1896 United States presidential election

The 1896 United States presidential election was the 28th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1896. Former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic, Populist, and Free Silver candidate, defeated former Ohio Governor William McKinley, the Republican candidate. The 1896 campaign, which took place during the fallout of an economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, preceded a political realignment that ended the old Third Party System and began the Fourth Party System.Though the effects of this realignment would not materialize until the 1900 presidential election.

Incumbent Democratic President Grover Cleveland declined to seek election to a second consecutive term, which would have been his third overall, which left the Democratic nomination open. Bryan, an attorney and former Nebraska congressman, rapidly gained support at the convention with his Cross of Gold speech, which called for reforms to the monetary system and derided business leaders and placed the blame for the Panic of 1893 on them. The 1896 Democratic National Convention repudiated the prior Cleveland administration and nominated Bryan after five rounds of balloting for president. Simultaneously, Bryan won the nomination of the Silver and Populist Parties, who had many similarities in policy to him. In opposition to Bryan's nomination, some conservative "Bourbon" Democrats formed the National Democatic Party and nominated former Illinois Senator John M. Palmer. McKinley and Hobart prevailed by a wide margin on the first ballot of the 1896 Republican National Convention.

Since the beginning of the Panic of 1893, the country had been stuck in a deep economic depression, exemplified by low prices, low profits, high unemployment, and violent divisive strikes. Economic issues, especially tariff policy and the gold standard, were central issues for all parties. McKinley forged a conservative coalition in which businessmen, professionals, prosperous farmers, and skilled factory workers turned off by Bryan's agrarian policies were heavily represented. McKinley saw his strongest support in cities in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. While McKinley's campaign manager, Mark Hanna, pioneeered many modern campaign strategies, spurred on by a $3.5 million budget. Bryan waged his campaign as a crusade of the working man against the rich, who, through limiting the supply of money, impoverished America. Silver, he said, was in ample supply and if coined into money would restore prosperity while undermining the illicit power of the money trust. Bryan's support was highest in the South, rural Midwest, and Western states. Bryan's moralistic rhetoric and crusade for inflation, which was to be generated by the institution of bimetallism, alienated many conservatives.

Bryan campaigned vigorously throughout the swing states of the Midwest, while McKinley conducted a "front porch" campaign. At the end of an intensely heated contest, Bryan won a majority of the popular and electoral vote. McKinley lost by an incredibly close margin, while Palmer won just under 1% of the vote. Turnout was very high, passing 90% of the eligible voters in many places. The Democratic Party's repudiation of its Bourbon faction largely gave Bryan and his supporters control of the Democratic Party until the 1920s, and set the stage for Republican domination of the Fourth Party System.

Republican Party nomination
Main article: 1896 Republican National Convention

Other candidates
At their convention in St. Louis, Missouri, held between June 16 and 18, 1896, the Republicans nominated William McKinley for president and New Jersey's Garret Hobart for vice-president. McKinley had just vacated the office of Governor of Ohio. Both candidates were easily nominated on first ballots.

McKinley's campaign manager, a wealthy and talented Ohio businessman named Mark Hanna, visited the leaders of large corporations and major, influential banks after the Republican Convention to raise funds for the campaign. Given that many businessmen and bankers were terrified of Bryan's populist rhetoric and demand for the end of the gold standard, Hanna had few problems in raising record amounts of money. As a result, Hanna raised a staggering $3.5 million for the campaign and outspent the Democrats by an estimated 5-to-1 margin. Major McKinley was the last veteran of the American Civil War to be nominated for president by either major party.

Democratic Party nomination
Main article: 1896 Democratic National Convention