CROSS OF GOLD SPEECH

William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925), a populist firebrand, delivered his famous "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic Party's national convention held in Chicago in1896. The convention went on to nominate Bryan as the Democratic candidate for president. Bryan's speech, in which he declared that advocates of hard money should not be allowed to "crucify mankind upon a cross of gold," was a dramatic expression of one of the central battles in the political history of the United States. The confrontation between hard and soft money proponents reached back to the American Revolution (1775–1783) and followed in large measure regional and class lines. By 1896, the clash over monetary policy had become one of the central issues in the presidential campaign.

Hard money proponents believed U.S. currency should be backed by the gold standard in the interest of economic security and stability. For this group, government debt and inflationary policies debased the currency and undermined confidence in the economy, leading to the flight of capital. The gold standard, which theoretically limited the amount of money in circulation to the supply of gold, restrained the power of government and of banks to trigger inflation with excessive emissions of paper money.

Bryan and other advocates of the free coinage of silver, or a "soft money" policy, believed that moderate inflation was not an economic evil but a vital boost to economic development. Indeed, in the context of 1896, Bryan and his followers argued that an increase in the supply of money, based on the unlimited coinage of silver at a ratio to gold of 16 to 1, was necessary medicine for the depressed economy after the Panic of 1893.

On the presidential stump in 1896, Bryan continually hammered at the monetary issue, portraying eastern stockbrokers, industrialists, and bankers as dangerous opponents of farming and labor interests. Bryan's brand of class warfare created a split in the Democratic Party. Although western and southern Democrats believed an increase in the money supply would eliminate the scourge of low agricultural prices, eastern "gold" Democrats were appalled by Bryan's rhetoric and position on silver. Many Democrats, including former president Grover Cleveland (1885–1897), refused to campaign on behalf of Bryan.

Although Bryan campaigned tirelessly and effectively, his Republican opponent, William McKinley (1897–1901), carried the day, with 7,036,000 popular votes to Bryan's 6,468,000 votes. Bryan's loss was not completely due to business and financial interests lining up solidly against him. Farming interests also voted for McKinley in large numbers, particularly in those states not severely affected by the agricultural depression, such as Michigan and Wisconsin. Most of the labor vote also voted Republican, impressed by McKinley's honesty and his long record of supporting the rights of industrial workers. While governor of Ohio, McKinley supported the arbitration of industrial disputes and upheld a law fining employers who prevented their workers from joining unions.

With their defeat in the election of 1896, the advocates of free silver faded in significance. Ironically, new gold discoveries in Alaska and South Africa, as well as new extraction techniques, led to a dramatic expansion of the money supply in the United States.

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Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.

William Jennings Bryan, Democratic Presidential

Candidate, "Cross of Gold" Speech, 1896

CROSS OF GOLD SPEECH

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