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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... flags , demonstrations , and speeches by visiting dignitaries . By spreading information about these events , the wire services and newspapers served for the Front Porch campaign the same functions that the radio and television would ...
... 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 farmer and the workingman , as in the hands of the manufacturer or the capitalist . " 43 The ...
... flag , including , one presumes , Bryan's assault on the honor of American currency.56 The two main issues , the tariff and sound money , still domi- nated this speech . It was a ticklish task to appeal so shamelessly to the patriotism ...
... flag . He told his visitors that they , his comrades from the Civil War , would no more allow an attack on the integrity of the nation's currency than they would permit an attack on that flag.60 Thus McKinley moved seamlessly from the ...
... flags , blowing whistles , and collecting souvenir spoons and walking canes.78 The visiting delegations were not , however , the main audiences . They were , instead , just part of the show . McKinley adapted to these audiences , but in ...
Contents
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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 |