The Cross of Gold Speech and the Free Silver Movement

 

What is the Cross of Gold Speech? 

Silver coins haven’t been used as an official U.S. currency for decades. But at one point in time, the value of the United States Dollar was pegged directly to the value of precious metals like gold and silver. By 1896, the question of which metal should back America’s currency became a controversial subject of debate among people and politicians. 

William Jennings Bryan entered the 1896 Democratic National Convention (DNC) as a fringe, dark horse candidate. Compared to frontrunner candidate Richard P. Bland, Bryan was considered young and politically inexperienced. When the smoke settled after a contentious convention, William Jennings Bryan was named the Democratic presidential candidate. 

What caused the political underdog to emerge victorious over the experienced, battle-tested Bland? Most historians argue that it was Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech that secured him an unlikely nomination. In the history of American politics, very few public speeches have so radically turned the tides of a political convention as the Cross of Gold speech. 

The Cross of Gold speech is widely considered one of the most influential public speeches in American political history – and with good reason. 

But what is the Cross of Gold Speech? In a speech to the 1896 Democratic National Convention, William Jennings Bryan attacked the gold standard, advocating instead for a system of bimetallism. The speech is called the Cross of Gold speech because of the concluding line of Bryan’s 35-minute address: 

“You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

Far from an isolated public address, the Cross of Gold speech represents a far larger political coalition in the United States called the “free silver movement.” On this page, learn more about William Jennings Bryan, the free silver movement, and the famous “Cross of Gold” speech that made him a formidable political force. 

Understanding the Free Silver Movement

To understand the context behind the Cross of Gold speech, we’ll need to take a look at the now-forgotten political movement that inspired it. William Jennings Bryan was a member of a political coalition known as the free silver movement.

What is free silver? Advocates for free silver lobbied for a bimetallic monetary system in which the United States Dollar would be pegged to both gold and silver. In the decade leading up to the 1896 Democratic National Convention, the issue of which metal(s) would support the United States Dollar had become a contentious political issue. Until 1873, silver could be turned in to the U.S. government in exchange for currency silver coins, which constituted a de facto silver backing to our national currency. 

The Crime of 1873 was a law passed that eliminated the free silver program in the United States. Under this law, citizens could no longer turn in their silver in exchange for silver dollars. This outraged silver investors, who believed that the metal was ideal for use in American currency. 

To free silver advocates, also known as silverites, the introduction of the gold standard was an injustice to the common man. Silverites argued that silver was the precious metal of the people, given its affordability, but that gold was a currency reserved for wealthy bankers and robber-barons. 

Today, we don’t usually think much about the precious metals that back our money. In the 19th century, however, the debate between silver and gold was a major point of contention for American politicians. 

The Speaker: William Jennings Bryan

Who was William Jennings Bryan? William Jennings Bryan was a dedicated silverite and free silver advocate. Like other Democratic politicians at the time, he was deeply worried about the impact that a gold standard would have on United States currency. Bryan argued for a bimetallic system, which would have allowed the government to back its currency with both gold and silver. 

Bryan was a gifted public speaker and a Congressman representing the state of Nebraska. He was so excellent and delivering speeches that the media at the time often called him the “boy orator,” in a reference both to his speaking acumen and his young age. 

He entered the 1896 Democratic National Convention as a minor candidate who was not expected to win the majority of votes necessary to secure the nomination. Considered an up-and-comer in the Democratic party, Jennings Bryan had only served four years as a Congressman before 1896. 

William Jennings Bryan and the 1896 Democratic National Convention

William Jennings Bryan’s path to the Democratic presidential nominee is among the most unlikely in American political history. When the DNC began, Bryan was far from the presumptive nominee. Most Americans expected that the nomination would instead go to frontrunner Richard P. Bland, a far more experienced Congressman from Missouri. 

Let’s dive into the contentious 1896 Democratic National Convention to see how a dark horse candidate used his public speaking prowess to secure an unprecedented nomination. 

A Divided Party 

The 1896 Democratic National Convention occurred during a troubling time in American history. The Panic of 1893 refers to an economic depression that lasted from 1893 until 1897. The depression influenced nearly every part of the U.S. economy, and the desperation it caused for the average worker led to a major political realignment in the 1890s. Because of the variety of proposed causes – and solutions – surrounding the depression, the Democratic party found itself at a crossroads in the lead-up to the 1896 Democratic National Convention. 

Chief among the concerns of the Democratic party in the 1896 DNC was which issues would take center-stage in their presidential platform. Although the question of the gold standard had proven popular among voters, it remained a contentious issue – and Democrats were not sure whether or not it should be a core plank of their platform in the 1896 election. 

William Jennings Bryan – A Fringe Candidate

William Jennings Bryan may have been a fringe candidate going into the 1896 Democratic National Convention, but he was not entirely unknown. Bryan had developed a reputation as both a formidable public speaker and a fierce advocate for free silver in the months and years leading up to the DNC.

Prior to the convention itself, Bryan sent letters and conducted meetings with other political leaders, urging them to support free silver if it comes up during the convention. 

In doing so, the young “boy orator” set the groundwork for what would eventually go down in history as one of the most impactful, effective speeches in American politics. 

Analyzing the Cross of Gold Speech 

Over the course of the convention, the gold-silver debate quickly became an important talking-point. One by one, potential nominees delivered speeches on various topics. Eventually, it was Bryan’s turn to speak. 

Key Points: What Was the Cross of Gold Speech About? 

What was the Cross of Gold speech about? In the Cross of Gold speech, William Bryan Jennings argued in favor of a bimetallic monetary system, which would allow citizens to convert their United States Dollars into both gold and silver. This position was a direct response to the adoption of the gold standard and the elimination of the free silver policy by the United States government. 

Jennings Bryan took a populist approach to the issue of silver currency. Many Americans at the time viewed silver as the average person’s metal and lambasted gold as a rich man’s currency. Because of the ongoing economic depression that coincided with this political debate, the gold versus silver discourse became representative of a larger battle of the classes in America. 

The young orator was reportedly nervous before speaking, eating a sandwich as another potential nominee, a staunch supporter of gold-backed currencies, delivered his speech (full text here). 

He ascended the steps to the stage and began his speech quietly, still nervous to speak in front of the crowded room of raucous delegates: 

I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this were a mere measuring of abilities; but this is not a contest between persons. The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. I come to speak to you in defense of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty—the cause of humanity.

Historians say that this opening served an important function for the gifted young politician. By downplaying his own importance and beginning with a softer tone of voice than other, more emboldened speakers, he made himself seem like a voice of reason. As the speech continued, his passion grew, drawing in his audience before delivering his most powerful, direct lines. 

Bryan drew poignant comparisons, playing up the populist “common man versus businessman” talking-point that had given so much fire to the silverite movement. He invoked history, referencing the Civil War and calling the ongoing silver-gold debate another iteration of the “brother versus brother” war that had rocked the nation just decades before. 

By the end of his speech, both Bryan’s passion and the audience’s interest reached a crescendo. Men were shouting and waving white handkerchiefs in the air, and some sources say that even the police stationed at the convention began to fear a riot. Once Bryan had their attention – and their passion – he concluded with a final call to action: 

Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand 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 a cross of gold.

First-hand accounts say that, as Bryan slowly walked back to his seat on the convention floor, the room was almost completely silent. The silent held for several moments, and William Jennings Bryan worried that his speech had not been well-received. 

Then, chaos. 

Impacts of the Cross of Gold Speech 

The Washington Post reported on the immediate impact of Bryan’s passionate speech: 

bedlam broke loose, delirium reigned supreme.

Following his exit from the stage, policemen rushed to Bryan to protect him from the mob of supporters. They were unsuccessful – the DNC delegates swept him up, placing him on their shoulders and marching him around the convention venue. 

The next day, delegates voted to select William Jennings Bryan as the Democratic nominee for the office of President of the United States. Bryan had gambled on his ability to use oration to unify his party on the issue of free silver, and he was successful. 

There are very few examples in American history of public speeches that are as effective and impactful as the Cross of Gold speech.

Bryan entered the Democratic National Convention as fringe candidate with hardly any support. He was well-known as a public speaker, but he was young, unexperienced, and relatively untested in large political races. 

By the time he concluded his speech, he was so overwhelmingly popular among delegates that he was literally carried on their shoulders. Using a single speech and a well-planned strategy, Jennings Bryan pulled off one of the most successful upsets in the history of the Democratic party. He did all of this by uniting the Democratic party on a popular front, the cause of free silver. 

Aftermath: The Cross of Gold Speech 

In the 21st century, the political apparatus of the silverites has largely faded. William Bryan Jennings went on to lose the 1896 presidential election to Republican incumbent William McKinley, who passed the Gold Standard Act and put the final nail in the coffin of the free silver cause. 

Over time, the silverite controversy faded from public memory as the gold standard became the law of the land. William Bryan Jennings later became the Secretary of State. 

He may not have won the Presidency, but William Bryan Jennings will still go down in history as one of the most gifted public speakers in the history of the United States. In the Cross of Gold speech, he united a divided party, using his populist approach to bring the issue of free silver to the forefront of the American political dialogue. 

You might also be interested in:

• History Lesson: What Was the Crime of 1873?
• Is it Illegal to Own Gold?
• What Happened to the Gold Standard?