Ribbon, William Jennings Bryan, 1896
date: label: date made
content: 1896
name: label: referenced
content: Bryan, William Jennings
notes: label: Description
content: William Jennings Bryan was only 36 years old when he became the Democratic presidential candidate in 1896, the youngest major party nominee in history. The text printed on this campaign ribbon is from the conclusion of his "Cross of Gold" speech delivered at the National Democratic Convention in Chicago, Illinois on July 9, 1896. This speech won him his party's nomination and is widely regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American political history. The "16 to 1" refers to the Democratic Party's "free silver" policy position to move the nation from the gold to the silver standard. Bryan was a leading voice for the belief that a silver-to-gold coin ratio of 16:1 as the currency standard would lead to national economic prosperity after the Economic Panic of 1893.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: associated place
content: United States: Illinois, Chicago
topic: label: Subject
content: Economy
label: general subject association
content: Political Campaigns
label: Subject
content: Political Conventions
label: related event
content: Presidential Campaign of 1896
setName: label: See more items in
content: Political History: Political History, Campaign Collection
label: See more items in
content: Government, Politics, and Reform
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Ralph E Becker Collection of Political Americana
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: PL.227739.1896.J53
label: catalog number
content: 227739.1896.J53
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Ribbon
label: Object Type
content: ribbon
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 8 1/2 in x 2 3/4 in; 21.59 cm x 6.985 cm