Editing Cross of Gold speech (section)

=== Bryan addresses the convention ===

As Russell concluded, to strong applause from gold delegates,{{sfn|Bensel|p=223}} there was a buzz of anticipation as Bryan ascended to the podium. There was loud cheering as Bryan stood there, waiting for his audience to calm.{{sfn|Williams|pp=82–83}} Bryan's lecture tours had left him a well-known spokesman for silver. As yet, no one at the convention had effectively spoken for that cause, which was paramount to the delegates.{{sfn|Jones|p=227}} According to political scientist Richard F. Bensel in his study of the 1896 Democratic convention, "Although the silver men knew they would win this fight, they nonetheless needed someone to tell them—and the gold men—why they must enshrine silver at the heart of the platform."{{sfn|Bensel|pp=223–224}} Bensel noted, "The pump was more than primed, it was ready to explode."{{sfn|Bensel|p=245}} Bryan would say little that he had not said before—the text is similar to that of a speech he had given the previous week at [[Crete, Nebraska]]{{sfn|Williams|p=83}}—but he would give the convention its voice.{{sfn|Jones|p=229}}

[[File:1896 Democratic Convention.png|thumb|300px|The 1896 Democratic National Convention]]

Bryan began softly,

{{quote|I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this were a mere measuring of abilities; but this is not a contest between persons. The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. I come to speak to you in defense of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty—the cause of humanity.{{sfn|Bensel|pp=224–225}}}}

Bryan's opening claimed no personal prestige for himself—but nevertheless placed him as the spokesman for silver.{{sfn|Bensel|pp=224–225}} According to Bensel, the self-deprecation helped disarm the delegates. As Bryan was not deemed a major contender for the nomination, even delegates committed to a candidate could cheer him without seeming to betray their allegiance.{{sfn|Bensel|pp=237–238}} Bryan then recounted the history of the silver movement; the audience, which had loudly demonstrated its approval of his opening statements, quieted.{{sfn|Bensel|pp=224–225}} Throughout the speech, Bryan had the delegates in the palm of his hand; they cheered on cue. The Nebraskan later described the audience as like a trained choir.{{sfn|Jones|p=227}} As he concluded his historical recitation, he reminded the silver delegates that they had come to crown their victory, "not to discuss, not to debate, but to enter up the judgment already rendered by the plain people of this country".{{sfn|Williams|p=84}}

Bryan continued with language evoking the Civil War, telling his audience that "in this contest brother has been arrayed against brother, father against son."{{sfn|Harpine|p=49}}  By then, as he spoke in a sincere tone, his voice sounded clearly and loudly through the hall.{{sfn|Kazin|p=60}} He denied, however that the contest was personal; he bore no ill-will towards those who supported the gold standard. However, he stated, facing towards the gold delegates, "when you come before us and tell us that we are about to disturb your business interests, we reply that you have disturbed our business interests by your course."{{sfn|Coletta|p=138}} The gold men, during the address, paid close attention and showed their appreciation for Bryan's oratory.{{sfn|Bensel|p=223}} Bryan then defended the right of silver supporters to make their argument against opposition from gold men, who were associated with financial interests, especially in the East. Although his statements nominally responded to a point made by Russell, Bryan had thought of the argument the previous evening, and had not used it in earlier speeches. He always regarded it as the best point he made during the speech, and only the ending caused more reaction from his listeners:

{{quote|We say to you that you have made the definition of a business man too limited in its application. The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man as the corporation counsel in a great metropolis; the merchant at the cross-roads store is as much a business man as the merchant of New York; the farmer who goes forth in the morning and toils all day, who begins in spring and toils all summer, and who by the application of brain and muscle to the natural resources of the country creates wealth, is as much a business man as the man who goes upon the Board of Trade and bets upon the price of grain; the miners who go down a thousand feet into the earth, or climb two thousand feet upon the cliffs, and bring forth from their hiding places the precious metals to be poured into the channels of trade are as much business men as the few financial magnates who, in a back room, corner the money of the world. We come to speak of this broader class of business men.{{sfn|Williams|p=84}}{{sfn|Jones|p=228}}}}

Through this passage, Bryan maintained the contrast between the common man and the city-dwelling elite. It was clear to listeners as he worked his way through the comparisons that he would refer to the farmer, and when he did, the hall exploded with sound. His sympathetic comparison contrasted the hardworking farmer with the city businessman, whom Bryan cast as a gambler. The galleries were filled with white as spectators waved handkerchiefs, and it was several minutes before he could continue.{{sfn|Williams|pp=84–85}} The police in the convention hall, not sharing the enthusiasm for silver, were described by the press (some of whose members were caught up in the frenzy) as standing as if they thought the audience was about to turn on them.{{sfn|Bensel|p=233}} When Bryan resumed, his comparison of miner with miser again electrified the audience; the uproar prevented him from continuing for several minutes. One farmer in the gallery had been about to leave rather than listen to Bryan, whom he deemed a Populist; he had been persuaded to stay. At Bryan's words, he threw his hat into the air, slapped the empty seat in front of him with his coat, and shouted, "My God! My God! My God!"{{sfn|Jones|p=228}}{{sfn|Williams|pp=84–85}}{{sfn|Coletta|p=139}}

Bryan, having established the right of silver supporters to petition, explained why that petition was not to be denied:

{{quote|It is for these that we speak. We do not come as aggressors. Our war is not a war of conquest; we are fighting in the defense of our homes, our families, and posterity. We have petitioned, and our petitions have been scorned; we have entreated, and our entreaties have been disregarded; we have begged, and they have mocked when our calamity came. We beg no longer; we entreat no more; we petition no more. We defy them!{{sfn|Bensel|p=227}}}}

With this call to action, Bryan abandoned any hint at compromise, and adopted the techniques of the radical, polarizing orator, finding no common ground between silver and gold forces. He then defended the remainder of the platform, though only speaking in general terms. He mocked McKinley, said by some to resemble [[Napoleon]], noting that he was nominated on the anniversary of the [[Battle of Waterloo]].{{sfn|Harpine|pp=51–52}} The lengthy passage as he discussed the platform and the Republicans helped calm the audience, ensuring he would be heard as he reached his [[peroration]]. But Bryan first wished to tie the silver question to a greater cause:{{sfn|Cherny|p=59}}{{sfn|Bensel|pp=230–232}}

{{quote|Upon which side will the Democratic Party fight; upon the side of "the idle holders of idle capital" or upon the side of "the struggling masses"? That is the question which the party must answer first, and then it must be answered by each individual hereafter. The sympathies of the Democratic Party, as shown by the platform, are on the side of the struggling masses, who have ever been the foundation of the Democratic Party.{{sfn|Official Proceedings of the 1896 Democratic National Convention|p=233}}}}

He faced in the direction of the gold-dominated state delegations:

{{quote|There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.{{sfn|Bensel|pp=230–232}}}}

This statement attracted great cheering, and Bryan turned to rhetorically demolish the compromise position on bimetallism—that it should only be accomplished through international agreement:

{{quote|It is the issue of 1776 over again. Our ancestors, when but three millions in number, had the courage to declare their political independence of every other nation; shall we, their descendants, when we have grown to seventy millions, declare that we are less independent than our forefathers? No, my friends, that will never be the verdict of our people. Therefore, we care not upon what lines the battle is fought. If they say bimetallism is good, but that we cannot have it until other nations help us, we reply that, instead of having a gold standard because England has, we will restore bimetallism, and then let England have bimetallism because the United States has it. If they dare to come out in the open field and defend the gold standard as a good thing, we will fight them to the uttermost.{{sfn|Kazin|p=61}}{{sfn|Bensel|p=232}}}}

Now, Bryan was ready to conclude the speech, and according to his biographer, Michael Kazin, step "into the headlines of American history".{{sfn|Kazin|p=61}}

{{quote|Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests, and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns; you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold."{{sfn|Kazin|p=61}}}}

As Bryan spoke his final sentence, recalling the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]], he placed his hands to his temples, fingers extended; with the final words, he extended his arms to his sides straight out to his body and held that pose for about five seconds as if offering himself as sacrifice for the cause, as the audience watched in dead silence. He then lowered them, descended from the podium, and began to head back to his seat as the stillness held.{{sfn|Kazin|p=61}}