Editing Mark Hanna (section)

=== Currency question; Democratic nomination ===
[[File:William-Jennings-Bryan-speaking-c1896.jpeg|thumb|upright|left|[[William Jennings Bryan]], seen during the 1896 campaign.|alt=A man in his thirties wearing a dark suit holds his hands together in front of him as he looks to his right. In the background can be seen the stars and stripes.]]
A major issue, going into the 1896 election cycle, was the question of the currency.  The United States, since 1873, had effectively been on the [[gold standard]]—[[gold|the metal]], if presented to the government, would be assayed and struck into coin for a slight charge to cover expenses.  [[Silver]], in contrast, though widely mined, could not be presented for conversion into coin, but had to be sold as a commodity.  The gold standard was unpopular in many agricultural and mining areas, as the quantity of gold available limited the [[money supply]], making it difficult for farmers to obtain loans and pay debts.  Advocates of the free and unlimited coinage of silver believed that doing so would cure the country's economic malaise by increasing the money supply.  Advocates of the gold standard argued that a "free silver" policy (sometimes called "[[bimetallism]]") would inflate the currency, and lead to difficulties in international trade with nations on the gold standard.{{sfn|Rhodes|pp=13–16}}{{sfn|Horner|pp=179–181}}  At the time, the precious metal in a [[Morgan dollar|silver dollar]] was worth about $0.53, and under such proposals, silver worth that much would be returned to depositors as a one-dollar coin, "free"—that is, without a charge for [[United States Mint|the Mint]]'s costs for assaying and coining.{{sfn|Rhodes|pp=25–26}}

Despite the controversy in the country, McKinley and Hanna decided that an explicit mention of the gold standard in the party platform would be a better strategy than remaining silent on the issue.  McKinley sent Hanna to the convention with a draft [[party platform|plank]] calling for maintenance of the gold standard, which Hanna successfully placed in the [[party platform]].  The adoption of the plank caused some Republicans, mostly from the West, to walk out of the convention.  As they left, Hanna stood on a chair, shouting "Go! Go! Go!"{{sfn|Williams|p=62}}

McKinley expected the election to be fought on the issue of tariffs; he was a [[McKinley Tariff|well-known protectionist]].{{sfn|Rhodes|pp=13–16}} The Democrats met [[1896 Democratic National Convention|in convention]] in July in Chicago; former Missouri congressman [[Richard P. Bland]] was deemed likely to be the nominee.  As McKinley awaited his opponent, he privately commented on the nationwide debate over silver, stating to his Canton crony, Judge Day, that "This money matter is unduly prominent.  In thirty days you won't hear anything about it."{{sfn|Rhodes|p=19}}  The future Secretary of State and [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] justice responded:  "In my opinion in thirty days you won't hear of anything else."{{sfn|Rhodes|p=19}}

On the third day of the Democratic convention, former [[Nebraska]] representative [[William Jennings Bryan]] concluded the debate on the party platform.  Bryan stampeded the convention with what came to be known as the "[[Cross of Gold speech]]", decrying the gold standard, which he believed disproportionately hurt the working classes.  To the horror of Wall Street, the Democrats nominated Congressman Bryan for president, a nomination in which the [[People's Party (United States)|Populist Party]] soon joined.  Hanna had taken a yachting vacation in early July before beginning general election work; with a wave of popular support for Bryan, Hanna wrote "The Chicago convention has changed everything" and returned to his labors.{{sfn|Horner|pp=179–181}}{{sfn|Rhodes|pp=16–18}}{{sfn|Morgan|pp=162–166}}
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