Red Mask Players, Inc. , founded in 1936, is one of the oldest community theaters in Illinois. It is housed in the Kathryn Randolph Theater in Danville, Illinois .
134-514: Kathryn Randolph, the company's founder and first director, had previously served as a dramatic coach to William Jennings Bryan . Dick Van Dyke made his theatrical debut with the company in 1946 in Rebecca . 40°08′05″N 87°37′47″W / 40.1348°N 87.6298°W / 40.1348; -87.6298 This Illinois -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This United States theatre–related article
268-470: A free silver plank in the campaign's platform, opposing the gold standard and calling for the government to mint large numbers of silver dollars. The "free silver" movement, a key plank for the party in 1896 and 1900, was popular among indebted Western farmers who felt that inflation would help them repay their debts. Business interests, in contrast, supported the lower inflation of the gold standard. Bryan, famous for his 1896 "Cross of Gold" speech opposing
402-531: A party platform that repudiated Cleveland, attacked the conservative rulings of the Supreme Court, and called the gold standard "not only un-American but anti-American". Conservative Democrats demanded a debate on the party platform, and on the third day of the convention, each side put forth speakers to debate free silver and the gold standard. Bryan and Senator Benjamin Tillman of South Carolina were chosen as
536-421: A Missouri senator whose career had been almost wholly unremarkable. Bryan's motivation was not any belief that Cockrell could defeat Roosevelt in the election, but rather that he would lose decisively, thus paving the way for Bryan to be re-nominated in 1908. However, the possibility of Hearst getting the nomination alarmed the party's moderates enough that they moved to support Parker, who was narrowly nominated on
670-528: A cabinet consisting largely of conservative Democrats like Morton, who became Cleveland's secretary of agriculture . Shortly after Cleveland had taken office, a series of bank closures brought on the Panic of 1893 , a major economic crisis. In response, Cleveland called a special session of Congress to call for the repeal of the 1890 Sherman Silver Purchase Act , which required the federal government to purchase several million ounces of silver every month. Bryan mounted
804-575: A campaign to save the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, but a coalition of Republicans and Democrats successfully repealed it. Bryan, however, was successful in passing an amendment that provided for the establishment of the first peacetime federal income tax. As the economy declined after 1893, the reforms favored by Bryan and the Populists became more popular among many voters. Rather than running for re-election in 1894, Bryan sought election to
938-521: A candidate to run against Parker. Three years later, Parker became an appellate judge when Hill appointed him to the newly formed Second Department of the Appellate Division . In November 1897, Parker successfully ran for the post of Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, defeating Republican William James Wallace . As a judge, Parker was notable for independently researching each case that he heard. He
1072-721: A conversion experience at a revival. He said that it was the most important day of his life. At 15, he was sent to attend Whipple Academy, a private school in Jacksonville, Illinois . After graduating from Whipple Academy, Bryan entered Illinois College , which was also located in Jacksonville. During his time at Illinois College, Bryan served as chaplain of the Sigma Pi literary society . He also continued to hone his public speaking skills, taking part in numerous debates and oratorical contests. Bryan graduated from Illinois College in 1881 at
1206-458: A cross of gold. By 1896, free silver forces were ascendant within the party. Though many Democratic leaders were not as enthusiastic about free silver as Bryan was, most recognized the need to distance the party from the unpopular policies of the Cleveland administration. By the start of the 1896 Democratic National Convention , Representative Richard P. Bland , a long-time champion of free silver,
1340-515: A danger to the nation's constitutional order, siding with conservatives in the GOP like William Howard Taft and Elihu Root to oppose Roosevelt's candidacy. Parker was elected to deliver the keynote address at the 1912 Democratic National Convention . He was elected against the opposition of Bryan, and the convention ultimately nominated Woodrow Wilson for president. While Wilson was more progressive than Parker's preferred candidate, Champ Clark , and held
1474-468: A delegate to the 1880 and 1884 Democratic national conventions. In between the two conventions, he helped Grover Cleveland get elected Governor of New York in 1882 . At the 1884 convention, he supported Cleveland, who was named the party's presidential nominee; Cleveland went on to narrowly defeat Republican James G. Blaine in the fall election . The new president offered Parker the position of first assistant postmaster general, but Parker rejected
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#17328547557961608-455: A farmer, and Harriet F. Stratton. Both of his parents were well educated and encouraged his reading from an early age. At the age of 12 or 13, Parker watched his father serve as a juror and was so fascinated by the proceedings that he resolved to become a lawyer. He attended Cortland Academy, and left to begin working as a teacher in Binghamton . There he became engaged to Mary Louise Schoonmaker,
1742-515: A former Senator from Delaware . Other delegates spoke of nominating Cleveland, who had already served two nonconsecutive terms, but Cleveland was no longer popular outside the party or even within it, due to his rift with Bryan. Parker's long service on the bench proved to be an advantage in his nomination, as he had avoided taking stands on issues that divided the party, particularly that of currency standards. Hill and other Parker supporters remained deliberately silent on their candidate's beliefs. By
1876-541: A group of women lawyers that he supported the suffrage movement "most heartily." In 1913, he was counsel for the managers of the trial leading to the impeachment of Dix's successor as governor, William Sulzer . During that election year, Parker actively resisted what he viewed as dangerous positions regarding the nation's judiciary held by men like Theodore Roosevelt, who initially sought the Republican nomination, and William Jennings Bryan, who still held considerable sway in
2010-683: A large crowd upon his return to the United States in 1906 and was widely seen as the likely 1908 Democratic presidential nominee. Partly due to the efforts of muckraking journalists, voters had become increasingly open to progressive ideas since 1904. President Roosevelt himself had moved to the left, favoring federal regulation of railroad rates and meatpacking plants. However, Bryan continued to favor more far-reaching reforms, including federal regulation of banks and securities , protections for union organizers and federal spending on highway construction and education. Bryan also briefly expressed support for
2144-629: A last resort, appeal to force". At Governor Silas A. Holcomb 's request, Bryan recruited a 2000-man regiment for the Nebraska National Guard and the soldiers of the regiment elected Bryan as their leader. Under Colonel Bryan's command, the regiment was transported to Camp Cuba Libre in Florida , but the fighting between Spain and the United States ended before the regiment had been deployed to Cuba. Bryan's regiment remained in Florida for months after
2278-907: A major blow to the cause of American neutrality. The May 1915 sinking of RMS Lusitania by another German U-boat further galvanized anti-German sentiment in the United States, as 128 Americans died in the incident. In response, Bryan argued that the Allied blockade of Germany was as offensive as the German U-boat Campaign , and maintained that by traveling on British vessels "an American citizen can, by putting his own business above his regard for this country, assume for his own advantage unnecessary risks and thus involve his country in international complications". After Wilson sent an official message of protest to Germany and refused to warn Americans publicly not to travel on British ships, Bryan delivered his letter of resignation to Wilson on June 8, 1915. During
2412-625: A mansion located in Lincoln; Bryan referred to the house as the " Monticello of the West", and frequently invited politicians and diplomats to visit. Bryan's defeat in 1900 cost him his status as the clear leader of the Democratic Party and conservatives such as David B. Hill and Arthur Pue Gorman moved to re-establish their control over the party and return it to the policies of the Cleveland era. Meanwhile, Roosevelt succeeded McKinley as president after
2546-487: A minute, he turned out 63,000 words a day, enough to fill 52 columns of a newspaper. The Republican Party's superior organization and finances boosted McKinley's candidacy and, as in the previous campaign, most major newspapers favored McKinley. Bryan also had to contend with the Republican vice presidential nominee, Theodore Roosevelt , who had emerged a national celebrity in the Spanish–American War and proved to be
2680-400: A nationwide speaking tour designed to boost free silver, move his party away from the conservative policies of the Cleveland administration, lure Populists and free silver Republicans into the Democratic Party, and raise Bryan's public profile before the next election. Speaking fees allowed Bryan to give up his legal practice and devote himself full-time to oratory. If they dare to come out in
2814-632: A negotiated end to the war, but the leaders of both the Entente and the Central Powers were ultimately uninterested in American mediation. Bryan remained firmly committed to neutrality, but Wilson and others within the administration became increasingly sympathetic to the Entente. The March 1915 Thrasher incident , in which a German U-boat sank the British steamship Falaba with a U.S. citizen on board, provided
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#17328547557962948-538: A possible candidate. Roosevelt's Secretary of War Elihu Root said of Parker that he "has never opened his mouth on any national question", but Roosevelt feared that the man's neutrality would prove a political advantage, writing that "the neutral-tinted individual is very apt to win against the man of pronounced views and active life". The 1904 Democratic National Convention was held in July in St. Louis , Missouri, then also hosting
3082-544: A progressive, the convention nominated Bryan's brother, Charles W. Bryan, for vice president. Bryan was disappointed by the nomination of Davis but strongly approved of the nomination of his brother and he delivered numerous campaign speeches in support of the Democratic ticket. Davis suffered one of the worst losses in the Democratic Party's history, taking just 29 percent of the vote against Republican President Calvin Coolidge and
3216-534: A reduction in tariff rates, the coinage of silver at a ratio equal to that of gold and action to stem the power of trusts . In part because of a series of strong debate performances, Bryan defeated incumbent Republican William James Connell , who had campaigned on the orthodox Republican platform, centered around the protective tariff . Bryan's victory made him only the second Democrat who ever represented Nebraska in Congress. Nationwide, Democrats picked up 76 seats in
3350-511: A resolution condemning the Ku Klux Klan because he expected that the organization would soon fold. Bryan disliked the Klan but never publicly attacked it. He also strongly opposed the candidacy of Al Smith due to Smith's hostility towards Prohibition. After over 100 ballots, the Democratic convention nominated John W. Davis , a conservative Wall Street lawyer. To balance the conservative Davis with
3484-399: A state circuit judge and in 1866 moved his family to a 520-acre (210.4 ha) farm north of Salem. He lived in a ten-room house that was the envy of Marion County . Silas served in various local positions and sought election to Congress in 1872, but was narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate. William's cousin, William Sherman Jennings , was also a prominent Democrat. William was
3618-421: A strong progressive record as governor. As the 1912 Democratic National Convention approached, Bryan continued to deny that he would seek the presidency, but many journalists and politicians suspected that Bryan hoped a deadlocked convention would turn to him. After the start of the convention, Bryan engineered the passage of a resolution stating that the party was "opposed to the nomination of any candidate who
3752-478: A strong public speaker. Bryan's anti-imperialism failed to register with many voters and as the campaign neared its end, Bryan increasingly shifted to attacks on corporate power. He once again sought the vote of urban laborers by telling them to vote against the business interests that had "condemn[ed] the boys of this country to perpetual clerkship". By election day, few believed that Bryan would win, and McKinley ultimately prevailed once again over Bryan. Compared to
3886-454: A trip around the globe and visited eighteen countries in Asia and Europe. Bryan funded the trip with public speaking fees and a travelogue that was published on a weekly basis. Bryan's travels abroad were documented in a study called "The Old World and its Ways", in which he shared his thoughts on different topics such as those related to progressive politics and labor legislation. Bryan was greeted by
4020-511: A well-received speech that strongly defended Wilson's domestic record. Bryan served as a campaign surrogate for Wilson by delivering dozens of speeches, primarily to audiences west of the Mississippi River . Ultimately, Wilson narrowly prevailed over the Republican candidate, Charles Evans Hughes . When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Bryan wrote to Wilson: "Believing it to be
4154-428: A willingness to make compromise with dignity". Roosevelt, enraged, released a statement calling Parker's criticisms "monstrous" and "slanderous". Parker's attacks came too late to turn the election, however. On November 8, Roosevelt won in a landslide of 7,630,457 votes to Parker's 5,083,880. Roosevelt carried every Northern and Western state, including Missouri, for a total of 336 electoral votes ; Parker carried only
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4288-403: A witness from appearing before the committee pursuant to a duly authorized subpoena, used campaign contributions to speculate in the stock market, promised and threatened to use his influence as governor to affect the votes or political actions of certain members of the general assembly and used his authority and influence as governor "to affect the current prices of securities listed and selling on
4422-552: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the Democratic Party , running three times as the party's nominee for President of the United States in the 1896 , 1900 , and 1908 elections. He served in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895 and as
4556-413: Is a representative of, or under any obligation to, J. Pierpont Morgan , Thomas F. Ryan , August Belmont , or any other member of the privilege-hunting and favor-seeking class". Clark and Wilson won the support of most delegates on the first several presidential ballots of the Democratic convention, but each fell short of the necessary two-thirds majority. After Tammany Hall came out in favor of Clark and
4690-452: The 1890 elections , served two terms, and made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate in 1894. At the 1896 Democratic National Convention , Bryan delivered his "Cross of Gold" speech which attacked the gold standard and the eastern moneyed interests and crusaded for inflationary policies built around the expanded coinage of silver coins . In a repudiation of incumbent President Grover Cleveland and his conservative Bourbon Democrats ,
4824-634: The 1904 United States presidential election , losing in a landslide to incumbent Republican Theodore Roosevelt . A native of upstate New York , Parker practiced law in Kingston, New York , before being appointed to the New York Supreme Court and elected to the New York Court of Appeals . He served as Chief Judge of the latter from 1898 to 1904, when he resigned to run for president. In 1904, he defeated liberal publisher William Randolph Hearst for
4958-412: The 1904 World's Fair and the 1904 Summer Olympics . Parker's mentor David B. Hill —having attempted and failed to capture the nomination himself at the 1892 convention —now led the campaign for his protege's nomination. William Jennings Bryan , who had been nominated but defeated by William McKinley in both 1896 and 1900, was no longer considered by delegates to be a viable alternative. Radicals in
5092-562: The 1908 presidential election , but he was defeated by Roosevelt's chosen successor, William Howard Taft . Along with Henry Clay , Bryan is one of the two individuals who never won a presidential election despite receiving electoral votes in three separate presidential elections held after the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment . After the Democrats won the presidency in the 1912 election , Woodrow Wilson rewarded Bryan's support with
5226-475: The 1916 presidential election , members of the Prohibition Party attempted to place Bryan into consideration for its presidential nomination, but he rejected the offer via telegram. Bryan supported Wilson's 1916 re-election campaign. Bryan did not attend as an official delegate, but the 1916 Democratic National Convention suspended its own rules to allow Bryan to address the convention; Bryan delivered
5360-521: The American Federation of Labor . As in previous campaigns, Bryan embarked on a public speaking tour to boost his candidacy but was later joined on the trail by Taft. Defying Bryan's confidence in his own victory, Taft decisively won the 1908 presidential election. Bryan won just a handful of states outside of the Solid South, as he failed to galvanize the support of urban laborers. Bryan remains
5494-499: The Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States. In the general election, Parker opposed popular incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. After a disorganized and ineffective campaign, Parker was defeated by 336 electoral votes to 140, carrying only the traditionally Democratic Solid South . He then returned to practicing law. In later life, he managed John Alden Dix 's successful 1910 campaign for Governor of New York and served as prosecution counsel for
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5628-577: The Eighteenth Amendment , which provided for nationwide Prohibition, in 1917. Two years later, Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment , which granted women the right to vote nationwide. Both amendments were ratified in 1920. In 1916 Bryan expressed his belief to John Reed that the government "may properly impose a minimum wage, regulate hours of labor, pass usury laws, and enforce inspection of food, sanitation and housing conditions." During
5762-619: The Hudson River , calling the house "Rosemount". They were the parents of two children, Bertha and John. John died of tetanus while still a child. Bertha Schoonmaker Parker married the Reverend Charles Mercer Hall, with whom she had two children, Alton Parker Hall and Mary McAlister Hall Oxholm. As the 1904 presidential election approached, the Democrats began to search for a nominee to oppose popular incumbent Republican president Theodore Roosevelt , and Parker's name arose as
5896-623: The Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people, Bryan was often called " the Great Commoner ", and because of his rhetorical power and early fame as the youngest presidential candidate, " the Boy Orator ". Born and raised in Illinois , Bryan moved to Nebraska in the 1880s. He won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in
6030-645: The United States Senate . He also became the editor-in-chief of the Omaha World-Herald although most editorial duties were performed by Richard Lee Metcalfe and Gilbert Hitchcock . Nationwide, the Republican Party won a huge victory in the elections of 1894 by gaining over 120 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In Nebraska, despite Bryan's popularity, the Republicans elected a majority of
6164-606: The latter's assassination in September 1901 at the Pan-American Exposition , in Buffalo, New York. Roosevelt prosecuted antitrust cases and implemented other progressive policies, but Bryan argued that Roosevelt did not fully embrace progressive causes. Bryan called for a package of reforms, including a federal income tax, pure food and drug laws, a ban on corporate financing of campaigns, a constitutional amendment providing for
6298-548: The 1904 election was one of a few in American history in which voters had two first-rate candidates to choose from. Stone professed that Americans liked Roosevelt more because of his colorful style. After the election, Parker resumed practicing law and served as the president of the American Bar Association from 1906 to 1907. He was a founding member of the New York County Lawyers' Association and served as
6432-458: The 1913 impeachment of Dix's successor, Governor William Sulzer . During the 1912 presidential election , Parker joined with other constitutional conservatives in an absolute defense of the power of judicial review against critics like Theodore Roosevelt or William Jennings Bryan who advocated a popular check on judicial decisions. Parker was born in Cortland, New York , to John Brooks Parker,
6566-415: The 1920s, Bryan called for further reforms, including agricultural subsidies, the guarantee of a living wage , full public financing of political campaigns and an end to legal gender discrimination. Some Prohibitionists and other Bryan supporters tried to convince the three-time presidential candidate to enter the 1920 presidential election , and a Literary Digest poll taken in mid-1920 ranked Bryan as
6700-517: The 20th century. Bryan retained control of the Democratic Party and again won the presidential nomination in 1900 . After serving as a colonel in the 3rd Nebraska Infantry Regiment during the Spanish–American War , Bryan became a fierce opponent of American imperialism , and much of his campaign centered on that issue. In the election, McKinley again defeated Bryan and won several Western states that Bryan had won in 1896. Bryan's influence in
6834-489: The Democratic Party, but he increasingly devoted himself to Prohibition , religious matters, and anti-evolution activism. He opposed Darwinism on religious and humanitarian grounds, most famously in the 1925 Scopes trial , dying soon after. Bryan has elicited mixed reactions from various commentators but is acknowledged by historians as one of the most influential figures of the Progressive Era . William Jennings Bryan
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#17328547557966968-401: The Democratic Party. Roosevelt had come out as early as 1910 in opposition to whom he called "fossilized judges" that struck down reform legislation as unconstitutional. By 1912, both Roosevelt and Bryan had called for amendments to enable the recall of judges and judicial decisions that the people at large deemed incorrect as a popular check on judicial review. Parker believed this proposal to be
7102-493: The Democratic convention nominated Bryan for president, making Bryan the youngest major party presidential nominee in U.S. history. Subsequently, Bryan was also nominated for president by the left-wing Populist Party , and many Populists would eventually follow Bryan into the Democratic Party. In the intensely-fought 1896 presidential election , the Republican nominee, William McKinley , emerged triumphant. At age 36, Bryan remains
7236-512: The Democratic nomination, Bryan argued that the election represented "a contest between democracy and plutocracy". He also strongly criticized the U.S. annexation of the Philippines and compared it to Britain's past rule over the Thirteen Colonies . Bryan argued that the United States should refrain from imperialism and should seek to become the "supreme moral factor in the world's progress and
7370-481: The Eighteenth Amendment. Bryan declined the presidential nomination of the Prohibition Party and refused to campaign for Cox, which made the 1920 campaign the first presidential contest in over thirty years in which he did not actively campaign. Though he became less involved in Democratic politics after 1920, Bryan attended the 1924 Democratic National Convention as a delegate from Florida. He helped defeat
7504-544: The House Champ Clark . As Speaker, Clark could lay claim to progressive accomplishments, including the passage of constitutional amendments providing for the direct election of senators and the establishment of a federal income tax. However, Clark had alienated Bryan for his failure to lower the tariff and Bryan viewed the Speaker as overly friendly to conservative business interests. Wilson had criticized Bryan but had compiled
7638-510: The House and so obtained a majority in that chamber. The Populist Party, a third party that drew support from agrarian voters in the West, also won several seats in Congress. With the help of Representative William McKendree Springer , Bryan secured a coveted spot on the House Ways and Means Committee . He quickly earned a reputation as a talented orator and set out to gain a strong understanding of
7772-547: The New York Stock Exchange." Sulzer was found guilty of three charges (making and filing a false statement regarding his campaign accounts, perjuring himself in verifying the statement concerning his campaign accounts and suppressing evidence by threatening witnesses) and was ultimately removed from office. Parker later re-entered politics, managing John Alden Dix 's successful 1910 gubernatorial campaign. He announced his support for women's suffrage in 1911, telling
7906-456: The New York delegation threw its support behind the Speaker, Bryan announced that he would support Wilson. In explaining his decision, Bryan stated that he could "not be a party to the nomination of any man... who will not, when elected, be absolutely free to carry out the anti-Morgan-Ryan-Belmont resolution". Bryan's speech marked the start of a long shift away from Clark: Wilson would finally clinch
8040-524: The Republican candidate, William McKinley , over Bryan. Many urban newspapers in the Northeast and Midwest that had supported previous Democratic tickets also opposed Bryan's candidacy. Bryan, however, won the support of the Populist Party, which nominated a ticket consisting of Bryan and Thomas E. Watson of Georgia. Though Populist leaders feared that the nomination of the Democratic candidate would damage
8174-423: The Republican platform also advocated for progressive policies, which left relatively few major differences between the two major parties. One issue that the two parties differed on concerned deposit insurance, as Bryan favored requiring national banks to provide deposit insurance . Bryan largely unified the leaders of his own party and his pro-labor policies won him the first presidential endorsement ever issued by
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#17328547557968308-468: The Republican ranks helped give Wilson the presidency; he won over 400 electoral votes but only 41.8 percent of the popular vote. In the concurrent congressional elections, Democrats expanded their majority in the House and gained control of the Senate, which gave the party unified control of Congress and the presidency for the first time since the early 1890s. President Wilson named Bryan as Secretary of State,
8442-578: The South. After the election, Bryan returned to journalism and oratory and frequently appeared on the Chautauqua circuits to give well-attended lectures across the country. In January 1901, Bryan published the first issue of his weekly newspaper, The Commoner , which echoed his favorite political and religious themes. Bryan served as the editor and publisher of the newspaper; Charles Bryan, Mary Bryan and Richard Metcalfe also performed editorial duties when Bryan
8576-458: The United States had an obligation to "civilize" the Philippines, but Bryan strongly opposed what he saw as American imperialism . Despite his opposition to the annexation of the Philippines, Bryan urged his supporters to ratify the Treaty of Paris. He wanted to quickly bring an official end to the war and then to grant independence to the Philippines as soon as possible. With Bryan's support, the treaty
8710-414: The United States on the gold standard . Bryan remained popular in the Democratic Party and his supporters took control of party organizations throughout the country, but he initially resisted shifting his political focus from free silver. Foreign policy emerged as an important issue due to the ongoing Cuban War of Independence against Spain , as Bryan and many Americans supported Cuban independence. After
8844-603: The accepted arbiter of the world's disputes". By 1900, the American Anti-Imperialist League , which included individuals like Benjamin Harrison, Andrew Carnegie , Carl Schurz and Mark Twain , had emerged as the primary domestic organization opposed to the continued American control of the Philippines. Many of the leaders of the League had opposed Bryan in 1896 and continued to distrust Bryan and his followers. Despite
8978-436: The attorney Lyman Trumbull , a former senator and friend of Silas Bryan who would serve as an important political ally to the younger Bryan until his death in 1896. Bryan graduated from law school in 1883 with a Bachelor of Laws and returned to Jacksonville to take a position with a local law firm. Frustrated by the lack of political and economic opportunities in Jacksonville, Bryan and his wife moved west to Lincoln in 1887,
9112-573: The bench. On August 10, he was formally visited at Rosemount by a delegation of party elders to inform him of his nomination. Parker then delivered a speech criticizing Roosevelt for his administration's involvement in Turkish and Moroccan affairs and having failed to give a date on which the Philippines would become independent of American control. The speech was considered even by supporters to be impersonal and uninspiring. Historian Lewis L. Gould described
9246-467: The campaign trail, the Republican nominee conducted a front porch campaign . Hanna, meanwhile, raised an unprecedented amount of money, dispatched campaign surrogates and organized the distribution of millions of pieces of campaign literature. Facing a huge campaign finance disadvantage, the Democratic campaign relied largely on Bryan's oratorical skills. Breaking with the precedent set by most major party nominees, Bryan gave some 600 speeches, primarily in
9380-736: The campaign's inefficient use of funds to bring in delegates, Parker received few visitors. Rather than introducing issues that would differentiate the two parties, the Democrats preferred to emphasize Roosevelt's character, portraying him as dangerously unstable. Parker's campaign also failed to reach out to traditional Democratic voting blocs such as Irish Catholic immigrants. In contrast, Roosevelt's campaign, headed by George Cortelyou , organized committees to appeal specifically to demographics including Jewish, black, and German-American voters. John Hay, Roosevelt's Secretary of State, wrote of Parker's poor showing to Henry Adams , calling it "the most absurd political campaign of our time". A month before
9514-433: The capital of the fast-growing state of Nebraska. Bryan established a successful legal practice in Lincoln with partner Adolphus Talbot, a Republican whom Bryan had known in law school. Bryan also entered local politics by campaigning for Democrats like Julius Sterling Morton and Grover Cleveland . After earning notoriety for his effective speeches in 1888, Bryan ran for Congress in the 1890 election . Bryan called for
9648-638: The company, it sued the United Hatters of North America for violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act . The U.S. Supreme Court found for Loewe by ruling that the union had been acting in restraint of interstate commerce. Parker had more success representing Samuel Gompers and other labor leaders in Gompers v. United States , in which the Supreme Court overturned their convictions for contempt of court on statute of limitations grounds. In 1913, Parker
9782-456: The convention, but he fell far short of the necessary two-thirds vote. Bryan finished in a distant second on the convention's first ballot, but his Cross of Gold speech had left a strong impression on many delegates. Despite the distrust of party leaders like Altgeld, who was wary of supporting an untested candidate, Bryan's strength grew over the next four ballots. He gained the lead on the fourth ballot and won his party's presidential nomination on
9916-607: The daughter of a man who owned property near his school. He then returned to Cortland Academy. While at Cortland Normal School, Parker was a member of Gamma Sigma Fraternity. After graduation, he attended the State Normal School in Cortland (now the State University of New York College at Cortland ), Parker married Schoonmaker in 1872 and became a clerk at Schoonmaker & Hardenburgh, a legal firm at which one of her relatives
10050-481: The direct election of senators, local ownership of utilities, and the state adoption of the initiative and the referendum , and provisions for old age. He also criticized Roosevelt's foreign policy and attacked Roosevelt's decision to invite Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House in 1901. Before the 1904 Democratic National Convention , Alton B. Parker , a New York and conservative ally of David Hill,
10184-488: The distrust, Bryan's strong stance against imperialism convinced most of the league's leadership to throw their support behind the Democratic nominee. Once again, the McKinley campaign established a massive financial advantage, and the Democratic campaign relied largely on Bryan's oratory. In a typical day Bryan gave four hour-long speeches and shorter talks that added up to six hours of speaking. At an average rate of 175 words
10318-463: The duty of the citizen to bear his part of the burden of war and his share of the peril, I hereby tender my services to the Government. Please enroll me as a private whenever I am needed and assign me to any work that I can do." Wilson declined to appoint Bryan to a federal position, but Bryan agreed to Wilson's request to provide public support for the war effort through his speeches and articles. After
10452-457: The effects of inflation. Bryan sought re-election in 1892 with the support of many Populists and backed the Populist presidential candidate James B. Weaver over the Democratic presidential candidate, Grover Cleveland. Bryan won re-election by just 140 votes, and Cleveland defeated Weaver and incumbent Republican President Benjamin Harrison in the 1892 presidential election . Cleveland appointed
10586-489: The election by a fairly comfortable margin by taking 51 percent of the popular vote and 271 electoral votes . Democrats remained loyal to their champion after his defeat; many letters urged him to run again in the 1900 presidential election . William's younger brother, Charles W. Bryan , created a card file of supporters to whom the Bryans would send regular mailings to for the next thirty years. The Populist Party fractured after
10720-470: The election, Parker became aware of the large volume of corporate donations Cortelyou had solicited for the Roosevelt campaign, and made "Cortelyouism" a theme of his speeches, accusing the president of being insincere in previous trust busting efforts. In late October, he also went on a speaking tour in the key states of New York and New Jersey , in which he reiterated the president's "shameless exhibition of
10854-598: The election; many Populists, including James Weaver, followed Bryan into the Democratic Party, and others followed Eugene V. Debs into the Socialist Party . Because of better economic conditions for farmers and the effects of the Klondike Gold Rush in raising prices, free silver lost its potency as an electoral issue in the years after 1896. In 1900, President McKinley signed the Gold Standard Act , which put
10988-573: The end of the war, which prevented Bryan from taking an active role in the 1898 midterm elections . Bryan resigned his commission and left Florida in December 1898 after the United States and Spain had signed the Treaty of Paris . Bryan had supported the war to gain Cuba's independence, but he was outraged that the Treaty of Paris granted the United States control over the Philippines . Many Republicans believed that
11122-482: The endorsement of Bryan, he also came out against judicial recall. The result was the triumph of a supreme view of judicial review in both the Democratic and Republican parties. Parker's wife, Mary, died in 1917. He remarried in 1923 to Amelia Day "Amy" Campbell. On May 10, 1926, only a few days after recovering from bronchial pneumonia , Parker died from a heart attack while riding in his car through New York City's Central Park , four days before his 74th birthday. He
11256-454: The endorsement of numerous local and state organizations. Conservative Democrats again sought to prevent Bryan's nomination, but were unable to unite around an alternative candidate. Bryan was nominated for president on the first ballot of the 1908 Democratic National Convention . He was joined by John W. Kern , a former state senator from the swing state of Indiana. Bryan campaigned on a party platform that reflected his long-held beliefs, but
11390-531: The entire East and industrial Midwest and did well along the border and the West Coast. Bryan swept the South and Mountain states and the wheat growing regions of the Midwest. Revivalistic Protestants cheered at Bryan's semi-religious rhetoric. Ethnic voters supported McKinley, who promised they would not be excluded from the new prosperity, as did more prosperous farmers and the fast-growing middle class. McKinley won
11524-542: The explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor , the United States declared war on Spain in April 1898, which began the Spanish–American War . Though wary of militarism , Bryan had long favored Cuban independence and so supported the war. He argued that "universal peace cannot come until justice is enthroned throughout the world. Until the right has triumphed in every land and love reigns in every heart, government must, as
11658-457: The fifth ballot. At the age of 36, Bryan became the youngest presidential nominee of a major party in American history, a position that he still holds. The convention nominated Arthur Sewall , a wealthy Maine shipbuilder who also favored free silver and the income tax, as Bryan's running mate. Conservative Democrats, known as the " Gold Democrats ", nominated a separate ticket. Cleveland himself did not publicly attack Bryan but privately favored
11792-564: The first ballot at the convention, with Cockrell finishing a distant third place. Bryan would nonetheless get his desired outcome when Roosevelt won by the biggest popular vote margin since James Monroe was re-elected without opposition in 1820. Afterwards, Bryan published a post-election edition of The Commoner that advised its readers: "Do not Compromise with Plutocracy". Bryan traveled to Europe in 1903, meeting with figures such as Leo Tolstoy , who shared some of Bryan's religious and political views. In 1905, Bryan and his family embarked on
11926-462: The fourth child of Silas and Mariah, but all three of his older siblings died during infancy. He also had five younger siblings, four of whom lived to adulthood. William was home-schooled by his mother until the age of ten. Demonstrating a precocious talent for oratory, he gave public speeches as early as the age of four. Silas was a Baptist and Mariah was a Methodist , but William's parents allowed him to choose his own church. At age fourteen, he had
12060-443: The fourth-most popular potential Democratic candidate. Bryan, however, declined to seek public office and wrote, "if I can help this world to banish alcohol and after that to banish war... no office, no Presidency, can offer the honors that will be mine". He attended the 1920 Democratic National Convention as a delegate from Nebraska but was disappointed by the nomination of Governor James M. Cox , who had not supported ratification of
12194-489: The gold standard, fought bitterly to avoid the inclusion of the gold standard in the party platform in 1904. Ultimately the convention agreed not to include a plank on the subject. However, seeking to win the support of the Eastern "sound money" faction, Parker sent a telegram to the convention immediately upon hearing news of his nomination that he considered the gold standard "firmly and irrevocably established" and would decline
12328-652: The group's president from 1909 to 1912. Parker was elected president of the New York State Bar Association on January 28, 1913. He served as the president of the NYSBA from 1913 to 1914. Parker represented organized labor in several cases, most notably in Loewe v. Lawlor , popularly known as the "Danbury Hatters' case". In the case, the fur hat manufacturer D. E. Loewe & Company had attempted to enforce an open shop policy; when unions had subsequently boycotted
12462-461: The growing power of trusts. Bryan, however, decided that his campaign would focus on anti-imperialism, partly to unite the factions of the party and win over some Republicans. The party platform contained planks supporting free silver and opposing the power of trusts, but imperialism was labeled as the "paramount issue" of the campaign. The party nominated former Vice President Adlai Stevenson to serve as Bryan's running mate. In his speech accepting
12596-509: The hotly-contested Midwest. Bryan invented the national stumping tour , reaching an audience of 5 million in 27 states. He was building a coalition of the white South, poor northern farmers and industrial workers and silver miners against banks and railroads and the "money power". Free silver appealed to farmers, who would be paid more for their products, but not to industrial workers, who would not get higher wages but would pay higher prices. The industrial cities voted for McKinley, who won nearly
12730-471: The important cabinet position of Secretary of State. Bryan helped Wilson pass several progressive reforms through Congress. In 1915, he considered that Wilson was too harsh on Germany and finally resigned after Wilson had sent Germany a note of protest with a veiled threat of war in response to the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-boat . After leaving office, Bryan retained some of his influence within
12864-432: The introduction of the initiative and referendum as a means of giving voters a direct voice while he made a whistle-stop campaign tour of Arkansas in 1910. Although some observers, including President Taft, speculated that Bryan would make a fourth run for the presidency, Bryan repeatedly denied that he had any such intention. An escalating split in the Republican Party gave Democrats their best chance in decades to win
12998-413: The issue's unpopularity among many Democrats. According to biographer Paolo Colletta, Bryan "sincerely believed that prohibition would contribute to the physical health and moral improvement of the individual, stimulate civic progress and end the notorious abuses connected with the liquor traffic". In 1910, he also came out in favor of women's suffrage . Bryan crusaded as well for legislation to support
13132-515: The key economic issues of the day. During the Gilded Age , the Democratic Party had begun to separate into two groups. The conservative northern " Bourbon Democrats ", along with some allies in the South, sought to limit the size and power of the federal government. Another group of Democrats, drawing its membership largely from the agrarian movements of the South and West, favored greater federal intervention to help farmers, regulate railroads, and limit
13266-620: The members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors . Secretary of State Bryan pursued a series of bilateral treaties that required both signatories to submit all disputes to an investigative tribunal. He quickly won approval from the president and the Senate to proceed with his initiative. In mid-1913, El Salvador became the first nation to sign one of Bryan's treaties, and 29 other countries, including every great power in Europe other than Germany and Austria-Hungary , also agreed to sign
13400-517: The most prestigious appointive position. Bryan's extensive travels, popularity in the party, and support for Wilson in the election made him the obvious choice. Bryan took charge of a State Department that employed 150 officials in Washington and an additional 400 employees in embassies abroad. Early in Wilson's tenure, the president and the secretary of state broadly agreed on foreign policy goals, including
13534-475: The most received by a presidential candidate who was never elected. Bryan remained an influential figure in Democratic politics, and after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in the 1910 midterm elections , he appeared in the House of Representatives to argue for tariff reduction. In 1909, Bryan came out publicly for the first time in favor of Prohibition . A lifelong teetotaler , Bryan had refrained from embracing Prohibition earlier because of
13668-426: The nomination if he could not state this in his campaign. The telegram sparked a new debate and fresh opposition from Bryan, but the convention eventually replied to Parker that he was free to speak on the issue as he liked. National support for Parker began to rise, and Roosevelt praised his opponent's telegram in private as "bold and skillful" and "most adroit". After receiving the nomination, Parker resigned from
13802-416: The offer, citing monetary reasons. During this time, Parker also became a protege of David B. Hill , managing Hill's 1885 gubernatorial campaign. After his election, Hill appointed Parker to fill an 1885 vacancy on the New York Supreme Court created by the death of Justice Theodore R. Westbrook. In 1886, Parker was elected to his own fourteen-year term in the seat. The Republicans declined to nominate
13936-453: The only individual since the Civil War to lose three separate U.S. presidential elections as a major party nominee. Since the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment , Bryan and Henry Clay are the lone individuals who received electoral votes in three separate presidential elections but lost all three elections. The 493 cumulative electoral votes cast for Bryan across three separate elections are
14070-436: The open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we shall fight them to the uttermost, having behind us the producing masses of the nation and the world. Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests and all the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standard by saying to them, you shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon
14204-431: The party in the long term, they shared many of Bryan's political views and had developed a productive working relationship with Bryan. The Republican campaign painted McKinley as the "advance agent of prosperity" and social harmony and warned of the supposed dangers of electing Bryan. McKinley and his campaign manager, Mark Hanna , knew that McKinley could not match Bryan's oratorical skills. Rather than giving speeches on
14338-514: The party supported publisher William Randolph Hearst but lacked sufficient numbers to secure the nomination due to opposition from Bryan and Tammany Hall , the powerful New York political machine. Small clusters of delegates pledged support to other candidates, including Missouri Senator Francis Cockrell ; Richard Olney , Grover Cleveland's Secretary of State ; Edward C. Wall , a former Wisconsin State Representative ; and George Gray ,
14472-399: The party weakened after the 1900 election, and the Democrats nominated the conservative Alton B. Parker in the 1904 presidential election . Bryan regained his stature in the party after Parker's resounding defeat by Theodore Roosevelt and voters from both parties increasingly embraced some of the progressive reforms that had long been championed by Bryan. Bryan won his party's nomination in
14606-426: The power of large corporations. Bryan became affiliated with the latter group and advocated for the free coinage of silver (" free silver ") and the establishment of a progressive federal income tax . That endeared him to many reformers, but Bryan's call for free silver cost him the support of Morton and some other conservative Nebraska Democrats. Free silver advocates were opposed by banks and bondholders who feared
14740-529: The presidency. Bryan did not seek the Democratic presidential nomination; his continuing influence gave him a major voice in choosing the nominee. Bryan was intent on preventing the conservatives in the party from nominating their candidate, as they had done in 1904. For a mix of practical and ideological reasons, Bryan ruled out supporting the candidacies of Oscar Underwood , Judson Harmon , and Joseph W. Folk , which left two major candidates competing for his backing: New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson and Speaker of
14874-482: The presidential nomination after over 40 ballots. Journalists attributed much of the credit for Wilson's victory to Bryan. In the 1912 presidential election , Wilson faced off against President Taft and former President Roosevelt, the latter of whom ran on the Progressive Party ticket. Bryan campaigned throughout the West for Wilson and also offered advice to the Democratic nominee on various issues. The split in
15008-487: The rejection of Taft's Dollar diplomacy . They also shared many priorities in domestic affairs and, with Bryan's help, Wilson orchestrated passage of laws that reduced tariff rates, imposed a progressive income tax, introduced new antitrust measures, and established the Federal Reserve System . Bryan proved particularly influential in ensuring that the president, rather than private bankers, was empowered to appoint
15142-429: The results of the 1896 election, McKinley increased his popular vote margin and picked up several Western states, including Bryan's home state of Nebraska. The Republican platform of victory in war and a strong economy proved to be more important to voters than Bryan's questioning the morality of annexing the Philippines. The election also confirmed the continuing organizational advantage of the Republican Party outside of
15276-428: The speakers who would advocate for free silver, but Tillman's speech was poorly received by delegates from outside the South because of its sectionalism and references to the Civil War. Charged with delivering the convention's last speech on the topic of monetary policy, Bryan seized his opportunity to emerge as the nation's leading Democrat. In his "Cross of Gold" speech , Bryan argued that the debate over monetary policy
15410-483: The speech as a "fiasco" for Parker from which the candidate did not recover. After this initial speech, Parker retreated into a strategy of silence again, avoiding comment on all major issues. Parker's campaign soon proved to be poorly run as well. Parker and his advisors opted for a front porch campaign , in which delegations would be brought to Rosemount to see Parker speak on the model of McKinley's successful 1896 campaign. However, due to Esopus's remote location and
15544-403: The state and federal ownership of railroads in a manner similar to Germany but backed down from that policy in the face of an intra-party backlash. Roosevelt, who enjoyed wide popularity among most voters even while he alienated some corporate leaders, anointed Secretary of War William Howard Taft as his successor. Meanwhile, Bryan re-established his control over the Democratic Party and won
15678-408: The state legislators, and Bryan lost the Senate election to Republican John Mellen Thurston . Bryan, nonetheless, was pleased with the result of the 1894 election, as the Cleveland wing of the Democratic Party had been discredited, and Bryan's preferred gubernatorial candidate, Silas A. Holcomb , had been elected by a coalition of Democrats and Populists. After the 1894 elections, Bryan embarked on
15812-418: The third-party candidate Robert M. La Follette . Alton B. Parker Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Alton Brooks Parker (May 14, 1852 – May 10, 1926) was an American judge. He was the Democratic nominee in
15946-416: The time of the convention and he won his party's nomination unanimously. Bryan did not attend the convention but exercised control of the convention's proceedings via telegraph. Bryan faced a decision regarding which issue his campaign would focus on. Many of his most fervent supporters wanted Bryan to continue his crusade for free silver, and Democrats from the Northeast advised Bryan to center his campaign on
16080-399: The time the convention cast their votes, it was clear that no candidate but Parker could unify the party, and he was selected on the first ballot. Henry G. Davis , an elderly West Virginia millionaire and former senator, was selected as the vice presidential candidate in the hope that he would partially finance Parker's campaign. The convention was riven by debate over whether to include
16214-568: The top of his class. In 1879, while still in college, Bryan met Mary Elizabeth Baird , the daughter of an owner of a nearby general store , and began courting her. Bryan and Mary Elizabeth married on October 1, 1884. Mary Elizabeth would emerge as an important part of Bryan's career by managing his correspondence and helping him prepare speeches and articles. Bryan then studied law in Chicago at Union Law College (now Northwestern University School of Law ). While attending law school, Bryan worked for
16348-465: The traditionally Democratic Solid South , accumulating 140 electoral votes. Parker telegraphed his congratulations to Roosevelt that night and returned to private life. In Irving Stone 's 1943 book, They Also Ran , about defeated presidential candidates, the author stated that Parker was the only defeated presidential candidate in history never to have a biography written about him. Stone theorized that Parker would have been an effective president and
16482-772: The treaties. Despite Bryan's stated aversion to conflict, he oversaw U.S. military interventions in Haiti , the Dominican Republic and Mexico as part of the Banana Wars . After World War I broke out in Europe, Bryan consistently advocated for American neutrality between the Entente and the Central Powers . With Bryan's support, Wilson initially sought to stay out of the conflict, urging Americans to be "impartial in thought as well as action". For much of 1914, Bryan attempted to bring
16616-487: The war, despite some reservations, Bryan supported Wilson's unsuccessful effort to bring the United States into the League of Nations . After leaving office, Bryan spent much of his time advocating for the eight-hour day , a minimum wage , the right of unions to strike and increasingly women's suffrage . However, his main crusades focused on support for prohibition and opposition to the teaching of evolution. Congress passed
16750-401: The youngest person in United States history to receive an electoral vote for president and cumulatively, the most electoral votes without ever being elected president. Bryan gained fame as an orator, as he invented the national stumping tour when he reached an audience of 5 million people in 27 states in 1896, and continued to deliver well-attended lectures on the Chautauqua circuit well into
16884-539: Was appointed lead trial counsel in the impeachment of New York governor William "Plain Bill" Sulzer. Sulzer faced eight articles of impeachment, alleging that he made and filed a false statement regarding his campaign accounts, perjured himself in verifying the statement concerning his campaign accounts, bribed witnesses and fraudulently induced them to withhold evidence from the legislative committee investigating his misconduct, suppressed evidence by threatening witnesses, dissuaded
17018-619: Was born in Salem, Illinois , on March 19, 1860, to Silas Lillard Bryan and Mariah Elizabeth (Jennings) Bryan. Silas Bryan had been born in 1822 and had established a legal practice in Salem in 1851. He married Mariah, a former student of his at McKendree College , in 1852. Of Scots-Irish and English ancestry, Silas Bryan was an avid Jacksonian Democrat and an admirer of Andrew Jackson and Stephen A. Douglas , who would pass on his Democratic affiliation to his son, William. Silas Bryan won election as
17152-548: Was considered to be pro-labor and was an active supporter of social reform legislation, for example upholding a maximum-hours law as constitutional. His judicial opinions were noted "for their forceful diction, comprehensive grasp of the fundamental questions involved, unsparing labor in citing precedents, close reasoning, and their tendency to disregard merely technicalities." During his time as Chief Judge, Parker and his wife sold their Kingston home and bought an estate in Esopus on
17286-402: Was part of a broader struggle for democracy, political independence and the welfare of the "common man". Bryan's speech was met with rapturous applause and a celebration on the floor of the convention that lasted for over half an hour. The next day, the Democratic Party held its presidential ballot. With the continuing support of Governor John Altgeld of Illinois, Bland led the first ballot of
17420-637: Was ratified in a close vote, bringing an official end to the Spanish–American War. In early 1899, the Philippine–American War broke out as the established Philippine government, under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo , sought to stop the American invasion of the archipelago. The 1900 Democratic National Convention met in Kansas City, Missouri , where some Democratic leaders opposed to Bryan had hoped to nominate Admiral George Dewey for president. Nevertheless, Bryan faced no significant opposition by
17554-413: Was the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. Conservatives feared that Bryan would join with the publisher William Randolph Hearst to block Parker's nomination. Seeking to appease Bryan and other progressives, Hill agreed to a party platform that omitted mention of the gold standard and criticized trusts. In the event, Bryan did not support Parker or Hearst, but rather Francis Cockrell ,
17688-404: Was the senior partner. He then enrolled at Albany Law School . After graduating with an LL.B. degree in 1873, he practiced law in Kingston until 1878 as the senior partner of the firm Parker & Kenyon. Parker also became active with the Democratic Party . In 1877, he won election as surrogate court judge of Ulster County, and he was elected to a new six-year term in 1883. He served as
17822-419: Was traveling. The Commoner became one of the most widely-read newspapers of its era and boasted 145,000 subscribers approximately five years after its founding. Though the paper's subscriber base heavily overlapped with Bryan's political base in the Midwest, content from the papers was frequently reprinted by major newspapers in the Northeast. In 1902, Bryan, his wife and his three children moved into Fairview ,
17956-409: Was widely perceived to be the frontrunner for the party's presidential nomination. Bryan hoped to offer himself as a presidential candidate, but his youth and relative inexperience gave him a lower profile than veteran Democrats like Bland, Governor Horace Boies of Iowa, and Vice President Adlai Stevenson . The free silver forces quickly established dominance over the convention, and Bryan helped draft
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