Honors Blog

Presidential elections have been and always will be a battle between two parties, the Republicans and Democrats. The presidential election of 1896 dealt with a lot of issues, most of these issues derived from conflicting beliefs on populism, economics, and military ventures.

The populist party (also know as the peoples party) was founded by the people, for the people. The populists main goal was to give the power back "to the hands of the "plain people"." The populist were their own party, but some of them worked within the democractic party. in the election of 1896 the populists were at a crossroad, stuck between gold and silverites. One populist even said "if we fuse [with the Demorcrats] we are sunk." He then went on to say "if we dont fuse, all the silver men we have will leave us fore the more powerful Democrats. The populist party was going through a rough patch during the election.

During the election there was an issue with the gold standard and silverites which became a tedious task at hand for the presidential candidates. The gold standard was quickly referred to in the 1896 election as the "battle of the standards". The battle referred to was between the democrats and republicans. The republicans believed that gold was a "stable base" for business and prosperity among the economy. The republicans adopted an objective that called for "sound money" which was supported by gold. The republicans presidential candidate William McKinley supported this objective as well and he believed that high taxes would protect the American industry. The democratic party on the other hand believed in silverites which was a ""free and and independent" coinage of silver". They believed that by producing mass amounts of silver, it would increase prices and therefore revive the economy. Silverites also known as the "free silver movement" was not just a plan for the economy, but a "protest against region and class". The depression three years before in 1893 also had an effect on the election.

Military ventures played a big role in the 1896 election because both candidates were involved. William Jennings Bryan was an active member of the Anti-Imperialist League. This was Americas first citizen organization that challenged the governments foreign policies. The anti imperialist believed that "nations that sought to control colonial empires inevitably ended up embroiled in bloody wars far from their homes--wars that would eventually lead to the collapse of the empire." Bryan, a representative on behalf of the anti-imperialist argues the point that"imperialist actions are counterproductive for the sucess and health of the United States". He then goes on to make a very good point that "the extentsion of American power to foreign lands does not make snese financially, is illegal under American law and will invevitably lead to war".

Issues in society are what give America a need for a president. The issues that the the candidates faced weren't easy tasks, they would take knowledge and skill to complete them. Populism, economics, and military ventures both had two sides to them and they all played a role in the presidential election of 1896 whether it was good or bad.

Sources:

1.Nations of Nations (A Concise Narrative of the American Republic). Boston: Mcgraw-Hill College, 1999.

2.American Social Movements - The Antiwar Movement.Farmington Hills, MI: Randy Scherer, 2004.