WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN TYPED LETTER SIGNED BY BRYAN FROM DATED MARCH 24, 1894
Item History & Price
8" X 10" typed letter on House of Representatives stationary dated March 24, 1894 signed by William Jennings Bryan. He signed with black fountain pen. In 1894, when he wrote this letter, he was deeply involved in proposals for bi-metalism or "free silver" as opposed to the gold standard for money. In this letter written to a person involved in mining in Utah, he was referring to these matters. Bryan(d25)was an American orator and politician from Nebraska. Beginn...ing in 1896, he emerged as adominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party'snominee for President of the United States in the 1896, 1900, and 1908 elections.He also served in the United States House of Representatives and as the UnitedStates Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. Just before his death, he gainednational attention for attacking the teaching of evolution in the Scopes Trial Because of his faith in thewisdom of the common people, he was often called "The Great Commoner". Born and raised in Illinois, Bryan moved toNebraska in the 1880s. He won election to the House of Representatives in the 1890elections, serving two terms before making an unsuccessful run for the Senatein 1894. At the 1896 Democratic National Convention, Bryan delivered his "Crossof Gold speech" which attacked the gold standard and the eastern moneyedinterests and crusaded for inflationary policies built around the expandedcoinage of silver coins. In a repudiation of incumbent President GroverCleveland and his conservative Bourbon Democrats, the Democratic conventionnominated Bryan for president, making Bryan the youngest major partypresidential nominee in U.S. history. Subsequently, Bryan was also nominatedfor president by the left-wing Populist Party, and many Populists wouldeventually follow Bryan into the Democratic Party. In the intensely fought 1896presidential election, Republican nominee William McKinley emerged triumphant.At age 36, Bryan remains the youngest person in United States history toreceive an electoral vote. Bryan gained fame as an orator, as heinvented the national stumping tour when he reached an audience of 5 millionpeople in 27 states in 1896. Bryanretained control of the Democratic Party and won the presidential nomination againin 1900. After the Spanish–American War, Bryan became a fierce opponent of American imperialism andmuch of his campaign centered on that issue. In the election, McKinley againdefeated Bryan, winning several Western states that Bryan had won in 1896.Bryan's influence in the party weakened after the 1900 election and theDemocrats nominated the conservative Alton B. Parker in the 1904 presidentialelection. Bryan regained his stature in the party after Parker's resoundingdefeat by Theodore Roosevelt and voters from both parties increasingly embracedthe progressive reforms that had long been championed by Bryan. Bryan won hisparty's nomination in the 1908 presidential election, but he was defeated byRoosevelt's chosen successor, William Howard Taft. Along with Henry Clay, Bryanis one of the two individuals who never won a presidential election despitereceiving electoral votes in three separate presidential elections held afterthe ratification of the Twelfth Amendment. After the Democrats won the presidency in the 1912 election, WoodrowWilson rewarded Bryan's support with the important cabinet position ofSecretary of State. Bryan helped Wilson pass several progressive reformsthrough Congress, but he and Wilson clashed over U.S. neutrality in World War I.Bryan resigned from his post in 1915 after Wilson sent Germany a note ofprotest in response to the sinking of Lusitaniaby a German U-boat. After leaving office, Bryan retained some of his influencewithin the Democratic Party, but he increasingly devoted himself to religiousmatters and anti-evolution activism. He opposed Darwinism on religious andhumanitarian grounds, most famously in the 1925 Scopes Trial.From July 10 to July 21, 1925, Bryan participated in the highly publicized ScopesTrial, which tested the Butler Act, a Tennessee law barring the teaching ofevolution in public schools. The defendant, John T. Scopes, had violated theButler Act while serving as a substitute biology teacher in Dayton, Tennessee.His defense was funded by the American Civil Liberties Union and led in courtby famed lawyer Clarence Darrow. No one disputed that Scopes had violated theButler Act, but Darrow argued that the statute violated the EstablishmentClause of the First Amendment. Bryan defended the right of parents to choosewhat schools teach, argued that Darwinism was merely a "hypothesis, "and claimed that Darrow and other intellectuals were trying to invalidate"every moral standard that the Bible gives us." The defense called Bryan as awitness and asked him about his belief in the literal word of the Bible, thoughthe judge later expunged Bryan's testimony. Ultimately, the judge instructed the jury torender a verdict of guilty, and Scopes was fined $100 for violating the ButlerAct.[ The national media reported the trial ingreat detail, with H. L. Mencken ridiculing Bryan as a symbol of Southernignorance and anti-intellectualism. Even many Southern newspapers criticizedBryan's performance in the trial; the Memphis Commercial Appeal reportedthat "Darrow succeeded in showing that Bryan knows little about thescience of the world." Bryan had not been allowed to deliver a finalargument at trial, but he arranged for the publication of the speech he hadintended to give. In that publication, Bryan wrote that "science is amagnificent material force, but it is not a teacher of morals."Comes with money back guarantee if not satisfied. Low starting bid. Will ship international.
