United States Presidential Election of 1896
McKinley beat Bryan 271 to 176, realigning the nation along new party lines for a generation.
Overview
William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold speech won him the Democratic nomination at 36, fusing Democrats and Populists behind free silver. Mark Hanna engineered McKinley's front-porch campaign of financed turnout against Bryan's nationwide tours. McKinley won 271 to 176, carrying the industrial North and East, while turnout passed 79 percent. The result created the Republican-dominated Fourth Party System, business-aligned against agrarian-labor coalitions, that lasted until 1932, making 1896 one of the pivotal elections in American history.
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