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To what extent did the election of 1896 represent a turning point in the history of United States

politics?

The United States political scheme was greatly shifted by the presidential election of

1896, due to its wide and far reaching political implications that in turn forced America's shift

from an agricultural society to one of urbanization and social development. Occurring between

William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate, and William McKinley, the victorious

Republican candidate, the election of 1896 broke previously determined paradigms pertaining

to political campaigning and the methods through which it was done, as well as political focus

and political appeal. The long term as well as short term effects of the election resonated

throughout the continuation of America's history and as such acted as one of America's modern

political turning points.

The first major differentiation between the election of 1896 and its predecessors was its

campaigning process. Unlike most other previous presidential candidates, William Bryan

traveled far and wide in the interest of directly campaigning to his possible voters; by holding

approximately 600 speeches in more than half of the states, Bryan was considered to be more

of the citizen's president than McKinley, and in turn gained voters. In retaliation, McKinley

spent over $15 million in order to compensate for his less attractive public oratory skills - an

amount that was nearly five times as great as the frugal Democrats'. These ridiculous

expenditures fueled Bryan's campaigning, most notably in his Cross of Gold speech which

showed the Democrat's unwavering support of the silver-standard and their relations with the

rural, lower class Americans, namely agriculturalists. Opposingly, McKinley's lavish lifestyle and

extraneous budget won over the majority of New Englanders who were almost entirely in favor
of the Republican supported gold-standard. McKinley's campaign budget fueled hate towards

Bryan's, ultimately resulting in the coinage of hate terms and ideas, even spurring religious

slanders towards the Democratic platform.

Unlike many of the presidential elections during the foregoing Gilded Age, the election

of 1986 was one that shifted its focus to a small set of issues, namely the gold and silver

standards as well as tariffs. Bryan as well as his followers supported the silver-standard, or free

silver, which intended on setting gold and silver at a consistent ratio, with silver as the

determinate factor - this approach appealed to much of the mid-west, specifically to its farmers

and lower class, as it would cause inflation, in turn allowing the less wealthy to pay off their

debts and mortgages. Alternately, McKinley intended on basing America's wealth on the more

precious metal, gold, which was mainly for the benefit of New England and other urban centers

throughout America. On top of this each side held differentiating views on the current state of

America's tariff - the Democrats recently passed a lower protective tariff intending on allowing

for a more internationally-oriented trade. The Republicans on the other hand wanted a higher

protective tariff which would potentially strengthen the local economy of America (in turn

appealing to the Republican's already urbanized supporters). McKinley's success in this election

led to the passing of the gold standard as well as a higher protective tariff, ultimately solidifying

America's shift from the Gilded Age into its more urbanized, modern age.

During the progression of the gilded age, America underwent both an extreme

demographic shift and a population explosion. The majority of America's agriculture came from

its now productive Mid-West and Western "bread basket," while urbanization spread from New
England all across America to its Western coast. These changes, coupled with the indirect social

and political powers of corporations and trusts, forced both Bryan and McKinley to orient their

political action towards all different locations of the US and appeal to the newly created social

classes - there no longer only existed a North and South, a businessman and a farmer. In order

to compensate for these ground-breaking socio-geopolitical shifts, the candidates as well as

their parties had to remain more active and resourceful in their campaigning and political

appeal. Urban centers were now located in the Northeast, the South, and the West while

agriculture had become more widespread, covering nearly all locations throughout the USA -

knowing this, McKinley and Bryan were forced to spread more wide-reaching ideas and values

in an attempt to capture the members of America's now melting-pot composition. This

realization and continued spread of urbanization coupled with the increasing interconnectivity

of America greatly affected the outcome of not only the 1896 election, but of all of those

following it as well.

Ultimately, the presidential election of 1896 shifted previously held political ideologies

to an extreme degree. The spontaneous and innovative forms of presidential campaigning,

coupled with the determinate shift of political focus and appeal, set the stage for upcoming

activism and action in politics. The results of this election and its ensuing presidency caused a

formal shift from America's adolescent nature to that of its modern self. This shift, coupled with

the upcoming age of progressivism ultimately accentuated America's power on the global scale

and led to its dominance as a leading international power.

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