Question
Here is the question : WHO DELIVERED THE “CROSS OF GOLD” SPEECH IN 1896?
Option
Here is the option for the question :
- Henry Ford
- William Jennings Bryan
- Theodore Roosevelt
- William McKinley
The Answer:
And, the answer for the the question is :
Explanation:
After delivering his “Cross of Gold” speech criticizing the use of the gold standard for currency, William Jennings Bryan won the Democratic nomination for president in July 1896, defeating incumbent President Grover Cleveland. Bryan ultimately lost the 1896 election to William McKinley despite that moment in history. In 1900 and 1908, he also ran but lost.
William Jennings Bryan was a prominent American politician in the late 19th century. He is best known for delivering the “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention. The speech was a controversial and rousing defense of bimetallism – the gold standard combined with silver. Bryan argued that the gold standard unfairly benefited bankers and creditors at the expense of agriculturalists and debtors. Though unsuccessful in changing the platform at the time, the speech brought Bryan to national prominence as a leader of the Populist movement.
Bryan was born in 1860 in Salem, Illinois. He had a law degree but pursued politics as a young man, gaining popularity for his oratory skills. Bryan advocated for farmers’ interests, including free silver to inflate the money supply and ease debt burdens. He opposed the gold standard, urbanization, and concentration of wealth and power in elite institutions like banks. Bryan saw himself as a champion of the common person against the forces of greed and oppression.
In the 1890s, the U.S. economy was in turmoil due to a severe depression and drought conditions. The gold standard limited the money supply, exacerbating deflationary troubles. Meanwhile, debt burdens were immense, especially in the agricultural sector. This set the stage for Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech, arguing that the gold standard was unjust and silver should also be used to inflate the currency and stimulate the economy.
The speech was a call to action, yelling: “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold!” Bryan argued the gold standard benefited the rich at the expense of the poor, especially farmers struggling under debt. He proposed a platform including free coinage of silver, federal income tax, and restrictive business regulations. The speech was immensely popular, but the convention eventually adopted a compromise platform. Bryan would run for president repeatedly on a populist platform but never won.
Though unsuccessful in changing policy, the “Cross of Gold” speech cemented Bryan as a leader of the populist movement. He spent decades advocating for free silver, antitrust laws, income tax, and restricting Wall Street power over the common person. Bryan saw himself as a champion of Jeffersonian democracy against the corrupting influence of wealth, industrialization and elite control over the system. His vision and rhetoric inspired populist leaders for generations.
The speech is remembered today as an influential moment in American populism, politics and rhetoric. Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” declared a war of principles between the gold standard and free silver, democracy and elite control, common folk and corporate greed. The speech reminds us of the profound inequality that shapes policy debates, and continual need to fight for justice, purpose and simple virtues over empty materialism.
Bryan’s vision endures as a promise of progress, shared governance and democracy that serves the interests of