Cross of Gold speech

Cultural  

1. An address by the presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan to the national convention of the Democratic party in 1896. Bryan criticized the gold standard and advocated inflating the currency by the free coinage of silver, a measure popular among the debt-ridden farmers whom Bryan championed. “You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns,” said Bryan; “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.” The speech stirred the convention, and Bryan was nominated for president.

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Example Sentences

Who delivered the “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on July 9, 1896, catapulting him to a presidential nomination?

From Slate

Bryan was the man with the answer: He delivered his pro-silver “Cross of Gold” speech at the convention, enchanting the gathering’s voters with a promise of prosperity.

From Slate

That was the underlying inspiration for William Jennings Bryan’s “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic convention.

From Los Angeles Times

There, in the glow of new electric lights, stood Bryan to deliver the speech that would establish him in the minds of activists and political reporters to such a degree that he could give his more-famous “Cross of Gold” speech two years later.

From Fox News

Sanders most obvious antecedent was William Jennings Bryan, the former Nebraska congressman who electrified Democrats at their 1896 convention with his plea for a federal bailout of indebted farmers – the “Cross of Gold” speech – that the party spontaneously gave the 36-year-old their nomination.

From Fox News