Editing William Jennings Bryan (section)

===Secretary of State===
{{see also|Banana Wars|American entry into World War I}}
[[File:Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Harris & Ewing bw photo portrait, 1919.jpg|thumb|Bryan served as Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson]]
[[File:Berryman cartoon about William Jennings Bryan reading war dispatches.jpg|thumb|Cartoon of Secretary of State Bryan reading war news in 1914]]
President Wilson named Bryan as Secretary of State, the most prestigious appointive position. Bryan's extensive travels, popularity in the party, and support for Wilson in the election made him the obvious choice. Bryan took charge of a [[United States Department of State|State Department]] that employed 150 officials in Washington and an additional 400 employees in embassies abroad. Early in Wilson's tenure, the president and the secretary of state broadly agreed on foreign policy goals, including the rejection of Taft's [[Dollar diplomacy]].<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 215–217, 222–223</ref> They also shared many priorities in domestic affairs and, with Bryan's help, Wilson orchestrated passage of laws that reduced tariff rates, imposed a progressive income tax, introduced new antitrust measures, and established the [[Federal Reserve System]]. Bryan proved particularly influential in ensuring that the president, rather than private bankers, was empowered to appoint the members of the [[Federal Reserve Board of Governors]].<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 223–227</ref>

Secretary of State Bryan pursued a series of bilateral treaties that required both signatories to submit all disputes to an investigative tribunal. He quickly won approval from the president and the Senate to proceed with his initiative. In mid-1913, [[El Salvador]] became the first nation to sign one of Bryan's treaties, and  29 other countries, including every [[great power]] in Europe other than Germany and [[Austria-Hungary]], also agreed to sign the treaties.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 217–218</ref> Despite Bryan's stated aversion to conflict, he oversaw U.S. military interventions in [[Haiti]], the [[Dominican Republic]] and [[Mexico]] as part of the [[Banana Wars]].<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 229–231</ref>

After [[World War I]] broke out in Europe, Bryan consistently advocated for American neutrality between the [[Triple Entente|Entente]] and the [[Central Powers]]. With Bryan's support, Wilson initially sought to stay out of the conflict, urging Americans to be "impartial in thought as well as action".<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 232–233</ref> For much of 1914, Bryan attempted to bring a negotiated end to the war, but the leaders of both the Entente and the Central Powers were ultimately uninterested in American mediation. Bryan remained firmly committed to neutrality, but Wilson and others within the administration became increasingly sympathetic to the Entente.

The March 1915 [[Thrasher incident]], in which a German [[U-boat]] sank the British steamship [[SS Falaba|''Falaba'']] with a U.S. citizen on board, provided a major blow to the cause of American neutrality. The May 1915 [[Sinking of the RMS Lusitania|sinking of RMS ''Lusitania'']] by another German U-boat further galvanized anti-German sentiment in the United States, as 128 Americans died in the incident. In response, Bryan argued that the [[Blockade of Germany (1914–1919)|Allied blockade of Germany]] was as offensive as the German [[U-boat Campaign (World War I)|U-boat Campaign]],<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 234–236</ref> and maintained that by traveling on British vessels "an American citizen can, by putting his own business above his regard for this country, assume for his own advantage unnecessary risks and thus involve his country in international complications".<ref>Levine (1987), p. 8</ref> After Wilson sent an official message of protest to Germany and refused to warn Americans publicly not to travel on British ships, Bryan delivered his letter of resignation to Wilson on June 8, 1915.<ref>Kazin (2006), pp. 237–238</ref>