William Jennings Bryan: “Cross of Gold” Speech

Audience

Bryan had two audiences in mind when he gave his speech. The first, of course, comprised the delegates inside the convention hall. His goal was to sway the gathering to select him as presidential candidate during the next day's balloting. In that, he was brilliantly successful. The delegates and the galleries, filled with proponents of free silver, responded with intense enthusiasm and spontaneous demonstrations of support for Bryan and his remarks. There was immediate talk in the hall that the Nebraskan should be named the Democratic nominee.

To succeed as the presidential candidate, Bryan needed to get his message out to the nation at large. The proceedings of the convention received intense press coverage. Bryan's speech immediately gathered public attention and made him a national figure. Newspapers reprinted in full the text of his remarks, and the oration was also published as a pamphlet. For Democrats and Populists in agrarian areas, Bryan became an articulate advocate in the summer of 1896 and remained so the rest of his life.