"The free-silver campaign was at its height. The proposition for the free coinage of silver at the ratio with gold of sixteen to one had become a national issue almost overnight. It gained in strength by the sudden ascendancy of William Jennings Bryan, who had stampeded the Democratic Convention by an eloquent speech and the catch phrase: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labour the crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon the cross of gold." [...] I could not share the enthusiasm for Bryan, partly because I did not believe in the political machine as a means of bringing about fundamental changes, and also because there was something weak and superficial about Bryan. I had a feeling that his main aim was to get into the White House rather than "strike off the chains" from the people. I resolved to steer clear of him. I sensed his lack of sincerity and I did not trust him."
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Lawyers from IllinoisPoliticians from IllinoisUnited States presidential candidates, 1920United States presidential candidates, 1912United States presidential candidates, 1908
Original Language: English
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Sources
Emma Goldman, Living My Life (1931)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Jennings_Bryan
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William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (19 March 1860 – 26 July 1925) was an American lawyer, statesman, and politician. He was a three-time Democratic Party nominee for President of the United States, and famously supported Tennessee's Butler Act against the teaching of evolution at the Scopes Trial of 1925.
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