Explore our nations past. As a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. Good evening and welcome to the third installment of cspans contend series. We look at Williams Jennings bryant. What better way to introduce to you the man than hearing directly from him. Heres a portion of the speech that he delivered at the Democratic National convention back in 1896. Its commonly referred to as the cross of gold speech which led directly to his first run at the white house at the age of 36. We do not come as aggressors. Our war is not a war of conflict. We are fighting into our homes, our families and prosperity. We have petitions, and our petitions have been scorned. We treaties and our treaties have been disregarded. We have begged and they have mocked when our calamity came. We beg no longer. We entreat no more. We petition no more. We defy them. We go forth confident that we shall win. The words of William Jennings bryan coming to you from his home in nebraska. I
To crucify gold would be, of course, connected to Pontius Pilate crucifying christ. In the same way, bryan and populists and populist minded democrats and republicans, too, thought that the American Economy was being run for the interest of those who already had property or those who already had money, those who already had banks and big industries, so theres a class divide in american politics at that time. Now we have a lot of anger about the economy. The anger wasnt focused on money the same way it was then. After all, remember then, every dollar people had in their pockets could be redeemed for a dollar in the federal treasury, first with gold. Bryan wanted that to be redeemed in silver as well, the means a lot more dollars could have been minted and coined because there was more silver in circulation than there was gold. Really a call for cheaper money, lower Interest Rates, and greater Economic Opportunity for a Small Business person, a farmer, a worker who wanted to be a Small B
Our profile of president ial candidates continues thursday night on American History tv with a look at labor leader and socialist Party President ial candidate eugene debs. He ran for office five times in the early 20th century. Thats at 8 00 p. M. Eastern time here on cspan3. Coming up this weekend on American History tv on cspan3, the life and legacy of alexander hamilton. Hamiltons argument was that the war had been a common struggle. All the states were fighting together for the liberty of all, for the whole country. So he assumed the debts of the 13 states along with the federal debt. They would all be treated as one debt. They would be paid off at the same time. Saturday evening, a little after 7 00 eastern. Author and National Review Senior Editor Richard Brookhiser on the economic achievements of alexander hamilton. And then at 10 00 on real america, the 1945 War Department film the last bomb documents the final months of the b29 super fortress air campaign against japan, inclu
Here are more of the words from William Jennings bryan from his famous cross of gold speech. They tell us the great cities are in favor of the Gold Standard. We reply great cities rest on our broad and fertile prairies, burn down your cities and leave our farms and your cities will spring up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city of the country. They say environmentalism is good, but we cannot have it we have a Gold Standard because england has we will restore. And then new england has because the United States has. If they dare to come out in the open fields and attend the Gold Standard, the good thing, we will fight them to the utter most, standing behind us, producing masses of this nation and the world supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer the demand for Gold Standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the bow of labor this crown of thorns. You