What Was the Significance of William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold

question 79

Multiple Choice

What was the significance of William Jennings Bryan's "cross of gold" speech in which he famously said, "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold"?

• A) Bryan's speech came to represent his "front-porch campaign" in which he allowed other Republicans to do much of the talking and adopted a strictly middle-of-the-road approach in order to retain the votes of "goldbugs."
• B) The Republicans were so moved by Bryan's speech that they threw their support behind him, ushering in a new era in which there were few major philosophical differences between parties and it was more about the candidate.
• C) Bryan's speech guaranteed that the Populists would go on to win the presidential election of 1896, thereby officially marking the end of the traditional two-party system in the United States for much of the next century.
• D) In agreeing to continue to back Bryan, despite the scandal that was the focus of his speech, Democrats openly showed that they prized party loyalty above all else and would ignore public opinion in terms of elections.
• E) Aware of the high stakes of the election due to the depression, Democrats who had supported Cleveland were alienated by Bryan's positions in the speech, dismissed him as a socialist, and nominated their own candidate.

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