Question

How did william jennings bryan's "cross of gold" speech prove to be both a strength and a weakness of the populists?

Answer 1

It was a strength for the populist party because it showed how to improve the economy and to make things easier for regular people who participated in the economy but were limited due to the gold standard. Bryan stated in what is one of the most famous speeches in history of the United States that it is necessary to switch to bimetallism to help the economy and help the people because without bimetallism the money supply for the people would never increase.

It was a weakness because it divided the party. Cleveland who was a democratic party nominee kept sticking to the gold standard and the adoption of populist politics divided the party. Eventually, the populist supporters overtook the democratic party which meant that the populist party lost its position in the system in the long run. The democrats adopted their policies and started using them as their own to oppose the republicans, and now the populists lost votes because their voters switched to support the democratic party.

William Jennings Bryan was a famous Nebraskan politician and orator from the 19th and 20th centuries. This speech took place in Chicago, during the Democratic National Convention in 1896.

Answer 2

William Jennigs Bryan's Cross of Gold speech was full of strong points and many weaknesses for the populists. This speech strongly supported the ideas outlined by the populist platform but the fact that Bryan was a Democrat cost him some votes.