After Bryan's second loss, Bryan continued to speak as a freelance political celebrity and started his weekly newspaper The Commoner. President William McKinley was assassinated by an anarchist in September 1901, making Theodore Roosevelt the new president. Roosevelt's anti-trust and environmental conservation reforms made him hard competition for the Democrats. Meanwhile, the there was a split in the Democratic Party, so Bryan spoke up for a series of reform focusing on money, monopoly, and empire in order to help his faction of Democrats against the anti-Bryanite "reorganizers" of the party. At the St. Louis convention, Bryan delivered a speech that allowed him to regain respect from his party. Alton Parker, a conservative Democrat, won the nomination against Hearst and Cockrell, but in the election of 1904, he lost to Roosevelt by a landslide. Although the election was a tragic loss for the Democrats, Bryan achieved in "keeping the faith" as well as rising up in his party as a leader again.
Key Terms
Frances Willard
Bellamy's Looking Backward
The Commoner
"reorganizers"
Bureau of Corporations
Alton Parker
William Randolph Hearst
Francis Cockrell
Questions
What was the significance of Bryan's The Commoner in rebuilding Bryan's reputation?
How did Bryan's proposed reforms compare to those of Roosevelt's?
Even though he did not run, how did the election of 1904 impact Bryan's political life?
Hindmarsh, R.B. Mr. Bryan in front of the office of the Commoner, Photograph, from the Clarence Darrow Digital Collection, accessed March 10, 2015, http://darrow.law.umn.edu/photos/Bryan_Commoner_newspaper.jpg
American presidential election, 1904, Map, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Online, accessed March 10, 2015, http://britannica.com/EBchecked/media/67677/Results-of-the-American-presidential-election-1904-Presidential-Candidate-Political
Kazin, Michael. "I Have Kept the Faith." In A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan, 109-120. New York, NY: Anchor Books, 2006.
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