After a final tour, William Jennings Bryan was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His opponents such as Mencken belittled Bryan as insignificant while his admirers praised his influence as a reformer and a Christian. In the 1930s, Bryan's populist influence reappeared during the Great Depression and the New Deal. His legacy was handed down to his children who gained political roles and spoke about social issues. Fundamentalists and conservative evangelists followed in Bryan's example, and Catholic liberals became contributors in social activism. Although Bryan's memory gradually faded along with the Social Gospel movement, Bryan played an important role in the making of three amendments and starting up a series of reforms. Bryan began a new style of politics in which a candidate appeals to the common people in a friendly, approachable manner. All in all, Bryan deserves recognition for his impact on American history.
Key Terms
H. L. Mencken
Bible Belt
Great Depression
New Deal
Program for Social Reconstruction
Questions
What should William Jennings Bryan be primarily remembered for?
How does Bryan's legacy live on today?
12-foot statue of Bryan by Gutzon Borglum, dedicated to him by FDR
Horydczak, Theodor, Statues and Sculpture. William Jennings Bryan statue, Photograph, from Library of Congress, accessed March 12, 2015, http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/thc.5a36017/
Ruth Bryan Owen, Bryan's daughter and congresswoman, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt and Ruth Bryan Owen in Washington, Washington D.C, Photograph, from Wikimedia Commons, accessed March 12, 2015, http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eleanor_Roosevelt_and_Ruth_Bryan_Owen_in_Washington,_Washington,_D.C_-_NARA_-_197265.jpg
Kazin, Michael. "The Fate of a Christian Liberal." In A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan, 296-306, New York, NY: Anchor Books, 2006.
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