populism. 

|Documents -- "What's the Matter with Kansas" and "Another Bottle Sold"|

| Index | Back to Cartoon |