Editing William Jennings Bryan (section)

==Early life and education==
[[File:William Jennings Bryan Boyhood Home.jpg|thumb|left|Bryan's birthplace in Salem, Illinois]]
William Jennings Bryan was born in [[Salem, Illinois]], on March 19, 1860, to [[Silas Bryan|Silas Lillard Bryan]] and Mariah Elizabeth (Jennings) Bryan.<ref name="nebraskahistory.org">{{Cite web |date=November 30, 2006 |title=William Jennings Bryan, 1860-1925 |url=http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/politics/bryanwj.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206071853/http://www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/research/manuscripts/politics/bryanwj.htm |archive-date=December 6, 2006 |url-status=usurped |access-date=June 27, 2023 |publisher=Nebraska State Historical Society}}</ref> Silas Bryan had been born in 1822 and had established a legal practice in Salem in 1851. He married Mariah, a former student of his at [[McKendree University|McKendree College]], in 1852.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 4–5</ref> Of [[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scots-Irish]] and [[English Americans|English]] ancestry,{{efn|Asked when his family "dropped the 'O'" from his O'Bryan surname, he replied there had never been one.<ref>Bryan ''Memoirs of William Jennings Bryan'', pp. 22–26.</ref>}} Silas Bryan was an avid [[Jacksonian Democrat]] and an admirer of [[Andrew Jackson]] and [[Stephen A. Douglas]], who would pass on his Democratic affiliation to his son, William.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 4–5, 9</ref> Silas Bryan won election as a state circuit judge and in 1866 moved his family to a {{convert|520|acre|ha|1|adj=on}} farm north of Salem. He lived in a ten-room house that was the envy of [[Marion County, Illinois|Marion County]].<ref>Colletta (1964), pp. 3–5.</ref> Silas served in various local positions and sought election to Congress in 1872, but was narrowly defeated by the Republican candidate.<ref>Kazin (2006), p. 5</ref>  William's cousin, [[William Sherman Jennings]],<ref name=FIU>{{Cite web|url=http://everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/bios/jenningsws.htm|title=Florida International University: Reclaiming the Everglades-biography of William Sherman Jennings|access-date=February 3, 2022|archive-date=March 3, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303200844/http://everglades.fiu.edu/reclaim/bios/jenningsws.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> was also a prominent Democrat.

William was the fourth child of Silas and Mariah, but all three of his older siblings died during infancy. He also had five younger siblings, four of whom lived to adulthood.<ref>Kazin (2006), p. 8</ref> William was home-schooled by his mother until the age of ten. Demonstrating a precocious talent for oratory, he gave public speeches as early as the age of four.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 10–11</ref> Silas was a [[Baptists in the United States|Baptist]] and Mariah was a [[history of Methodism in the United States|Methodist]], but William's parents allowed him to choose his own church. At age fourteen, he had a conversion experience at a revival. He said that it was the most important day of his life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2012/03/march-19-william-jennings-bryan/|title=PCA History On This Day March 19: William Jennings Bryan|date=March 19, 2012|website=PCA History|access-date=August 22, 2018|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201031926/https://thisday.pcahistory.org/2012/03/march-19-william-jennings-bryan/|url-status=dead}}</ref> At 15, he was sent to attend Whipple Academy, a private school in [[Jacksonville, Illinois]].<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 8–9</ref>

[[File:Mary Baird Bryan cph.3a35947.jpg|thumb|right|Attorney Mary Baird Bryan, the wife of William Jennings Bryan]]

After graduating from Whipple Academy, Bryan entered [[Illinois College]], which was also located in Jacksonville. During his time at Illinois College, Bryan served as chaplain of the [[Sigma Pi literary society]].<ref name="kazin910">Kazin (2006), pp. 9–10</ref> He also continued to hone his public speaking skills, taking part in numerous debates and oratorical contests.<ref>Kazin (2006), p. 12</ref> Bryan graduated from Illinois College in 1881 at the top of his class.<ref name="kazin910"/> In 1879, while still in college, Bryan met [[Mary Baird Bryan|Mary Elizabeth Baird]], the daughter of an owner of a nearby [[general store]], and began courting her.<ref name="Kazin 2006, pp. 13–14">Kazin (2006), pp. 13–14</ref> Bryan and Mary Elizabeth married on October 1, 1884.<ref>Colletta (1964), p. 30.</ref> Mary Elizabeth would emerge as an important part of Bryan's career by managing his correspondence and helping him prepare speeches and articles.<ref name="Kazin 2006, pp. 13–14"/>

Bryan then studied law in Chicago at Union Law College (now [[Northwestern University School of Law]]).<ref>Colletta (1964), p. 21.</ref> While attending law school, Bryan worked for the attorney [[Lyman Trumbull]], a former senator and friend of Silas Bryan who would serve as an important political ally to the younger Bryan until his death in 1896.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 15–17</ref> Bryan graduated from law school in 1883 with a [[Bachelor of Laws]] and returned to Jacksonville to take a position with a local law firm. Frustrated by the lack of political and economic opportunities in Jacksonville, Bryan and his wife moved west to [[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]] in 1887, the capital of the fast-growing state of Nebraska.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 17–18</ref>