LAD/Blog #26: William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech



William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech was delivered on July 9th 1896. It is one of the most famous American political speeches. Bryan delivers this speech seeking democratic nomination. This is the midst of the issue of changing  the coinage ratio of silver to gold to 16:1. He begins the speech reflecting on the Civil War and conflict within the country. He brought up the 16th amendment or the federal income tax. He believed that money should help the struggling masses rather than the big businessmen. He end his impressive speech with "You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold", making a religious analogy that all can relate.


Similar to William Jennings Bryan's speech, Martin Luther King Jr. "I Have a Dream Speech" was powerful. MLK's related to the rights of African Americans while Bryans was focused on other issues.

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