Newstalgia Reference Room - William Jennings Bryan - 1908
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Staying in the early 20th Century today. Here is an address by the legendary William Jennings Bryan, who may probably be best known for his role in the Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925; teaching Evolution in public Schools. Bryan died within hours of the trials end. Although Bryan came to epitomize the Liberal Wing of the Democratic Party, he was a staunch prohibitionist and staunchly anti-Darwin, whose theory of Evolution was the basis for the famous trial. He unsuccessfully ran for President in 1896, 1900 and 1908 and was appointed Secretary of State in the Wilson Administration in 1913.
Here is the last portion of his address to the 1908 Democratic Convention, recorded several days later, on July 21, 1908 for posterity and also to be used for the Bryan campaign.
Later known as the "Ideal Republic" Address, here is the transcript of that speech since, being recorded in 1908, is a little hard to decipher in places:
