Prosperity at home, prestige abroad, c1895 (Image from the Library of Congress)

In 1896, the parties differed in their views on protective tariffs (the Republicans strongly supported them). The Republicans also supported a gold standard with the possibility of using silver as well. The Democrats supported bimetallism. In the end, William McKinley, the Civil War officer and Governor of Ohio, defeated William Jennings Bryan, the great orator.

The incumbent, William McKinley, had an advantage in this race.  He was the victorious leader in the Spanish-American War, and the country was doing well economically. In this rematch election, McKinley again won the vast majority of electoral votes over William Jennings Bryan.

BIRTHPLACE

Niles, OH

LIBRARY & MUSEUM

Canton, OH

BOOKS

Davis, Kenneth C., and Pedro Martin. Don’t Know Much about the Presidents. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2014.

DeGregorio, William A., and Aaron Jaffe. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, Inc., 2017.

Kane, Joseph Nathan, and Janet Podell. Facts about the Presidents: A Compilation of Biographical and Historical Information. New York: H.W. Wilson, 2009.