William Jennings Bryan

Bryan strongly opposed America's entry into World War I. As Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State, he was a committed pacifist and advocate of strict neutrality. He pushed for even-handed treatment of both sides, opposed U.S. loans and arms sales that favored the Allies, and warned against Americans traveling on belligerent ships. He famously resigned in June 1915 after the sinking of the RMS Lusitania, protesting Wilson's strongly worded note to the German Empire, which he feared would lead toward war. Even as a private citizen afterward, Bryan continued to speak against U.S. involvement and supported ideas like a national referendum on war. He only shifted to supporting the war effort after Congress declared war in April 1917, citing his democratic commitment to the popular will.

William Jennings Bryan (b. 19 March 1860 in Salem, Illinois; d. 26 July 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee) was the Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States in 1896, 1900 and 1908, a lawyer, and the 41st United States Secretary of State (1913–1915) under President Woodrow Wilson. Bryan was considered a sharp, principled, and remarkably consistent thinker — a three-time presidential nominee who stood firm on neutrality and peace even when it cost him his high-profile job.

Life

He was noted for a deep, commanding voice. Bryan was a devout Presbyterian, a supporter of popular democracy, a critic of banks and railroads, a leader of the silverite movement in the 1890s, a leading figure in the Democratic Party, a peace advocate, a prohibitionist, an opponent of Darwinism, and one of the most prominent leaders of populism in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Great Commoner

Because of his belief, his faith in the goodness and rightness of the common people, he was called "The Great Commoner."

Spanish-American War

Bryan served as Colonel of the Third Nebraska Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Although he lacked prior military experience, he recruited volunteers, organized the regiment, and trained in Florida, though the unit saw no combat action, instead serving as part of the occupation force in Cuba.

Politics

In the intensely fought 1896 and 1900 elections, he was defeated by William McKinley but retained control of the Democratic Party. For presidential candidates, Bryan invented the national stumping tour. In his three presidential bids, he promoted Free Silver in 1896, anti-imperialism in 1900, and trust-busting in 1908, calling on Democrats, in cases where corporations are protected, to abandon states' rights, to fight the trusts and big banks, and embrace populist ideas.

President Woodrow Wilson appointed him Secretary of State in 1913, but Wilson's handling of the Lusitania crisis in 1915 caused Bryan to resign in protest. He was a strong supporter of Prohibition in the 1920s, and energetically attacked Darwinism and evolution, most famously at the Scopes Trial in 1925. Five days after winning the case but getting bad press, he died in his sleep.

External links

• William Jennings Bryan and a Spanish American War Roster, history.nebraska.gov
• William Jennings Bryan, firstamendment.mtsu.edu (2024)