History & Celebrations Today – March 19

Celebrations Today – March 19

Holidays and observances

Celebrations Today – USA: March 19

National Certified Nurses Day
National Chocolate Caramel Day
National Let’s Laugh Day
National Poultry Day
National Corn Dog Day – Changes Annually 2018 Unknown
National Forgive Mom and Dad Day
National Goddess of Fertility Day

Today in US History: March 19

William Jennings Bryan

…we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.William Jennings Bryan, “Cross of Gold” Speech,
July 9, 1896, Democratic National Convention, Chicago.

William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan, 1907
Prints & Photographs Division

William Jennings Bryan, gifted orator and three-time presidential candidate was born on March 19, 1860, in Salem, Illinois. Trained as a lawyer, Bryan represented the state of Nebraska in the United States Congress, 1891-95. He was known for his deeply held religious beliefs and his popular touch, which earned him the moniker “the Great Commoner.”

After serving two terms in the House of Representatives, Bryan reached the pinnacle of his political career. In 1896, he defeated incumbent President Grover Cleveland to win the Democratic party nomination for president. Just thirty-six, Bryan managed to attract the support of mainstream Democrats as well as third party Populists. His historic “Cross of Gold” speech, delivered prior to his nomination, criticized supporters of  the gold standard for U.S. currency, which he believed benefited the wealthy at the expense of the average worker. Bryan’s eloquent support of the alternative silver standard, united splintered Democrats and won the “Boy Orator of the Platte” the nomination.

Norwegian immigrant Nils Nilsen Rønning considered himself “an enthusiastic Bryan man”:

The first American politician who captured my imagination was William Jennings Bryan.

I had become intensely interested in the struggle between the gold Democrats and the silver Democrats. I snatched every “extra” about the convention in Chicago in 1896. That was before the radio brought a national convention into the homes.It was a long-drawn out battle of ballots. Then young, handsome, eloquent William Jennings Bryan from Nebraska stepped on the platform and swept the convention off its feet with his crown of gold speech. I doubt if any political speech ever thrilled the American people as did Bryan’s.Nils Nilsen Rønning, Fifty Years in America 1938, page 228.
Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910

Scholar, editor, businessman, and diplomat, Rasmus B. Anderson, who was not a Bryan supporter, abandoned the Democratic Party when Bryan received the nomination. Characterizing Bryan as “America’s greatest demagogue” and the “wide-mouthed orator of the Platte-itude” Anderson summed up Bryan’s platform:

The national convention which he captured declared itself in favor of the abolishment of our courts, of free riots, and the unlimited coinage of silver at the ratio of 16 to 1, without regard to what other nations might do. Bryan did not seem to comprehend that the ratio depended on the supply, that is to say, on the commercial value of the two metals. I agreed with the Irishman when he said: ‘It is 16 to 1 now, but after election it will be nothing to ate.’ I repudiated Bryan, with his crown of thorns and cross of gold and the democratic party.Rasmus B. Anderson with Albert O. Barton,
Life Story of Rasmus B. Anderson 1915, page 602.
Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910

Bryan logged more than 18,000 miles in the campaign of 1896. The unpopularity of the incumbent Democratic Party combined with the well-filled war chest of Republican candidate William McKinley, catapulted McKinley into the White House. Still, Bryan’s following was large enough to result in two additional runs for president. Bryan lost again to McKinley in 1900 and to William Howard Taft in 1908.

Although he never won an election after 1892, Bryan wielded considerable influence. After helping Woodrow Wilson secure the Democratic nomination in 1912, he served as secretary of state. A committed pacifist, Bryan resigned his position in 1915, after the sinking of the Lusitania, as the nation appeared likely to enter World War I.

Cover of sheet music
Bryan’s Democratic Success March,” 1896.
Historic American Sheet Music: 1850-1920

Although he moved from Nebraska to a large home in Florida in 1921, Bryan never retired. He was active in the Chautauqua circuit. Always pious, during the final years of his life he was extremely active in religious organizations. By the 1920s, Bryan was among America’s most outspoken critics of the theory of evolution, and he was a long-term advocate of Prohibition. His participation in the famous 1925 Scopes Trial served as a capstone to his career.

Bible Class
‘Neath Palms and Sunshine; William Jennings Bryan’s Presbyterian Tourist Bible Class, February 6, 1921.
Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991

Today in History – March 19-External Links

Today’s Weather in History
Today in Earthquake History
This Day in Naval History
Today’s Document from the National Archives
Today’s Events, Births & Deaths –Wikipedia
Today in History by AP
On this Day -1950 to 2005 – Today’s Story–BBC
On This Day: The New York Times
This Day in History –History.com
Today in Canadian History – Canada Channel
History of Britain that took place On This Day
Russia in History –Russiapedia