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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... stressed further that the various kinds of dollars needed to be equal and interchangeable.39 Thus McKinley advocated bimetallism in 1890 but in a more moderate form than Bryan's proposal . McKinley spoke for a similar proposal in 1891 ...
... free silver issue at the forefront of public awareness , McKinley never lost sight of the issue that he considered to be his home ground . The candidates ' speeches during the 1896 campaign stressed these Free Silver or Free Trade ? 35.
... stressed these issues almost to the exclusion of all others . McKinley rarely strayed to other questions ; Bryan did so somewhat more often . In many respects both candidates discussed issues with considerably more insight , depth , and ...
... stressed to an African - American group , the L'Ouverture Rifles of Cleveland , that " we are all political equals here — equal in privilege and opportunity , dependent upon each other . " 62 The members of the rifle team had arrived in ...
... stressed to a delegation of Pittsburgh workers , " I bid you warm and hearty welcome . " 71 To a group from Lawrence County , Pennsylvania , he said : " It gives me very great pleasure to welcome the citizens of a neighboring state to ...
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 |