The Election of 1892

This election is considered a turning point election. Prior to this election, there wasn’t a big difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Democrats were significantly influenced by Southern segregationists and the South was their most important voter base.

During this election, the Populist party influenced the direction that the Democratic Party was going in. The result of this was a divided and weaker Democratic Party, which enabled the Republican election victory.

For example, Conservative Democrats continued to support the gold standard, which conflicted with Populist Democrats who advocated for free silver.

Populist Democrats also criticised the direction of the party, since Grover Cleveland and his pro-business allies supported laissez-faire economics.

The nomination of William Jennings Bryan

William Jennings Bryan was the leader of the People’s Party and the Democrats narrowly voted to give him their nomination for president.

Bryan was a so-called silverite from the midwest. He ran a pro-agrarian, Populist platform.

His “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic convention lead to the adoption of free silver into the Democratic platform. It marked a clear shift in Democratic policy.

Bryan’s nomination lead to the Democrats being endorsed by the Populist Party. However, some Populists were unhappy with this decision and would’ve preferred to run their own platform.

After the Democrats were defeated in this election, the Populist Party never recovered as an independent entity and instead merged into the Democratic Party, significantly influencing its policies and direction in subsequent elections.

Victory of the Republicans

The Republicans were supported by big businesses and urban workers, mainly from the North-East. They supported high tariffs and protectionist economics.

The Republican candidate was William McKinley. McKinley did not engage in the same type of campaigning as his opponent. While Bryan toured the country with well-received speeches, McKinley had money.

He also gained votes because he did not support free silver and instead wanted to keep the Gold Standard.