William Jennings Bryan: Speech to Congress on Tariff Reform

( 1892 ) Commentary by Charles Orson Cook, The Honors College, University of Houston

“We cannot afford to destroy the peasantry of this country. We cannot afford to degrade the common people of this land, for they are the people who in time of prosperity and peace produce the wealth of the country, and they are also the people who in time of war bare their breasts to a hostile fire in defense of the flag.” - Speech to Congress on Tariff Reform
“The day will come, Mr. Chairman, when those who annually gather about this Congress seeking to use the taxing power for private purposes will find their occupation gone, and the members of Congress will meet here to pass laws for the benefit of all the people. That day will come, and in that day, to use the language of another, ‘Democracy will be king! Long live the king!’” - Speech to Congress on Tariff Reform

William Jennings Bryan (Library of Congress)

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