“science is a magnificent material force, but it is not a teacher of morals”
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William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan 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 the secretary of state under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. Because of his faith in the wisdo…
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politics · American politician (1860–1925) · politician · lawyer · diplomat · publisher · editor · writer · foreign minister · also William Jennings Bryan, William Bryan, W. J. Bryan, William J. Bryan, Bryan
Born 19 March 1860 · Died 26 July 1925 · Q205282
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Cross of Gold speech excerpt
EDIS-SRP-0190-15
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2026· 7 entries
“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”
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“a contest between democracy and plutocracy”
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“supreme moral factor in the world”
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Encyclopaedia Britannica: Hear William Jennings Bryan deliver his “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention
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The Bradenton Times: William Bryan Wilkes
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Tribute Archive: William Bryan Carmack Obituary | Munford Funeral Homes | Munford, TN
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2025· 1 entry
insider.si.edu: William Jennings Bryan
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2024· 1 entry
insider.si.edu: Ribbon, William Jennings Bryan, 1896
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2019· 1 entry
A statue of Chief Standing Bear replaced the statue of Bryan in the National Statuary Hall
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2011· 1 entry
John McDermott wrote that "Bryan is perhaps best known as the sweaty crank of a lawyer who represented Tennessee in the Scopes trial
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2006· 1 entry
Editor Richard Lingeman commented that "William Jennings Bryan is mainly remembered as the fanatical old fool Fredric March played in Inherit the Wind"
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1971· 1 entry
And a bust of him resides there, in the Nebraska State Capitol
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1962· 1 entry
Former President Harry Truman said Bryan "was a great one—one of the greatest"
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1961· 1 entry
To Salem, Illinois, Bryan's birthplace
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1934· 1 entry
Dedicating a statue of William Jennings Bryan created by Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mount Rushmore
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1931· 1 entry
Former Secretary of the Treasury William Gibbs McAdoo stated that "with the exception of the men who have occupied the White House, Bryan
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1930· 1 entry
She was buried next to Bryan after her death in 1930.
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1928· 1 entry
And later served as ambassador to Denmark during the presidency of Franklin D
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1925· 3 entries
Died 1925-07-26.
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Bryan remained married to his wife, Mary, until his death in 1925.
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Most intellectuals and activists on the broad left rejected the amalgam that had inspired him: a strict populist morality based on a close read reading of Scripture… Liberals and radicals from the age of FDR to the pres
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1923· 1 entry
Awarded Honorary doctorate of the University of Florida (1923).
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1917· 1 entry
“Believing it to be 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.”
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1916· 1 entry
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
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1915· 1 entry
Before the US joined World War I, 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 Lusi
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1913· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States Secretary of State (1913–1915).
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1912· 2 entries
Began to build a new home in Miami, Florida, known as Villa Serena
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Campaign: 1912 election.
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1910· 1 entry
Also came out in favor of women's suffrage
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1909· 1 entry
Bryan came out publicly for the first time in favor of Prohibition
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1906· 1 entry
And was widely seen as the likely 1908 Democratic presidential nominee
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1905· 1 entry
Bryan and his family embarked on a trip around the globe and visited eighteen countries in Asia and Europe
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1903· 1 entry
Meeting with figures such as Leo Tolstoy, who shared some of Bryan's religious and political views
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1902· 1 entry
Bryan, his wife and his three children moved into Fairview, a mansion located in Lincoln; Bryan referred to the house as the "Monticello of the West", and frequently invited politicians and diplomats to visit
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1900· 2 entries
President McKinley signed the Gold Standard Act, which put the United States on the gold standard
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Cost him his status as the clear leader of the Democratic Party and conservatives such as David B
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1896· 3 entries
And continued to distrust Bryan and his followers
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As "the first great struggle of the masses in our country against the privileged classes"
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And continued to deliver well-attended lectures on the Chautauqua circuit well into the 20th century
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1894· 1 entry
Bryan sought election to the United States Senate
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1892· 1 entry
To his house seat with the support of many Populists and backed the Populist presidential candidate James B
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1891· 1 entry
Career landmark: United States representative (1891–1895).
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1888· 1 entry
Bryan ran for Congress in the 1890 election
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1887· 1 entry
The capital of the fast-growing state of Nebraska
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1883· 1 entry
With a Bachelor of Laws and returned to Jacksonville to take a position with a local law firm
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1879· 1 entry
While still in college, Bryan met Mary Elizabeth Baird, the daughter of an owner of a nearby general store, and began courting her
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1872· 1 entry
But was narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate
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1860· 2 entries
To Silas Lillard Bryan and Mariah Elizabeth (Jennings) Bryan
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Born 1860-03-19.
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1822· 1 entry
And had established a legal practice in Salem in 1851
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