Cross of Gold speech

Who delivered the “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896, catapulting him to a presidential nomination?

Bryan was the man with the answer: He delivered his pro-silver “Cross of Gold” speech at the convention, enchanting the gathering’s voters with a promise of prosperity.

That was the underlying inspiration for William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic convention.

There, in the glow of new electric lights, stood Bryan to deliver the speech that would establish him in the minds of activists and political reporters to such a degree that he could give his more-famous “Cross of Gold” speech two years later.

Sanders most obvious antecedent was William Jennings Bryan, the former Nebraska congressman who electrified Democrats at their 1896 convention with his plea for a federal bailout of indebted farmers – the “Cross of Gold” speech – that the party spontaneously gave the 36-year-old their nomination.