Q 01/05

What name is given to the speech that won William Jennings Bryan the 1896 Democratic nomination?

A) House Divided

B) Cross of Gold

C) Atlanta Compromise

D) Acres of Diamonds

Answer · why

B) Cross of Gold

Cross of Gold comes from the speech's closing image of crucifixion; when Bryan finished, cheering delegates lifted him onto their shoulders and carrie...

Q 02/05

What name is given to William McKinley's 1896 strategy of staying home and addressing delegations who came to him?

A) Whistle-stop campaign

B) Rose Garden campaign

C) Front porch campaign

D) Dark horse campaign

Answer · why

C) Front porch campaign

A front porch campaign kept McKinley at home in Ohio while hundreds of thousands of visitors arrived by rail, and souvenir hunters whittled keepsakes ...

Q 03/05

In political readings of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which character is often said to stand for William Jennings Bryan?

A) The Scarecrow

B) The Tin Woodman

C) Glinda the Good Witch

D) The Cowardly Lion

Answer · why

D) The Cowardly Lion

The Cowardly Lion is the usual stand-in for Bryan in a reading first set out in 1964, in which the yellow brick road is the gold standard and Dorothy'...

Q 04/05

Which now-familiar piece of political merchandise was first mass-produced for William McKinley's 1896 presidential run?

A) Pin-back buttons

B) Bumper stickers

C) Lawn signs

D) Silk lapel ribbons

Answer · why

A) Pin-back buttons

Pin-back buttons were first mass-produced in metal for 1896, each with a printed paper face sealed under a clear layer of celluloid.

Q 05/05

After losing in 1896, William Jennings Bryan became the first defeated presidential candidate to do what?

A) Attend the winner's inauguration

B) Concede in a public speech

C) Send a congratulatory telegram

D) Offer to join the cabinet

Answer · why

C) Send a congratulatory telegram

Bryan chose to send a congratulatory telegram two days after the vote, wiring McKinley that the people had spoken and their will was law.