Gold and Silver: The election of 1896

Precious metals were beginning to play a huge role in politics towards the end of the nineteenth century, and the election of 1896 was not exempt. Currently serving in the White House was Grover Cleveland, but after the Panic of 1893 and considering he had served two terms, Cleveland opted not to run again. The Democrats turned to 36 year old William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska, the youngest major party candidate to ever run. Bryan was the "silver" candidate, famously making his "Cross of Gold" speech at the Democratic National Convention that year, calling for America to come off the gold standard. Running for the Republican party in 1896 was Ohio Governor William McKinley, who supported the gold standard. Bryan and the Democrats came up with the "16 to 1" ratio, based on the claim that 16 silver-backed dollars could be printed for every one dollar backed by gold. Bryan traveled the country making speeches, a first, since it was often believed to be undignified to stump for yourself. Meanwhile, McKinley stayed at his home and gave front porch speeches from his Canton, Ohio residence. In the end, McKinley proved victorious, carrying most of the North and Midwest. McKinley's term was filled with much excitement, most notably the Spanish-American War fought with Spain, in Cuba and the Philippines. In 1898, the USS Maine was sunk in Havana, most likely an internal explosion, but Americans wanted war, and they got it. The U.S. forces made quick work of the Spaniards in Cuba, where Theodore Roosevelt led his famous Rough Riders up San Juan Hill. The Philippines proved more difficult, but mostly in the later years under colonial rule in the early 1900's. The successful war made McKinley popular, and he would seek re-election in 1900. As for William Jennings Bryan, he too would seek to win back the Democratic nomination in 1900. The items shown here are pretty common. By the 1896 election, the process of making buttons and the celluloid technology had finally met, and this is often called the "golden era" for political collectors, as buttons like this would become common until the present time. There are many fine examples of buttons from the 1896 election, very colorful with very graphic designs. One company in particular, Whitehead and Hoag, developed many of the most famous campaign buttons. Pictured here is a William Jennings Bryan button, and two William McKinley buttons, and one McKinley stick pin. Items like these are fairly common and easy to find. Buttons were mass produced for this election, and thousands are still around today. Some larger size jugates and 3-D items are more scarce, but most items from this campaign are very affordable. There are many items showing the "16:1" slogan on them, which are Bryan related items.