Bryan's Cross of Gold: Speech Divides a Nation
William Jennings Bryan was 36 years old and a two-term congressman from Nebraska when he delivered the "Cross of Gold" speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The speech attacked the gold standard as a policy that enriched Eastern bankers while crushing Western and Southern farmers under deflation and debt. His closing line declared: "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." The audience erupted. Delegates carried him on their shoulders. He won the presidential nomination the next day. He lost the general election to William McKinley, but the speech became the most famous piece of American political oratory of the nineteenth century.
July 9, 1896
130 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Chicago
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William Jennings Bryan
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Cross of Gold speech
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1896 Democratic National Convention
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bimetallism
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William Jennings Bryan
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Cross of Gold speech
Wikipedia
Bimetallism
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1896 Democratic National Convention
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Chicago
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Grateful Dead
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Democratic Party (United States)
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