From the Front Porch to the Front Page: McKinley and Bryan in the 1896 Presidential CampaignTexas A&M University Press, 2005 - 230 pages The last presidential campaign of the nineteenth century was remarkable in a number of ways. -It marked the beginning of the use of the news media in a modern manner. -It saw the Democratic Party shift toward the more liberal position it occupies today. -It established much of what we now consider the Republican coalition: Northeastern, conservative, pro-business. It was also notable for the rhetorical differences of its two candidates. In what is often thought of as a single-issue campaign, William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous "Cross of Gold" speech but lost the election. Meanwhile, William McKinley addressed a range of topics in more than three hundred speeches--without ever leaving his front porch. The campaign of 1896 gave the public one of the most dramatic and interesting battles of political oratory in American history, even though, ironically, its issues faded quickly into insignificance after the election. In From the Front Porch to the Front Page, author William D. Harpine traces the campaign month-by-month to show the development of Bryan's rhetoric and the stability of McKinley's. He contrasts the divisive oratory Bryan employed to whip up fervor (perhaps explaining the 80 percent turnout in the election) with the lower-keyed unifying strategy McKinley adopted and with McKinley's astute privileging of rhetorical siting over actual rhetoric. Beyond adding depth and detail to the scholarly understanding of the 1896 presidential campaign itself (and especially the "Cross of Gold" speech), this book casts light on the importance of historical perspective in understanding rhetorical efforts in politics. |
From inside the book
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... advocacy of his liberal social ideals . " Rhetorical scholars have not studied either of the major presi- dential candidates in the dramatic campaign of 1896 as much as one might have expected , but it is ironic that the loser in this ...
... advocate of the free coinage of silver , contending that the solution to the economic downturn was to increase the supply of money , thus restoring the dollar to its pre - depression purchasing power . Industrial and banking interests ...
... advocacy of the unlimited coinage of silver . In a remarkable speech of 1893 , three years before his " A Cross of Gold , " he told Congress : " I denounce that child of ignorance and avarice the gold dollar , under a universal gold ...
... advocate from his front porch in 1896. For example , in a September , 1896 , campaign speech , McKinley stated : " Nothing is more vital to the standing and progress of a country than that the currency of the country shall be so honest ...
... advocacy of " honest money , a dollar as sound as the Government , and as untarnished as its flag . " Not missing a beat , he then tied sound money to the needs of the ordinary worker : " A dollar that is as good in the hands of the ...
Contents
13 | |
26 | |
37 | |
56 | |
Unmade by One Speech? Bryans Trip to Madison Square Garden | 69 |
McKinleys Front Porch Oratory in September 1896 | 90 |
McKinleys Speech to the Homestead Workers | 111 |
Bryans Railroad Campaign in September 1896 | 128 |
The Closing Weeks of the Front Porch Campaign | 146 |
The End of Bryans First Battle | 160 |
Identification and Timeliness Revisited | 176 |
Notes | 187 |
Index | 221 |