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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... labor union efforts or locally organized campaign events . Coletta states that " Bryan most likely would have won had the election been held before the gold Democrats put their ticket into the field and before the businessmen of the ...
... Labor , supported McKinley , most labor unions gave their unquestioned support to the nominee of the Democratic Party.29 Socialist leader Eugene Debs also openly supported Bryan.30 The American Federation of Labor became publicly active ...
... Labor to stay away from party politics , he surreptitiously worked on behalf of Bryan's candidacy during the 1896 campaign.31 The American Labor Union , the United Mine Workers , and the Knights of Labor all supported the Democratic ...
... labor unions . These intangible resources should not be taken lightly . Bryan could not raise enough money to finance a nationwide campaign , but he was able to organize what amounted to a series of vigorous statewide campaigns . His ...
... labor , American enterprise , and American genius , and for the whole American people . " 54 Although the currency question dominated the campaign , McKinley made the tariff into a significant issue , and he spent as much time on it as ...
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 |