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
Results 1-5 of 64
... crowd in Traverse City , Michigan , " and we cannot afford to bring all the people to Nebraska . I am going around and seeing the people themselves . " 36 Such appeals may have seemed persuasive to the farmers and poor workers to whom ...
... crowd asked him , " How about Republicans ? " Bryan retorted , " I do not think any Republicans can speak . " 1 In early September , a Democratic newspaper cartoon showed McKinley sitting on a tree stump with a bear below . The bear ...
... crowds might see peeking from the window , as he delivered heartfelt messages from his porch to audiences that spontaneously arrived on the scene . Some of the first speeches of the campaign gave little impres- sion of careful advance ...
... crowd of local citizens gathered at his house . McKinley declared himself to be impressed by the " non - partisan character " of the demonstration , which " forbids political discus- sion . " The candidate promised that nothing honored ...
... crowd showed up at the modest two - story frame house on Mar- ket Street , cheered McKinley , and heard him speak . In the midst of parades , drum rolls , and fireworks , the Tippecanoe Club of Cleveland delivered their trademark yell ...
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 |