The 1896 United States elections elected the

55th United States Congress The 55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to M ...

. Republicans won control of the Presidency and maintained control of both houses of Congress. The election marked the end of the

Third Party System In the terminology of historians and political scientists, the Third Party System was a period in the history of political parties in the United States from the 1850s until the 1890s, which featured profound developments in issues of American n ...

and the start of the

Fourth Party System The Fourth Party System is the term used in political science and history for the period in American political history from about 1896 to 1932 that was dominated by the Republican Party, except the 1912 split in which Democrats captured the White ...

, as Republicans would generally dominate politics until the

1930 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1930. Asia * 1930 Persian legislative election * 1930 Madras Presidency legislative council election * 1930 Japanese general election Europe * 1930 Finnish parliamentary election * 1930 Norwegian parl ...

. Political scientists such as V.O. Key, Jr. argue that this election was a

realigning election A political realignment, often called a critical election, critical realignment, or realigning election, in the academic fields of political science and political history, is a set of sharp changes in party ideology, issues, party leaders, regional ...

, while James Reichley argues against this idea on the basis that the Republican victory in this election merely continued the party's post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

dominance. The election took place in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893, and featured a fierce debate between advocates of bimetallism (" free silver") and supporters of the

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the l ...

. In the Presidential election,

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

former Governor

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

defeated Democratic former Representative

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

. McKinley took the Republican nomination on the first ballot, while Bryan took the Democratic nomination on the fifth ballot (at age 36, he became youngest presidential nominee of a major party), defeating former Missouri Representative Richard P. Bland and several other candidates. Bryan's

Cross of Gold speech The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a former United States Representative from Nebraska, at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896. In his address, Bryan supported " free silver" (i.e. bim ...

, in which he advocated for " free silver," helped deliver him the Democratic nomination, and also attracted the support of the Populist Party and the

Silver Republican Party The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary mone ...

. Though Bryan carried most of the South and the West, McKinley won a comfortable margin in both the electoral college and the popular vote by carrying the Northeast and the

Great Lakes region The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian–American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadian p ...

. Democrats won major gains in the House, but Republicans continued to command a large majority in the chamber. The

Populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

also won several seats, holding more seats in the House than any

third party Third party may refer to: Business * Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller * Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party * Third-party insurance, such as a V ...

since the

. In the Senate, the Republicans maintained their plurality, keeping control of the same number of seats. The Democrats lost several seats, while the

Silver Republican The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary monet ...

s established themselves for the first time with five seats. Republican

William P. Frye William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and the ...

won election as President pro tempore.

References

* * Beito, David T., and Linda Royster Beito. "Gold Democrats and the decline of classical liberalism, 1896–1900." ''The Independent Review'' 4.4 (2000): 555–575. * * Bernstein, Irving. "Samuel Gompers and Free Silver, 1896." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 29.3 (1942): 394–400
online
* Budgor, Joel, et al. "The 1896 election and congressional modernization: An appraisal of the evidence." ''Social Science History'' 5.1 (1981): 53–90. * Bullough, William A. "The steam beer handicap: Chris Buckley and the San Francisco municipal election of 1896." ''California Historical Quarterly'' 54.3 (1975): 245–262
online
* Crow, Jeffrey J. "" Fusion, Confusion, and Negroism": Schisms among Negro Republicans in the North Carolina Election of 1896." ''North Carolina Historical Review'' 53.4 (1976): 364-384
online
* Diamond, William, "Urban and Rural Voting in 1896," ''American Historical Review,'' (1941) 46#2 pp. 281–30
in JSTOR
* Edelman, Susan Scheiber. "A Red Hot Suffrage Campaign: The Woman Suffrage Cause in California, 1896." ''California Supreme Court Historical Society Yearbook'' 2 (1995): 49+. * Eichengreen, Barry, et al. "Populists at the polls: Economic factors in the 1896 presidential election." No. w23932. ''National Bureau of Economic Research'' (2017)
online
* Ellis, Elmer. "The Silver Republicans in the Election of 1896." ''Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 18.4 (1932): 519–534
online
* Ettinger, Brian Gary. "John Fitzpatrick and the limits of working-class politics in New Orleans, 1892-1896." ''Louisiana History'' (1985): 341–367
online
* * * * Harpine, William D. ''From the Front Porch to the Front Page: McKinley and Bryan in the 1896 Presidential Campaign'' (2006) focus on the speeches and rhetori
online
* * * * * Kunze, Joel. "Shameful Venality: The Pierce-Wallace Controversy and the election of 1896." ''The Palimpsest'' 71.1 (1990): 2–11. fraud in Iow
online
* McCormick, Richard L. "Walter Dean Burnham and “The System of 1896”." ''Social Science History'' 10.3 (1986): 245-262. * Niswonger, Richard L. "Arkansas and the Election of 1896." ''Arkansas Historical Quarterly'' 34.1 (1975): 41–78
online
* Nussbaum, Raymond O. "'The Ring Is Smashed!': The New Orleans Municipal Election of 1896." ''Louisiana History'' 17.3 (1976): 283–297
online
* Rogin, Michael. "California Populism and the" System of 1896"." ''Western Political Quarterly'' 22.1 (1969): 179-196
online
* Stevens, S. K. "The election of 1896 in Pennsylvania." ''Pennsylvania History'' 4.2 (1937): 65–87
online
* Stonecash, Jeffrey M.; Silina, Everita. "The 1896 Realignment," ''American Politics Research,'' (Jan 2005) 33#1 pp. 3–32. * Uzee, Philip D. "The Republican Party in the Louisiana Election of 1896." ''Louisiana History'' 2.3 (1961): 332–344
online
* Wanat, John and Karen Burke, "Estimating the Degree of Mobilization and Conversion in the 1890s: An Inquiry into the Nature of Electoral Change," ''American Political Science Review,'' (1982) 76#2 pp. 360–7
in JSTOR
* * Williams, R. Hal. (2010) ''Realigning America: McKinley, Bryan, and the Remarkable Election of 1896'' (UP of Kansas) 250 pp * Wish, Harvey. "John Peter Altgeld and the Election of 1896." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' (1937) 30#3: 353–384
online

Primary sources

* Bryan, William Jennings.
The First Battle: A Story of the Campaign of 1896
' (1897), speeches from 1896 campaign. * ** This is the handbook of the Gold Democrats and strongly opposed Bryan. * {{1896 United States elections 1896 elections in the United States

1896 Events January–March * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...

See also

References

Further reading

Primary sources