Third Time's The Charm, Part II
Bryan found that silver was no longer a popular issue, and his stand against imperialism was not shared by a majority of Americans. He tried to make the election a class war, but prosperity again worked against him. Bryan lost by a larger margin than he had in 1896, winning 46.8% of the popular vote. Prosperity, satisfaction with the results of the war, and Bryan's continued image as a radical with strange ideas all worked against him.
After his second defeat, Bryan began the weekly newspaper "Commoner" which was distributed nationally through the mail. He also lectured in all parts of the country to keep his message, and himself, in front of the people.
In 1904, the gold forces took control of the convention, and the silver plank was voted down. The nominee was Alton Parker, a strong gold candidate. When Parker lost in a landslide, the stage was set for another Bryan attempt at the White House.
Bryan made such an effective race for the nomination in 1908 that he was the only major candidate at the convention. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt's progressivism, which included many of Bryan's ideas, made Bryan look less radical. Now older, Bryan seemed more acceptable, or at least more familiar, to Democratic voters and convention delegates. Bryan's third race for the White House was his worst defeat, with Bryan winning a smaller percentage of the popular vote (45.5%) than in either of the two previous contests.
Bryan tried to win the Democratic nomination once more in 1912. He figured that the Democrats had a good chance to win the election because of a split in the Republican Party. He was correct about a Democrat winning the election, but the Democratic nomination went to Woodrow Wilson who did indeed win the election. Bryan served as Wilson's Secretary of State, and remained an influential leader in the Democratic Party.
Bryan was ahead of his times. The ideas he promoted unsuccessfully in 1896 and 1900 were part of Teddy Roosevelt's platform in 1904. Bryan was the creator of the political alliance between the Democratic Party and small business, farmers, blacks, and blue-collar workers that later elected Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson.
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