William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan ( born March 19, 1860 in Salem, Illinois, † July 26, 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee ) was an American politician, who served as Secretary of the Cabinet of President Woodrow Wilson. From 1891 to 1895 he sat for the state of Nebraska in the U.S. House of Representatives.
He was a leading proponent of the populist movement at the end of the 19th century and was a candidate in 1896 and 1900 as a Democrat for the U.S. presidency, where he was defeated by Republican William McKinley, respectively. In 1908 he took up a second time, but lost the clear Republican William Howard Taft.
His platform was the Raiffeisen movement in Germany and Austria not dissimilar, and he tried to defend the interests of small farmers against the powerful railroad barons and industrial cartels. During the election campaign for the presidency in 1896, he fought against the introduction of the gold standard, it should remain with the bimetallism (gold and silver). His nomination he owed an acclaimed conference speech in which he warned against forcing the working population under a " cross of gold ". Thus he created a broad basis for the Democratic Party, which presented itself as " the little man's party" and the social reforms against big business and imperialist U.S. foreign policy, especially in rural Midwest won many votes. However, he did not succeed, even black, urban voters (eg industrial workers ) and immigrants to convince that the election victory of Democrat Woodrow Wilson in 1912 formed the basis.
From March 5, 1913 until June 9, 1915, he was Secretary of State in the Cabinet Wilson. As the U.S. president demanded in two notes of Germany to condemn the sinking of the RMS Lusitania as a crime, he resigned as U.S. Secretary of State, because the note Wilsons had the character of an ultimatum and the United States could engage in a war with Germany. After Bryan's opinion Germany had a right to prevent his enemies war material is delivered. If such ships would take passengers on board in hope not to be attacked, so it was not a legitimate protection against destruction.
On the occasion of the U.S. invasion of Haiti Bryan made the comment: "Oh goodness that you just think - niggers who speak French. "
In the 1920s, Bryan was one of the most well-known opponents of Darwinism and the theory of evolution and participates as an assistant prosecutor in the Scopes Trial. His final resting place is at Arlington National Cemetery.