1896
Cross of gold
Bryan’s campaign attacks a gold-only dollar. The Republican ticket defends it. Bryan loses. This page is not a brief for either side.
In 1896 William Jennings Bryan ran on free silver. The cross-of-gold speech attacked a gold-only standard. The Republican ticket defended the gold dollar. Bryan lost.
He did not invent the silver question. The standard silver dollar had been off the list since 1873, and the Sherman duty had been repealed in 1893. The statute that defines the dollar as gold is 1900. This page takes neither side.