William Jennings Bryan Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American politician, active from the 1890s until his death. He was a dominant force in the populist wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as the Party's candidate for President of the United States (1896, 1900 and 1908). He served two terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska and was United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson (1913–1915), resigning because of his pacifist position on World War I. Bryan was a devout Presbyterian, a strong advocate of popular democracy, and an enemy of the banks and their gold standard. He demanded "Free Silver" because it reduced power attributed to money and put more money in the hands of the people. He was a peace advocate, supported Prohibition, and an opponent of Darwinism on religious and humanitarian grounds. With his deep, commanding voice and wide travels, he was one of the best-known orators and lecturers of the era. Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people, he was called "The Great Commoner."In the intensely fought 1896 and 1900 elections, he was defeated by William McKinley but retained control of the Democratic Party. With over 500 speeches in 1896, Bryan invented the national stumping tour, in an era when other presidential candidates stayed home. In his three presidential bids, he promoted Free Silver in 1896, anti-imperialism in 1900, and trust-busting in 1908, calling on Democrats to fight the trusts (big corporations) and big banks, and embrace anti-elitist ideals of republicanism. President Wilson appointed him Secretary of State in 1913, but Wilson's strong demands on Germany after the Lusitania was torpedoed in 1915 caused Bryan to resign in protest. After 1920 he was a supporter of Prohibition and attacked Darwinism and evolution, most famously at the Scopes Trial in 1925. Five days after the end of the case, he died in his sleep.
While serving as the secretary of state, invited Switzerland to send its navy to the opening of the Panama Canal.
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Father of Congresswoman Ruth Bryan Owen.
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Brother of Gov. Charles W. Bryan.
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Democrat U.S. Congressional representative from Nebraska, 4 March 1891 - 3 March 1895; was not a candidate for reelection in 1894.
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He was brought in as the prosecuting attorney in the renowned "Scopes Monkey Trial" in Tennessee in 1925, and as such was the basis of the character Matthew Harrison Brady in the play and various film and TV versions of Inherit the Wind (1960).
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Democratic nominee for President of the United States in 1896, 1900 and 1908.
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U.S. secretary of state, 5 March 1913 - 9 June 1915; resigned from office.
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Pictured on a $2 US definitive postage stamp in the Great Americans series, issued 19 March 1986.
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Attended Northwestern University School of Law.
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Iron Major
1943
"The Battle Cry of Freedom" 1862, uncredited
The Camera Speaks
1934
Short performer: "The Star-Spangled Banner", "Hail to the Chief" - uncredited
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Mutual Weekly, No. 103
1916
Short
Himself
Animated Weekly, No. 13
1916
Documentary short
Himself
Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 48
1915
Short
Himself
Hearst-Selig News Pictorial, No. 47
1915
Short
Himself
Prohibition
1915
Himself (Prologue)
Animated Weekly, No. 135
1914
Documentary short
Himself
Inauguration of President Wilson
1913
Documentary short
Himself
Bryan in Chicago
1908
Documentary short
Himself
Hon. William J. Bryan and Hon. John W. Kern
1908
Documentary short
Himself
Bryan
1906
Documentary short
Himself
William Jennings Bryan
1906
Documentary short
Himself
Hon. Wm. Jennings Bryan
1903
Documentary short
Himself
Bryan at Home
1900
Documentary short
Himself
William J. Bryan in the Biograph
1900
Documentary short
Himself
Bryan Train Scene at Orange
1896
Documentary short
Himself
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
2014
TV Series documentary
Himself
Prohibition
2011
TV Mini-Series documentary
Himself
Woodrow Wilson and the Birth of the American Century