Editing Cross of Gold speech (section)

== Reception and nomination ==
=== Convention events ===
Bryan later described the silence as "really painful" and momentarily thought he had failed.{{sfn|Williams|p=86}} As he moved towards his seat, the Coliseum burst into pandemonium. Delegates threw hats, coats, and handkerchiefs into the air.{{sfn|Williams|p=86}} Others took up the standards with the state names on them with each delegation, and planted them by Nebraska's.{{sfn|Jones|p=229}} Two alert police officers had joined Bryan as he left the podium, anticipating the crush. The policemen were swept away by the flood of delegates, who raised Bryan to their shoulders and carried him around the floor. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' newspaper recorded, "bedlam broke loose, delirium reigned supreme."{{sfn|Bensel|pp=232–234}}

It took about 25&nbsp;minutes to restore order, and according to Bensel, "somewhere in the mass demonstration that was convulsing the convention hall, the transfer of sentiment from silver as a policy to Bryan as a presidential candidate took place".{{sfn|Bensel|p=236}} Newspaper accounts of the convention leave little doubt but that, had a vote been taken at that moment (as many were shouting to do), Bryan would have been nominated.{{sfn|Bensel|p=236}} Bryan was urged by Senator Jones to allow it, but refused, stating that if his boom would not last overnight, it would never last until November.{{sfn|Williams|p=86}} He soon retired from the convention, returning to his hotel to await the outcome.{{sfn|Bensel|p=237}} The convention passed the platform in Bryan's absence and recessed.{{sfn|Bensel|pp=241–242}}

The balloting began the following morning, July 10, with a two-thirds vote necessary to nominate. Bryan, who remained at his hotel, sent word to the Nebraska delegation to make no deals on his behalf. He stood second out of fourteen candidates in the first ballot, behind Bland.{{sfn|Kazin|p=62}}{{sfn|Williams|p=87}} On the second ballot, Bryan still stood second, but had gained as other candidates had fallen away. The third ballot saw Bland still in the lead, but Bryan took the lead on the fourth ballot. According to Jones, it was clear that Bland could not win, and that Bryan could not be stopped. On the fifth ballot, the Illinois delegation, led by Governor Altgeld, switched its votes from Bland to Bryan. Other delegations, seeing that Bryan would be nominated, also switched, securing the victory. Nevertheless, he won the nomination without the votes of the gold delegates, most of whom either left the convention or refused to vote.{{sfn|Jones|pp=234–236}}

=== Press reaction ===
[[File:Cross of gold speech cartoon.jpg|thumb|upright|''Judge'' magazine criticized Bryan for sacrilege in his speech. He is shown with crown and cross, but trampling the Bible.]]

Most contemporary press accounts attributed Bryan's nomination to his eloquence, though in the case of Republican and other gold-favoring newspapers, they considered it his demagoguery.{{sfn|Harpine|p=52}} The pro-silver ''[[Cleveland Plain Dealer]]'' called Bryan's speech "an eloquent, stirring, and manly appeal".{{sfn|Harpine|p=52}} The ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' reported that Bryan had lit the spark "which touched off the trail of gun-powder".{{sfn|Bensel|p=242}} The ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' opined that with the speech, Bryan "just about immortalized himself".{{sfn|Harpine|p=52}}

According to the ''[[New York World]]'', "Lunacy having dictated the platform, it was perhaps natural that hysteria should evolve the candidate."{{sfn|Williams|p=88}}  ''[[The New York Times]]'' disparaged Bryan as "the gifted blatherskite from Nebraska".{{sfn|Harpine|p=53}} The only paper to predict, after Bryan gave his speech, that he would not be nominated was ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', which stated, "Bryan has had his day". The ''Akron Journal and Republican'', no friend to Bryan, opined that "never probably has a national convention been swayed or influenced by a single speech as was the national Democratic convention".{{sfn|Harpine|p=53}}

=== Anti-Semitism controversy ===
Biographer Paolo E. Coletta wrote that after the speech, an [[anti-Semitic]] [[chant]] was heard from some of the [[Delegate (American politics)|delegates]]: "Down with the hooked-nosed [[Shylock]]s of Wall Street! Down with the Christ-killing gold bugs!"<ref>{{Cite web |title=William Jennings Bryan : Coletta, Paolo Enrico, 1916- : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive |url=https://archive.org/details/williamjenningsb00cole/page/140/mode/2up |access-date=2023-09-10 |website=Internet Archive |date=1964 |language=en}}</ref> This quote, noted by many later commentators, is traced to a profile of famous German anti-Semite [[Hermann Ahlwardt]] (who had endorsed Bryan) in ''[[The Sun (New York City)|The Sun]]''. Author [[James Ledbetter]] notes various circumstances that suggest this quote may be fiction or parody, and points out the level of anti-Semitic sentiment in the Populist movement is disputed by historians. The newspaper supported McKinley and the gold standard, the story was published anonymously two months after the speech, and it is unclear the author of the piece attended the speech. The quote was mentioned offhandedly and not reported in news accounts from the time of the convention.<ref>{{cite web |title=Has the Famous Populist 'Cross of Gold' Speech Been Unfairly Tarred by Anti-Semitism? |url=https://daily.jstor.org/william-jennings-bryan-cross-of-gold/ |publisher=[[JSTOR]] Daily |author=James Ledbetter |date=July 6, 2016}}</ref>