We do not come as aggressors. Our goal is not a goal of conquest. We are fighting in defense of our families and prosperity. We have traditions and our traditions have been scorned. Our in treaties have been disregarded. We have begged and they have bought an hour, amit we have balked. We brought forth confidence that we shall win. The words of William Jennings bryan. We are coming to you from his home and office in the state capital of nebraska. And hisJennings Bryan wife moved here in 1902. We are coming to you from the first floor. He did much of his riding an entertaining here in this house. We welcome our guest, a professor of history at Georgetown University. Chairalso joined by the of the department of history at the university of nebraska here in lincoln. To set up this speech, the man that delivered it and the impact that it had bought democratic delegates. The country was very divided. There was a Great Depression. The democrats were split down the middle. The incumbent president was very unpopular. Bryan comes into this convention as a dark horse candidate. He is defending the cause of free silver. This is to help people in trouble economically. He gives this speech and people go wild when they hear it. This was actually recorded later. The speech was from 1896. He was robust, vigorous. He had an amazing voice. He has really stepped this up so he could give a speech at the time when he knew that the majority of delegates were for him but at the same time, no living speech had been given at that time. He had found his moment and he used it to great affect. As you indicated, his words recorded in 1923 but here is a race in which he was challenging William Mckinley. He served only two terms in the house of representatives. He won the popular vote but lost because a republican legislator gave it to the republican candidate. It was a tumultuous time in an american politics. There was a major strike that tore the country apart and revealed to americans just how unstable the economy was and how deep this depression might become. William Jennings Bryant ran as a democrat and a populist for the u. S. Senate and ran against a railroad attorney. He gained a lot of National Attention with this Senate Campaign in 1984. He had a series of debates and this gave him great visibility across the nation. He emerged as a National Figure at that time. The country was desperate for leadership. All of the parties were divided. The republicans had won the president ial contest in nebraska in 1982. The second place votegetter was the populist. Cleveland was far behind. The Democratic Party was in deep trouble in this part of the midwest. He is one of 14 president ial candidates who lost the election of a change to politics. From nebraska, more of the words from William Jennings bryan. The great cities are in favor of the Gold Standard. The rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Your cities will spring up again if as though by magic. Destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country. England has a Gold Standard. If they dared to come out and defend the Gold Standard, we will fight them to the uttermost. Supported by the interest and the labor is everywhere, we will answer the demand for the Gold Standard. You shall not pushed down against labor. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold. How long was this speech in 1986 1896 . It was about 45 minutes long. This was a powerful metaphor for most people. William Jennings Bryan was a christian. He wanted to keep the country on the Gold Standard. They wanted to restrict the supply of money. For many people that supported him, this was a way to keeping the americans who were in debt deeper in debt. It was a way of keeping the british economy the supreme economy in the world. It sounds like a technical issue but this is a half against the have nots. To crucify mankind on a cross of gold was connected to pontus pilot crucifying christ. In the same way, they thought that the American Economy was run for the interest of those who already had property or money or banks. There was a real class divide at that time. Now, we have a lot of anger about the economy but this is not focused the same way as it was then. Every dollar that people had in their pockets could be redeemed for some old. This was really a call for cheaper money, lower Interest Rates, and greater economic opportunity. You talk about his charisma and what he meant at that time. He essentially became a celebrity. He was receiving as many as 2000 letters a day. You also write about something that he did which was viewed as revolutionary which was campaigning for the office as opposed to the strategy in ohio. They had a lot of money. He was able to get checks from john a. Rockefeller. There was no restrictions on campaign donations. Ryan could not get that kind of money. He had to go out and campaign for himself. He could not campaign on a large machine. He was a wonderful person and he loved to speak. He made necessity as a virtue. He had to go on passenger trains. He spoke as many as 6000 times and that campaign. For him, this was an opportunity to become known. Also the only chance he had to reach americans directly. He is the First Campaigner to use the road in this way and Campaign Across the country. Stephen douglas had done something similar in 1860. He was trying to take up campaigns through the south and through parts of the north. For the most part, american president ial candidate sat on their front porch and other people campaigned for them. Brian campaigned at every town in illinois, ohio, virginia and traveled all over america bringing his campaign to the people pu. As always, we want to hear from you. We are and lincoln, nebraska. This is referred to as fairview. Lets take a step back. He ran for the house of representatives, and yet he was born in salem, ill. How did the end up in nebraska . He was born in 1860 into a world that was being transformed. The civil war that followed, 18621865. He was too young to serve in the civil war. The civil war that followed, 18621865. He did not have that opportunity. Instead, he read for the bar and went into practice as a lawyer in lincoln, nebraska. He started his own law firm, a partnership. He practiced basic law in a growing urban environment. That is when he became active in politics. At the time and in many ways still, going to law school is good training to go into politics. His father was a judge in illinois. A very close associate of stephen douglas. Really, politics was in his blood. He never thought of doing anything else but in politics. He became a lawyer because he wanted to get involved in politics. He came to nebraska because he knew that the Democratic Party was very weak here. Let me go back to the way he was able to capture the imagination of the country. Have you received nomination and he lost all three times . Henry clay received the nomination. This was a little bit different 100 years ago. There was a lot more voters, and a lot more media. More money involved. Clay had a pretty small country. America was not just a country, this was a modern campaign. As you write in your book, for 14 million americans of voted in that election. That was 80 . They voted in colorado. That is the highest percentage of voters. We have never had that a High Percentage of voters again. Can you touch on his senate bid in 1894 . Cher. He started out to get the populist and democratic nomination. The populist was an Insurgent Movement in american politics rapidly rising. They had secured the house in nebraska. The irony of his 1894 Senate Campaign was that the republicans win for the legislature and the democratic candidate actually wins the governorship. There was two debates, one in lincoln and 1 in omaha. 7000 people turned out for the debate in october of 1894. Ryan started out talking about the income tax. This is the first incometax in 1894. On the rich, and they started his debate with John Thurston on that issue. The issue is down on the list in 1894. In 1895, the Supreme Court ruled that the income tax was unconstitutional. Congress passed a law, this is not constitutional. This helped to enflame the things on brians side. On bryans side. The republican majority alexa John Thurston to be the senator from nebraska. Bryan runs for president and gets the nomination and demand that he ran against was the Republican Committee chair for mckinley. Does this home reflect William Jennings bryan . It was considered quite nice for the time. It was a prize for his career. He worked here. The work here with his wife. He and his wife were partners in his career. Were joined by a how long was he in that study writing . He would have used that probably daily. The study was the heart of the home. Whaty dont you show us the desk and look like. Desk looked like. These are the partner desks that he and his wife shared. They would exchange conversation, they would compose letters, and they would formulate some of the positions he would want to take. On the top of the desk, a copy of the commoner. Why was that significant . It can best be stated right and a quote in a first edition. It would be to set aside if by kennedy to the Common People and proves to its right to the name which it has chosen. It would be set aside if by the community to the Common People. How does this reflect him when he moved in in 1892 . This reflects the life style of mr. Bryant and their family. Of mr. Bryan and their family. The two sat directly across from each other and work on everything, correct . They certainly did. His wife was a beloved wife and help make. How much of the material there is original . Very few of the pieces are original furnishings. These furnishings and this office have been collected to represent what was originally in the room based on some very fine photographs. He was seated in that chair, would it feel like his study at the turn a century . It would feel very much like his office at the turn of the century. We will check in with you throughout the program. Thank you for opening up this home to cspan cameras. Were joined from west virginia. We welcome your calls and participation. Caller i would like tyou to talk about thomas nast. He was a cartoonist who was responsible for the image that we have of santa claus. By the time that bryan ran, besides those images, he is best known for these really a fact is images of the corrupt boss of tammany hall in new york. His images of boss tweed looking like a cd devil really helped to bring tweed down. There was a prosecutor who was able to bring down the tweed ring. We will go now to sacramento, calif. Caller my question originates from the american president s series. There was a question about what Grover Cleveland thought of volumes Jennings Bryan of William Jennings bryan. I am curious what he hated him for and if that was true. I will start. You can follow up. Grover cleveland was a hard money democratic president. He did not like bryans position. It was the silver at issue and the breaking of the Cleveland Administration of the purchase act that most got the ire of clover cleveland of Grover Cleveland. The Democratic Party, especially from the east where cleveland was from. People who believed in Thomas Jefferson and that the government should not do very much in the economy. During the depression of the 1890s, Grover Cleveland said that the people should support the government but the government should not support the people. This is different from what bryan believed. He was a liberal. He believed the government should help those who could not help themselves. He wanted to reset the balance between Corporate Power and the power of workers and small farmers. Cleveland had broke the strike with federal troops. The cleveland attorney general was grovers attorney. For bryan, cleave the thought that he represented all that he did not like about politics. Cleveland thought that he represented all that he did not like about politics. Theyre filled with convictions and bereft of charisma who are willing to lead a charge against secular forces. Bryan was a champion of those who needed help. He was a man of great conviction. One of the things he was trying to do that was most difficult was to take on the economic powerful class that had emerged in american politics in a way that did not look like class for their class warfare. He was trying to speak to the people without tearing down but instead attempting to build up. That was a very hard case to make. He did it beautifully but it was a very difficult attempt to repeal the inadequacies of American Society at the time without looking like someone who was just tearing down the american ideal. Those are your words. They are parallel to someone today an american politics . Im not sure. There are people who want to be William Jennings bryan. Sarah palin, might try to be. They believe that a small greedy elite is after the majority of americans. Bryan was representative of a movement. A movement that people believe that Corporate America was taking the country in a revolutionary direction. We have come to grips and come to peace with big business. We cannot imagine a society where that is not there. We just looked at the desk that he worked with mary side by side. Most businesses were like that in the 1870s and 1860s and 1850s. They were small partnerships and firms. That time before 1896 was a time of enormous industrial growth. 0 colossal corporations. These were corporations with enormous resources, and thomas wolfe, enormous power. Enormous wealth, a enormous power. The change was arresting. Bryan was speaking to that massive transition and American Society and life. I want you to listen to the 1900 campaign in which William Jennings bryan talk about the issue of transparency. On election is a public affair. This is held for the benefit of the public and as a means through which the people select their officials. There is no sound reason for secrecy in regards to Campaign Methods and publicity will prove a purifying influence in politics. The people of to know what influences are at work in the campaign. They will decide whether any party has made it impossible to protect the rights of the people. Has anything changed a century later . That sounds like the base of citizens united. Obviously, people love money. They want the government to do the things they want the government, too. There is a lot of influence if you have a lot of money. Bryan was in favor of public financing. He did not want private individuals to give any money to elections. He realized that would not fly at the time. His idea was to let least publicize the donations. Lets make sure that everyone knows it is above board. Standard oil was involved. He wanted that to be known. The First Campaign finance law which had passed which banned corporations from taking money directly. Influence and money is still something we argue about all the time and fight about all the time. Good evening, how are you today . Just fine. I have a question i wanted to ask. I just got the program and i wanted to understand, William Jennings bryan, was he a supporter of the gold and Silver Standard for currency in america . Prices would have gone up, but that also meant that people who produced crops would have also been able to see what they made for their crop go up. The Interest Rate would have gone down if more was in circulation. It sounds archaic to us today, but the best way to think of it is just, as cheaper money, more money in peoples pockets, Interest Rates will go down. He got the nomination in 1886. He is renominated in 1900. What happened in 1904 . The democrats decided to go for a candidate who they thought could appeal to a more traditional, conservative electric electorate. They chose a man who did not go against around the country giving speeches. Politics,e of brians but none of his charisma, none of his appeal to ordinary americans, and he got killed in a landslide. And then the party comes back to William Jennings bryan in 1908. Why . The party is in great need of a leader. It is a party that is divided by region. It had a great deal of difficulty united around uniting around a candidate in making its voice heard in a national election. William Jennings Bryan was a tremendous charismatic figure. Teddy roosevelt becomes president and and William Howard taft is elected in 1908. Lets go back to Something Else that was rather revolutionary, the debate that took place and how that occurred, technically speaking, in 1908. It was not a debate the way we have debates now. It was the first time in which both candidates recorded on wax cylinders. You can still see very scratchy rendition of them. Perhaps you apply one. The library of congress on some of these copies. It was like the original short length records. They did not last very long, twothree minutes. William Jennings Bryan sold them to campaign supporters. It was a way that his staff could go out and get you directly. We take that for granted now, but that was a novel idea at the time. We are going to begin with the words of William Howard taft followed by William Jennings bryan. I have known a good many people who were regular attendance at church. Religious people, if you choose to use that term. I did not realize the immense importance of foreign men. The truth is we have to wake up in this country. There are lots of people who are dependent on us to help them on in the world. Imperialism is the policy of an empire. A republic cannot be an empire, for republic rests upon the theory that government derives its power from the consent of the government. Our experiment in colonialism has been unfortunate. Instead of profit it has brought loss. Instead of strength that has brought weakness. Instead of glory, it has brought humiliation. The words of William Mckinley and William Howard taft. Jennings bryan change as a candidate of course taft went on to win the election. Did William Jennings bryan go on to change as a candidate . In 1900, the big issue was imperialism. The u. S. Was fighting in the philippines to try to stop the philippine independent movement from winning a war of the insurrection against u. S. Occupation of those islands, and that was a big issue of that campaign. William Jennings Bryan tried to make the power of the trust, the power of big corporations the issue. He said let the people rule. Taft was perceived as progress of the time. And secretary of war under teddy roosevelt. Teddy roosevelt was a progressive president. Many of your viewers may remember george h. Of the bush in 1988 running as the hand picked successor george h. W. Bush in 1988 running as the handpicked successor to ronald reagan. He was not a charismatic figure, but people felt, i liked reagan, i guess i can vote for bush. People who like roosevelt felt they would be safe with taft, and that is why he won. William Jennings Bryan tried to use some of the same rhetorical techniques. He talked as he had done before, but it was not very successful. The country was prosperous again after a sharp recession in 1907. Times looked really good. Taft was popular because he is the handpicked successor to a very popular president , theodore roosevelt. His closest race was 1896. For the Election Results, were joined by marie in connecticut. Welcome to the conversation. I wanted to know, how did williams Jennings Bryan come to live in miami, fla. . In fact, coral gables, florida. He contracted really bad, crippling arthritis. His wife contracted really bad, crippling arthritis. She could not live in the winter climate anymore. Miami was beginning to be a place for older people to go if they could afford to. Also, he had business out there. He had a lot of supporters there. They would go to miami, stay in france houses. They decided to move there. It was a very good move for her, certainly. You tell a story in the book about how the Venetian School in florida is still there today. After he had given up all hope of becoming president , he began to make some money giving speeches for promoters. This is now one of his more honorable adventures, perhaps, but he needed to make money, and he did. We move to 1912 and the democrats finally win the white house, but it is not William Jennings bryan. It is Woodrow Wilson. The democrats has struggled for some time and he had led much of the struggle against the Republican Party, working for the votes of working people and the broad middle class. The republicans were able to call what many of the issues the populists and democrat coopt many of the issues that the populists and democrats had brought forward. William Jennings Bryan and the democrats had a very difficult time reaching the broad middle class and convincing those that they could bring progressive change, not radical change, but progressive change. Wilson was able to do that. He was a professor at princeton. He had been governor of new jersey. He was a very moderate reformer, but a progressive reformer. He was able to succeed where land Jennings Bryan was not. Some believe that the only reason will drill wells and one was because the Republican Party split 19 Woodrow Wilson won was because the Republican Party split in 1912. If republicans had stayed united we will never know what would have happened, but it is quite possible that wilson would not have been elected. Author of the godly hero, the life of williams Jennings Bryan. Josh is joining us from phoenix. Good evening. Welcome to the program. Thank you. Great show. Thank you for your show. I wanted to add something a little different. I wonder if the gentleman could speak to his Foreign Policy and what he thought about, say, the spanishamerican war or american colonialism, and if he ever went abroad. What did the gentleman think about how he would handle, for example, afghanistan and iraq and the invasion . What was his mind set back then in terms of hal how the major colonial powers around the world were going into other countries and occupying them and such . In general, his Foreign Policy. Thank you for the call. He served as our 41st secretary of state. What best reflects his views on Foreign Policy . He served in the spanish american war. He was opposed to the occupation of the philippines. He did travel around the world the whole year with his family from 19051906. As he went around the world, egypt was then controlled by the dutch. India was controlled by the british. At each stop, he would see european powers. In principle, he was opposed to rich countries dominating and controlling poor countries. He was opposed to what he thought of as unjust wars. He resigned as secretary of state because he thought the United States was about to enter world war i. After the lusitania had been torpedoed by a german u boat. He resigned because he was so opposed to the war. He thought world war i was an insane war that the United States should not be a part of. What was his Campaign Like with Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and in his tenure as secretary of state . He supports william supports wilson and helped put him over the top. It was a very old stock convention, 46 ballots. Ian wilson never were close. Wilson he and wilson were never close. Wilson had not supported him in earlier elections. The two did not really trust each other. Wilson was an intellectual, and William Jennings bryan was not. The two were not close. William Jennings Bryan became secretary of state in large part because a political opponent at that time was not at all unusual when the leading figure in the party was not the nominee. In many ways, he expected to be secretary of state. One of the reasons he was unhappy as secretary of state is because he did not get the kind of responsibility would have wanted. But one thing he did do, of which showed his views about war and peace, he convinced foreign powers to sign peace treaties with one another saying they would not go to war. These were pretty much symbolic, but he gave each of them a little bronze plaque with a line from isaiah about plowshares as a symbol of the trees. In the and, of course, the treaties did not stop world war i. As a christian, showing his humanitarian face to the world was one way to practice. Welcome to the program. Thank you. I do have a religious question about his religion. First, let me say that i applaud his efforts to level the Playing Field for the common man against big business. Free enterprise defeated communism and i expect it will defeat democracy. What impact you think his fundamental christian religious police had on his Election Results . Thank you for the call. We should point out too that the bible is opened to the book of ezekiel. What about the role of religion in his wife and his wifes life . Is a good question. One of the things about him that is very important is that he never really separated it from politics. We think about that now with some more conservative people thinking we should have a christian government and a christian nation. But for him, christianity was the social gospel. He believed that if youre a good christian, you wanted to go out and save the world, help the poor, health workers, level the Playing Field as the caller mentioned. For him, religion and politics were not separate. Some people were not evangelical product evangelical protestants. Most americans were, at the time. He was a crusader. Also, prohibition beginning in 1910. He was a great supporter of what became the 18th amendment of the constitution. This is a very divisive issue in american life. He came to prohibition because he wanted to purify the american body politic. That meant that a lot of people from 1910 on did not trust him, even people who voted for him, because he was a prohibitionist. He did not drink, but he did enjoy eating. 0 yes. Sometimes he is many as six meals a day. He was known to devour three chickens at one sitting. If youre just joining in, we are looking at 14 candidates for the presidency. All 14 lost, but in their own way they shaped american politics and many of the issues they put forth resonate today. We are coming to you from lincoln, neb. , now part of the center here in the state castle state capital. Our phone lines are now open. This is an exterior view of what the home looks like. You can see the center directly adjacent. This home is open to the public. It does offer tours for those of you who travel through lincoln, nebraska. Were joined from palm springs, california. Hello, im from Desert Hot Springs near palm springs. I have a kodak picture in my files. He had a relationship with my family. I am not a mormon. It is just my hobby. I researched my family. I have 60 two hundred names. 6200 names. I would like to know about buying the book, where it is, and where i send the money. What is your connection to William Jennings bryan, through your Family Research . He is in a car in this picture. It is like a kodak picture. It is a singleseater with the top down. I know is thought that the other man was the one whose name always thought that the other man was the one whose name i can remember who believed and religion. I can remember his name now. But he is in my family. I have 60 two hundred names i have researched on my computer. I do not say, i would like to have that one. I researched them to be sure they are my relatives. Im going to ask you to stay on the line and get your phone number so that we can get you connected to the book. Stay on the line. We will get your phone number. She brings up another part of his life. Dayton tennessee, the monkey scopes trial and Clarence Darrow. We have put all of his speeches on line on our digital project. If she would like to use her computer to look at those speeches, there are hundreds of them. Every speech he gave is online. All of the material from this series is available online. 14 weeks, looking at the president ial contenders. The scopes trial. William Jennings Bryan is known, if at all, to most americans because he was one of the prosecutors in tennessee. He was prosecuting a teacher named john scopes who was teaching the theory of evolution in high school in dayton, tennessee. What is interesting about this is that this issue is still pretty much alive. A large number of americans believe that the bible, the book of genesis, is the truth. Is how the earth was formed. Bryant believe that too, but it is important to remember that he believes in social darwinism, survival of the fittest, might makes right. He put out a series of lectures about evolution before the scopes trial. For him, to be a good christian meant that you could accept the social theory of evolution. He did not understand the science very well, but he believes, rightly or wrongly, that the way the science was being applied was to say that those who were doing well in society were those that should do well. This is one of the things he disliked about the theory. But again, he was a fundamentalist. He believed what the bible said was true and that people should not be learning something that should counteract that. There is an iconic photograph of Clarence Darrow and William Jennings bryan in tennessee. How did the two come together for this historic moment in American History . Bryan was asked by the prosecution to help in the trial. The state law was just passed that year in tennessee. They knew if he helped them, it would draw a lot of attention to the case. Similarly, Clarence Darrow was a great defense lawyer, a defense lawyer for labor. When he heard the William Jennings bryan was going to work for the prosecution, clarence dara said he had to work for the other side. Darrow said he had to work for the other side. Many people might have seen inherit the wind, the famous movie. Unlike what the movie shows you, scopes never went to jail. Scopes agreed to be a defendant because he knew a trial was going to take place some time somewhere in tennessee and he wanted to bring business to tennessee. That is why the trial took place there, because scopes agreed to be the defendant. Technology was a factor in the trial. Cameras were allowed in the courtroom and it was broadcast nationwide on the radio. One of the things that is so remarkable about this trial, not only that it was broadcast on the radio and tens of thousands of americans listen to it, but it was a court room. For bryan to try to defend his christianity in creationism in the courtroom and was the context of the courtroom in crossexamination that made it so difficult for him to say what he meant and what was so poor and about creationism in his thinking and about the social darwinism logic that he thought was infecting American Society. It was a very difficult context in which to make that argument. Bryan and his life, really, as sort of a man ends his life, really, a sort of a man out of context. The context of the courtroom in dayton, tenn. , proved very challenging for him. Peter is on the phone from new jersey. Welcome. Howre you doing . What is your question . I would like to make one point. Then i will get off. You are a douche bag. We will go to mark in arlington, texas. I am calling because i have noticed that the Gold Standard debate seems to have come back recently. People are arguing against the Gold Standard and against the Federal Reserve and for the government ability to print it sound currency. Those people in particular almost seem to William Jennings bryan to support their argument. Quote William Jennings bryan to make their argument. He seems to be making a comeback. Lets bring it to the 2012 campaign, because ron paul is talking about the Federal Reserve, and even governor carey has been critical of ben bernanke, making perry has been critical of ben bernanke, making some of the same points that William Jennings bryan was making a century ago. The legacy of that debate was the Federal Reserve system. We got off the Gold Standard eventually in the early 1930s. What people on that side wanted was a more flexible money supply. In hard times, Interest Rates would go down and more money would be in circulation. In prosperous times, they would go up. It is kind of like the fed today. At the time, it was seen as a great reform. Of course, when we get in economic trouble like were now, people look for a panacea, going back to the Gold Standard, for example. As an historian, one of the reasons we have been able to avoid serious economic downturn between the Great Depression and now is because we have had a flexible money supply that has been able to take charge when necessary. One of the big issues that William Jennings bryan was trying to confront with the silver issue and the Gold Standard was the great contraction of the American Economy. We have lived through a similar contraction recently. I think it is not surprising that some of these issues are coming forward when they are renowned. I think the difference is, of efforts toat bryans broaden the money supply were mainly aimed at trying to rescue a class of americans who were struggling deeply with their Financial Wellbeing and their situation. So, i do not see that quite playing out today in the same way when the Gold Standard is being brought up. Our history professor representing Georgetown University and the university of nebraska, lincoln. We also have the author of the iron out way railroads to the civil war and the making of modern americas. Were joined from ohio. Good evening. It seems rather ironic, many of the parallels from his day and hour day. It is just amazing. Again, were arguing soft money versus hard money. We do see class warfare. There is a class warfare argument. Except this time, the argument is coming from the rich against the poor as opposed to the poor against the rich. The irony in my mind is just amazing. Who would like to take that point . Well, it isfor bryan making t about the income tax and the monopoly power he sought and the corruption in politics and the trust, all of those things to gather he was accused by the republicans of practicing a form of class warfare, of opening the door to class warfare by even mentioning these things, so he was trying to lead americans to see that a class in power was not necessarily looking out for their own interests. That was his main argument, and americans did not want a class warfare. The fear of class warfare is very vital to the 1890s when brian is campaigning it turns out with the militia and federal government blowing down and new workers, that did not sit well with american people, so brian was walking this thin line, trying to raise the issue but not trying to start a class warfare. He moved here as an adult, where he practiced law, ran for congress. He moved to this home in 1902 with his wife mary. My question is how did they use of home when they first moved here. It is an interesting combination of uses. The second floor with a family bedrooms and sleeping when chambers. The first floor was primarily for entertaining. You can see the open spaces where they would entertain friends, and the lower level was a family area with a dining room and the office and we have seen earlier. As you research the home, who would have been here . There were a number of prominent guest says. A number of social acquaintances as well as political figures would have been used to the house. We talked about home of fairview because it gave you a picture of the nebraska landscape. Now it is the medical center. Bryan said it was one of the most beautiful vistas. He acquired land east of lincoln and chose the site for their home in 19 01. What is his legacy in nebraska . I think he is one of the most famous sons. I think his name is widely recognized. I think nebraska and are proud we have generated people of his stature, even though he did not win the presidency. He was an important us but in nebraskas political life to have such a character. His legacy . I think he does bring the Democratic Party into nebraskas history. There were democrats here before the campaign, but he elevates the Democratic Party in its stature in nebraska. Dodi he is a major figure in nebraska history, but local legacy is his home and the hospital which bears his name. As we look at life and political career of William Jennings bryan. Caller bryan publicly supported the coup klucks claremont. Did he also support clinching in the south . He did not support the klan. The Democratic Convention was about whether to denounce the klan by name. He believed the democrats should win it over rather than to announce them. Rather than denounce them. It is unfair to say he was a supporter of the clan. He was a racist, but he did not support violence against them. He was a white supremacist. I want to clarify his racial views are not so simple as to say he was a klansman or in favor of lynching people without a trial. He supported the view of most white southerners and northerners as well, which is that european americans are superior to other people. He is certainly a Democratic Political figure in the senses that he broadly believes in white supremacy, and he is appealing to voters in a democratic south on those terms as well. When would he think about the Democratic Party today, which counts so many africanamericans as its constituency . He would have been surprised. He was a democrat with a small d. The most of the democrats were white. He did not know very many black people. There was a group of African American republicans who supported him in that campaign. Publicly, he wanted to stay as far from the issue as he could. Bryan did not want to acknowledge his support because he was afraid he would lose parts of the white south, and he did. Our next caller chuck is on the phone. Caller this series has been fascinating, and your guests are interesting. I heard at one time the wizard of oz was an allegory of the william of 1896 shawermwhere Jennings Bryan was depicted as the cowardly lion. I would be interested in your thoughts. Have any of you heard that . Guest fed is one of the great myths of American History. I think it is wonderful to teach students of different figures in the first book corresponding to figures in the campaign. He was a window dresser. He dressed windows in department stores, and for him, the artifice of the design was one way he saw American Society developed, and for him, the wizard of oz was a commercial artist in that sense. He would have been surprised by the allegorical meetings people found in his story, although it is possible not true. In 1999 we sat down with karl rove, and he talked about how he tried to take some of the lessons from the campaign for george w. Bush and who in 2000. One thing the 1896 campaign did is establish a republic in a president ial party. There was no Majority Party in the gilded age from 1868, so what he wanted to do was produce a new republican majority and based on what he would have seen as the most forward elements of the Business Community and also a pretty heterogeneous group of middleclass american voters, and one way rosalyn wanted to do that was creating hispanic voters. Mckinley tried to appeal to european immigrants have the time, and he was able to win over german voters for example. Most of them became republicans for various reasons, so rove saw mark hannah, the impresario of his campaign, who producing this public majority. It did not happen. We are coming from a lincoln, neb. , where William Jennings bryan went on to run for the presidency on three separate occasions. Our call joins us from illinois, the birthplace of William Jennings bryan. Caller we have the birthplace open to the public. My question is how much influence did wj have been getting his brother elected. That is something people do not really know about. The governor of nebraska i am for getting his first name. The younger brother of William Jennings bryan was the Vice President ial candidate coming out of the tumultuous commission in 1924. Olderm Jennings Bryans brother pushed him. At that time he was a divisive figure in the party, but the name and was democrats hoped would allow him to win a lot of rural votes. Charles bryan his nomination for Vice President was an attempt to keep some Progressive Farm vote on his side, and for the most part they did not succeed. Our next call joins us from pennsylvania. Go ahead, terry. Caller very interesting talk. You stated William Jennings bryan was a fundamentalist and a progressive, and i believed states like kansas and nebraska that have large fundamentalists populations but also very today they arema conservative. What happened to cause this change . That is a good question. It had a lot to do west the active to do with the Economic Conditions of his day. Now the prosperity changed in the 20thcentury in ways he could not have predicted. Bryan for shattered some of five in his commitment to faith in public life, but his faith was based around the social Gospel Movement and applied christianity. Helping those in the city, helping those in need, and that the french that branch of christian thought and experience did not grow in the same way. Guest another thing to think about is liberalism and conservatism change their views in the role of christianity in public life. They have more of secular type of religious landscape, whereas they became more identified with the christian right in the 1970s. Abortion and gay marriage were not issues for bryan. The iron way the work of will thomas from the university of nebraska. Chris, you have been patient. Thank you for waiting. Caller thank you for taking my call. There was a similar move in hero in europe with the advent of christian democracy as well. It seems there is no outlet for a position like that within todays major parties, but i was wondering i think there is of a constituency for that. Goi was wondering what the possibilities of a bryan type politician would be today. Every politician has to appear to be a religious person, whether they go to church or not, so in that sense, everybody who has a chance to become president is a religious person and so far is a christian, but i feel most people on the liberal side of politics mistrust people who talk too much about religion in politics, and most of the conservative side wants that religious talk to be focused primarily on issues of personal and why it the, personal piety, abortion, samesex marriage, this kind of thing, so the kind of social christianity that many christian democrats in europe stood for, i did not see that as a real possibility in the near future. One figure it is important to realize we have a National Holiday and named after is Martin Luther king jr. In some ways there is a lot of difference between bryan and skiing, but we have a National Holiday put together over someone who was what you might call a conservative bid of biblical truth and a very left wing bullies regions left wing belief. Our system goes to nebraska again. His mentor in politics in nebraska was a man who was a leading figure who was never elected in his own rights of became the father of our birthday as a man to rein more business. My question is about the australian ballot or the secret the ballot or the lack of one in 1900, 1908. Did brian ever talk about the need for a secret ballot . I have read there have been episodes were employers make sure employees put in the right solid for mckinley. Is that true, and did bryan ever talk about it . Guest bryan did talk about the secret ballots. It was not a major issue, but it came up in issues of potential corruption of companies that would bring in voters to vote for alexians or require voters to vote in a certain way. These allegations were made and especially in nebraska. It released all its men from its western job sites and brought them into omaha or the lincoln and told them which way to vote, so that kind of activity led politicians to object and to call for the kind of secret ballot that would allow individuals to vote how they wanted without the pressure of corporate interests in the election. Our next guest comes from reno, nevada. Caller [unintelligible] we will try one more time. We are getting some feedback. Lets go to nancy next in dayton, tennessee. I am nancy, and i am from dayton, tenn. , home of the scopes trial. I am not old enough to remember it curio to remember it. I know several people who were there, and the drug store was there for many years, and the table where it all started, and i understood it started from lets do something exciting, and that is how it got started, and dayton has grown into a booming town. It has contemplated taking the trial, and it is an interesting trial. Were dubbed as say we the monkey town for a while, but now we are dubbed as the home of the scopes trial. But i didneemeet bryan, meet another. We are glad it happened there. They decided to bring it to dayton, and it has robbed the economy to dayton. Host thank you for sharing your thoughts. There is a very good museum in the basement of the court house in dayton, tenn. , about the trial and the reception around the world, and you can visit the courtroom itself, and i have sat in the famous share. The crossexamining of bryan was held on the lawn outside, and if you think about it, a few thousand people were probably in attendants listening to and watching the crossexamination. We do not have that kind of trial today, but it did help the economy a great deal, an economy that needed help. Host lets talk about the legacy when it comes to womens rights and the popular election of u. S. Senators. Guest i think the legacy itself is damaged by the end of the scopes trial, and the obituary of brian, which depicts him as of bundling, and our country kind of misguided figure in 1924, and 1925, and so on and it is varnish have the end of his career by this, and michael book recoversels the brilliantly. All of the issues he championed womens rights, which was an dctive issue and 1890s, ans bryan was at the forefront of that and other issues he was in from the beginning. 1 legacy that is important is in many ways to without bryan you do not get wilson or roosevelt. For those but do not like it we call it a Big Government party. For those who do like it we call a a liberal. There was a strong relationship with labor that has remained for the last century between that movement and that party, so he was not the only figure who did this, but he was the key figure in the 1890s in helping to make a Democratic Party into the type of party we know it as today, watching the party to be stronger, to serve the interests of working people, so in some ways, that is an important legacy he does not credited for. Had he been elected, what kind of president would he have been, do not think a very good one. His skill as an aura tor, to put forward ideas and raleigh people who his skill as a good orator, to put forward ideas and rally people. It would have been difficult to work directly with the Opposition Party in congress. Markets joining us in dallas. In 1900, and did a senator Joseph Blackburn run against William Jennings bryan for the nomination, and speed he tie with him did he die with him . Can you tell me about that. Most democrats rallied around bryan. It was pretty much decided by the time they got to the convention, which was unusual, because usually they were tempestuous affairs. The nomination really was decided at the convention. That was not true in 1900. By the time they got there, it was pretty clear the nomination would go to bryan again. Two other famous speeches. In 1924 and in 2004, barack obama delivers the keynote address the propeled him to the presidency. Are there parallels to William Jennings bryan . Obama was a parallel, though he was better known in 1896 van obama was in 2004, which might seem surprising because of all the media we have. He had great speeches. Hubert humphrey gave a great speech in which put the Democratic Party as being for civil rights, which it had never been before, but we have no other parallel in american political history where someone august gives a good speech and gets the nomination. Are there other politicians . I think obamas speech was similar. It brought him to national prominence. Bryan had already achieved most of thought, but the sense of party unity both of them brought to those three shows and the kind of sincerity and speaking across a broad range of the public, both of them are able to do that in those settings. They are different in other ways, but there is a similarity. Drugs William Thomas is the chair of the History Department here at home William Thomases did share of the History Department here at the university of nebraska. It was published in 2006. We thank you for your perspective on the life and career of William Jennings bryan. Special guests to the home, who open their doors to us, and the medical center, which makes the campus part of home. We will have more as we continue our look at his life and career, and you can check it out of line, but what made an resting securely up on the Foundation Stone on the mountain of the eternal truth. Proclaiming to the world these selfevident proposition that all men are created equal, and they are endowed with inalienable rights, and governments must secure these rights. And governments derive just power from the consent of the governed. Stimulate all too earnest endeavors in a republic in which quirks the contenders about the man that ran for the presidency and lost. On week at 8 00 p. M. Eastern cspan. On thursday, the founder of several labor unions and fivetime socialist Party President ial candidate. Eugene v debs. The president s, available in paperback, hardcover and ebook. Biographies of every president , inspired by conversations with noted historians about the leadership skills that make for a successful pregnancy. Successful presidency. As americans decide who should lead our country, this collection offers perspective into the lives and events that forged each president and possibly to style. To learn more about all of our president s and the featured historians, visit cspan. Org the president s. Available in paperback, hardcover and ebooks, wherever books are sold. Formerlyden, introduced Kamala Harris as his since the former Vice President announced senator harris as his Vice President pick. This runs 30 minutes