Impact of William Jennings Bryan

 William Jennings Bryan was one of the greatest political figures in the history of America. He was an individual that was well known for his strong stances against injustice as well as being an extremely moral individual based on his Christian beliefs. Moreover, he was a great orator who came to influence the manner through which presidential campaigns are conducted to this day. A consequence of this situation was that he ended up being nominated to run for president by the Democratic Party three times (Kazin, 2007, p. 94); which was a feat that few have ever achieved. Bryan was an individual who promoted a number of causes including an opposition to the gold standard, the spread of democratic ideals, being opposed to American imperialism, support for prohibition, and an opposition to Darwinism.

One of the most important stances taken by Bryan was that he was extremely opposed to the gold standard. He believed that this currency standard was one that essentially promoted the interests of the eastern elites at the expense of common people in society. He felt that it would be best to ensure that rather than having a gold standard, there was a situation where a bimetallic currency standard was adopted. A bimetallic standard involved the use of both gold and silver as bases for the currency so that it would be able to ensure that all people in the country, especially the commoners, were able to benefit from it (Kazin, 2007, p. 95). This stance was important in ensuring that he gained considerable support within the Democratic Party that ended up bringing about his being nominated as a presidential candidate by the party. His strong stance when it came to the opposition to the gold standard and support for the rights of the commoners in society ensured that he maintained control over the Democratic Party for many years until such a time as his stances became unpopular with other party elites following his losses in presidential elections.

Another stance that Bryan took was that there was need to ensure that the United States took leadership in the spread of democracy across the world. This stance was one that saw America as the bastion of democracy and self-determination and it was his firm belief that human development and prosperity could not be possible without democracy. While he was on principle opposed to the use of the American military when it came to forcing American interests of other countries, Bryan ended up feeling that it could be used for helping people across the world achieve self-determination. This position was essential especially when it came to the Spanish-American War, where despite his opposition to military intervention, Bryan promoted the idea that it was important for Spanish colonies to be given the right of self-rule (Kazin, 2007, p. 91). He became an important advocate for the war, but rather than doing so for imperial reasons, he sought to ensure that there was the establishment of means through which the Spanish colonies would be given the right to determine their own future rather than living under the yoke of imperial rule. Therefore, his support for the Spanish-American War was based on a firm belief that European colonialism was a hindrance to the democratic process.

However, despite his promotion of the use of the military to ensure the spread of democracy, Bryan was opposed to imperialism of all types. He envisioned a role for the United States as being an example of what a truly democratic state was and considered any attempt by the country to acquire territories as essentially being a betrayal of its founding ideals. This was especially the case considering that at the time, in the late nineteenth century, European nations were actively promoting their imperialistic agendas in Africa and Asia, where they were acquiring new colonies and subjugating the native people of those continents. Bryan was opposed to such moves by the United States and following the Spanish-American War was against the manner through which America gained territorial concessions from Spain where it ended up securing the Philippines in order to establish a military base (Kazin, 2007, p. 89). Bryan looked upon this process as being a betrayal of American ideals and came to compare the move as the United States becoming an imperialist power in the same way that Britain and other European powers had become. This stance was one that he maintained even when he was Secretary of State for President Woodrow Wilson, and it also encouraged his opposition to American entry into the First World War.

Bryan was an individual that took an extremely moralist position when it came to social issues in America. A position that he took and defended considerably was his support for the prohibition. Bryan was raised in an extremely religious environment, which saw the consumption of alcohol as essentially being against the moral values of society. A result of this situation was that he gave his full support for the prohibition and campaigned for it until such a time as it was made a part of the law. His moral stance concerning this matter was so great that he ended up in a situation where despite his being a staunch Democrat, he refused to support those presidential candidates that he believed were against the prohibition. Another aspect of his strong moral stance was the support that he gave to the matter of women suffrage, and this was such a great success that it was made into law. The achievement of this goal cannot be underestimated especially considering that at the time, women suffrage was still a contentious issue in society.

Bryan’s opposition to Darwinism was also extremely well-known in American society. His stance was exemplified through his representation of the World Christian Fundamentals Association in the Scopes Trial where he argued based on his Christian beliefs. In the end, he was able to win the trial because he believed that the adoption of Darwinism would essentially create an environment where there was no moral authority in society. Instead, a society where the strong dominated the weak would be created and this would bring about a situation where all moral values would be meaningless.

In conclusion, William Jennings Bryan was a highly influential individual in the United States both when in politics and later as a private citizen. He promoted ideals that were aimed at protecting commoners, who were a majority in society, against the excesses of the elite. Moreover, he was a true democrat who believed in a world governed by democracy and was opposed to any form of imperialism; which he believed to be detrimental to the principle of self-determination.

 Reference

Kazin, M. (2007). A godly hero: The life of William Jennings Bryan: Anchor.