--- title: '1896: William McKinley v. William Jennings Bryan' url: https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1896/ description: the Republican ticket of William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart defeated the Democratic-People's ticket of William Jennings Bryan and Arthur Sewall in a… section: US presidential elections --- ![Illustration: a pre-1914 imperial intelligence-dossier collage of colonial telegraph logs, sepia field photography and empire maps.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/detail/hero-pre1914.jpg) [US presidential elections](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/) # 1896: William McKinley v. William Jennings Bryan At a glance The Republican ticket of William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart defeated the Democratic-People's ticket of William Jennings Bryan and Arthur Sewall in a campaign fought mainly over whether the United States should coin… - **When:** 1896 On this page - [Context](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1896/#context) - [Campaign literature](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1896/#campaign-literature) - [Techniques visible](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1896/#techniques-visible) - [Sources](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1896/#sources) On this page **In one line:** the Republican ticket of William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart defeated the Democratic-People's ticket of William Jennings Bryan and Arthur Sewall in a campaign fought mainly over whether the United States should coin silver freely at 16 to 1 or hold to the gold standard, with a third ticket of "sound-money" National Democrats, John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner, in the field as well. ## Context The election was held on 3 November 1896, in the last year of Grover Cleveland's second term. The Republicans nominated McKinley of Ohio, with Hobart of New Jersey, at their convention in St. Louis in June. The Democrats nominated Bryan of Nebraska at Chicago on 10 July; the Library of Congress record of one Bryan-Sewall broadside connects its "unlimited gold and silver coinage" wording to Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech at that convention [3]. The People's (Populist) Party also named Bryan for president but its own candidate for vice president was Thomas E. Watson of Georgia, so the Bryan ticket had two running mates, Sewall and Watson [1]. Democrats who rejected the free-silver platform formed the National Democratic Party and nominated Palmer and Buckner; their banner appears on one of the cartoons below [3]. The National Archives records 271 electoral votes for McKinley and 176 for Bryan (447 cast, 224 needed). For vice president Hobart received 271, Sewall 149 and Watson 27 [1]. The American Presidency Project lists the popular vote as 7,105,076 for McKinley (51.1 percent) and 6,370,897 for Bryan (45.8 percent) [2]. This page cites no popular-vote figures for the Palmer ticket because none were verified for it. The central issue was money. Free-silver supporters argued that coining silver at 16 ounces to 1 of gold would raise prices and ease debts; their opponents argued that it would debase the currency and that the gold standard protected savings and wages. Both sides also argued about the tariff: McKinley's literature stresses "protection" and the Democratic handkerchief below prints "Tariff for Revenue Only". Each side's literature, and each side's opponents' literature, is shown below on the same terms. ![Illustration: a lithographic poster workshop with inked stones, colour-separation proofs and drying racks.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/graphics/lithography-workshop.jpg) Illustration, not an archive object ## Campaign literature Twelve objects are hosted: six for the Bryan-Sewall ticket (four of its own, two attacking it), five for McKinley-Hobart (two of its own, one that mixes praise with an attack on its opponents, and two that attack it) and one for the Palmer-Buckner ticket. The sets are not equal in kind. Six of the twelve objects are cartoons from one magazine, *Puck*, a New York humor weekly: two attack the Bryan ticket, two attack McKinley and Hanna, one praises the National Democratic ticket and one mixes praise of McKinley with an attack on the Bryan ticket. The Library of Congress holds Homer Davenport's 1896 drawings for the New York *Journal* (including "McKinley the ventriloquist" and "Free silver Bryan"), but only as 640-pixel derivatives, too small to host at readable size, so they are not hosted. No object for the Prohibition ticket (Joshua Levering) or the People's Party's own printing was located and verified for hosting, and only one Palmer-Buckner object is hosted, though the Palmer and Buckner figures also appear in a *Puck* cartoon placed under McKinley below. ### William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart (Republican) ![McKinley-Hobart campaign buttons, badges and ribbon, ca. 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/mckinley-hobart-campaign-buttons-1896.jpg) *[McKinley-Hobart campaign buttons, badges and ribbon](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/mckinley-hobart-campaign-buttons-1896/). Various makers, ca. 1896. Public domain by age; Cornell University Library, via Wikimedia Commons.* A museum mount of Republican pieces: a star badge with both portraits, a whisk-broom, medallions reading "Gold and Protection", buttons reading "Sound Money and Protection" and "Silver is good but Gold is better", and a flag with a "Sound Money" ribbon. The portraits and flags are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the paired words "Protection" and "Sound Money" name a program, as "Free Coinage" and "16 to 1" do on the Bryan side [4]. ![Protection and sound money shield placard, 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/mckinley-hobart-protection-sound-money-shield-1896.jpg) *['Protection and sound money' shield placard](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/mckinley-hobart-protection-sound-money-shield-1896/). Publisher not recorded, 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* A shield placard with oval portraits of McKinley and Hobart on red, white and blue under the ribbon "Protection and Sound Money". The shield and flag colours are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the two-word slogan names a program, as the Bryan-side slogans do. ![Well protected, Puck, 7 October 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/puck-well-protected-mckinley-1896.jpg) *[Well protected (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-well-protected-mckinley-1896/). C. J. Taylor for Puck, 7 October 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* McKinley walks with "Miss Gold Standard" past "Anarchy Slum" and a poster reading "Vote for Bryan, Watson and Repudiation", guarded by two policemen labelled Palmer and Buckner. "Anarchy Slum", "Popocracy" and "Repudiation" are loaded labels for the opposing ticket, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/); the picture asks the viewer to fear the slum and accept the escort, which is [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/) [3]. ![Coronation of the autocrat of protection, Puck, 24 June 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/puck-coronation-autocrat-mckinley-1896.jpg) *[Coronation of the autocrat of protection (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-coronation-autocrat-mckinley-1896/). Louis Dalrymple for Puck, 24 June 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* A hostile cartoon: McKinley in royal robes crowns himself "Nomination" while Mark Hanna and Charles Grosvenor serve as high priests. "Autocrat" is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), and the crown and robe borrow the stigma of monarchy for the nominee, which is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) on the same definition used for the flag on the Republican shield [3]. ![The boss of the bosses, Puck, 8 July 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/puck-boss-of-the-bosses-1896.jpg) *[The boss of the bosses (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-boss-of-the-bosses-1896/). C. J. Taylor for Puck, 8 July 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* A fireworks tableau under "Veni, Vidi, Vici" shows a figure labelled "Hanna" working a wagon marked "McKinleyism" pulled by chained Platt, Quay and Manley. "Boss" is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) and the Caesar motto is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the cartoon names Hanna as the controlling figure and offers no evidence for that on its face. ### William Jennings Bryan and Arthur Sewall (Democratic and People's) ![Democratic nominees Bryan and Sewall, Amos Currier, 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/bryan-sewall-unlimited-coinage-broadside-1896.jpg) *[Democratic nominees Bryan and Sewall broadside](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bryan-sewall-unlimited-coinage-broadside-1896/). Amos Currier, San Francisco, 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Bust portraits of Bryan and Sewall in ovals under crossed flags, with a coin and the words "Gold and Silver Unlimited Coinage", "Democratic Nominees" and "Nominated at Chicago, Illinois, Friday, July 10th 1896". The flags and coin are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the print states the ticket's currency plank as a slogan, not an argument [3]. ![Bryan-Sewall Free Coinage portrait handkerchief, 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/bryan-sewall-free-coinage-handkerchief-1896.jpg) *[Bryan-Sewall 'Free Coinage' portrait handkerchief](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bryan-sewall-free-coinage-handkerchief-1896/). Maker not recorded, 1896. Public domain by age; Cornell University Library, via Wikimedia Commons.* A printed handkerchief with both portraits under an eagle and flags, "Free Coinage 16 to 1 1896", a silver dollar, the Capitol and "Tariff for Revenue Only". The eagle, flags and Capitol are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/), the same device as on the Republican shield; the handkerchief also states the platform's two planks plainly [4]. ![Bryan-Sewall campaign buttons, badges and card, ca. 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/bryan-sewall-campaign-buttons-1896.jpg) *[Bryan-Sewall campaign buttons, badges and card](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/bryan-sewall-campaign-buttons-1896/). Various makers, ca. 1896. Public domain by age; Cornell University Library, via Wikimedia Commons.* A mount of Democratic pieces: "16 bread to 1 butter", "16 to One", "The Silver Juggernaut", a beetle button reading "We are the people", and a card titled "The Enthroned Hog. Shall the People Rule?" showing Bryan facing a crowned, overfed figure on a throne. The throne figure is a loaded label for the opposing side, [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), the same technique as "autocrat" in the Puck cartoon about McKinley; the portrait badges are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) [4]. ![Greed, illustration from Coin's Financial School, 1894](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/coins-financial-school-greed-1894.png) *['Greed', illustration from Coin's Financial School](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/coins-financial-school-greed-1894/). W. H. Harvey, Coin Publishing Company, Chicago, 1894. Public domain by age; Wikimedia Commons / Wikisource, from the 1894 book.* Currency literature as well as imagery: Harvey's pamphlet *Coin's Financial School* (1894) was a fictional lecture series on bimetallism that circulated widely before the campaign and drew many printed replies in 1895-96, among them *Coin's Financial Fool* and *A Currency Catechism* [5]. This illustration, signed Mayer, shows a gaunt man clutching money bags and coins and is captioned only "Greed". The label on a drawn figure is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/). ![The last ghost-dance of the free silver tribe, Puck, 4 November 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/puck-ghost-dance-free-silver-1896.jpg) *[Last ghost-dance of the free silver tribe (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-ghost-dance-free-silver-1896/). Louis Dalrymple for Puck, 4 November 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress. Content note: period caricature of Native Americans.* A hostile cartoon from election eve: Bryan, Sewall, Watson, Altgeld and other silver leaders are drawn as Native American dancers around a fire labelled "Repudiation". "Repudiation" is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) and the Ghost Dance imagery borrows stigma from a different group, which is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/). The racial caricature is shown as printed. ![The silver-tongued ventriloquist and his dummies, Puck, 12 August 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/puck-silver-ventriloquist-bryan-1896.jpg) *[The silver-tongued ventriloquist and his dummies (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-silver-ventriloquist-bryan-1896/). Frederick Burr Opper for Puck, 12 August 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* A "Silver Mine Owner" holds a Bryan dummy that recites "Free Silver Harangues"; Sewall, Altgeld and others sit as dummies in boxes. Caption: "If the show succeeds, he'll get all the profits." Casting the candidates as a puppet is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), and the charge that mine owners would profit is made without figures [3]. ### John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner (National Democratic) ![True democracy is safe, Puck, 30 September 1896](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/puck-true-democracy-is-safe-palmer-1896.jpg) *[True democracy is safe! (Puck)](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/puck-true-democracy-is-safe-palmer-1896/). C. J. Taylor for Puck, 30 September 1896. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* A "Sound Money Democrat" raises his hat beside a Palmer and Buckner banner; the caption admits the ticket may not win but says it has "put the party in shape for 1900". Using "True Democracy" for one faction of a divided party claims the party's name for itself, which is [Semantic hijacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/semantic-hijack/). This is the only Palmer-Buckner object hosted; the National Democratic Committee's 1896 campaign text-book exists on the Internet Archive but only a plain cover was found, so it is not hosted [6]. ## Techniques visible The same few techniques appear on every side, applied to different targets. [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) is on every ticket's own literature (flags, eagles, the Capitol, coins) and on the hostile cartoons (crowns, Caesar, the Ghost Dance). [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) appears in the attack cartoons against both McKinley ("autocrat", "boss") and Bryan ("Repudiation", "Popocracy", the puppet) and in Bryan-side pieces ("The Enthroned Hog", "Greed"). The slogans on both sides ("Protection and Sound Money"; "Free Coinage", "16 to 1") name policies, and the archive applies the same test to each: a slogan that names a policy is not tagged [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/), which is kept for virtue words standing in for a claim. [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/) appears in one Republican-side cartoon, and [Semantic hijacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/semantic-hijack/) in the National Democratic one. Scale differs: the collection holds far more *Puck* cartoons against the free-silver ticket than literature printed by that ticket, and the objects hosted do not measure how many pieces each side printed or how far each reached. ## Sources 1. National Archives, "1896 Electoral College Results", https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/1896 2. American Presidency Project, "Election of 1896", https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/1896 3. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, records 2001697077, 2012648478, 2012648475, 2012648538, 2012648541, 2012648486, 2012648552 and 93504458, https://www.loc.gov/item/2001697077/ (and the same pattern for each id) 4. Cornell University Library, Susan H. Douglas Political Americana Collection, via Wikimedia Commons: "Bryan-Sewall 'Free Coinage' Portrait Handkerchief, 1896", "Bryan-Sewall Campaign Items, ca. 1896" and "McKinley-Hobart Campaign Items, ca. 1896" 5. Internet Archive, *Coin's financial school* (Chicago, Coin Publishing Co., 1894), https://archive.org/details/coinsfinancialsc00harvrich, and the replies listed on the Internet Archive for 1895-96 6. Internet Archive, *Campaign text-book of the National Democratic Party, 1896*, https://archive.org/details/campaigntextbook00chic