How Did William Jennings Bryan Contribute To The Cross Of Gold Speech

William Jennings Bryan, born in 1860, was a railroad lawyer, as well as a politician and a very respected public speaker. The reason he was so successful at what he did was mainly due to the fact that he knew how to reach out to specific types of people, essentially by empathize with them. He was able to speak in front of religious groups that he did not necessarily worship the same religion with, within their religious institutions, and he was able to connect with each and every one of the audience members through his oratory skills (Lecture, 1/26/18). William Jennings Bryan and his coalition were the main reason as to why the Democratic Party came into existence, however he himself, as well as his coalition were under a lot of scrutiny for a very long time. He promoted the idea of reform, especially that which is economic, however other parties found this as abnormal, and destabilizing to the American nation (Lecture, 1/26/18). This essay will examine the ways in which William Jennings Bryan used the notion of
His speech was called the “Cross of Gold Speech” wherein he addresses the desperate need for change, and the fact that he refuses to let the radically spreading financial system to consume the people (Lecture, 1/26/18). He uses major religious symbolism here in order to highlight the desperacy and essentiality of change. Through the use of such a metaphor, he is able to capture the attentions of the religious middle class groups that he believes deserve reform (Lecture, 1/26/18). Quite frankly, this was the first way in which he used religious politics in order to try and instill the idea of reform and a required shift in the financial distribution of the country, and essentially reshape the Democratic Party into its latest