Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 1975 Bryan, Populism and Utah Herbert E. Cihak Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Mormon Studies Commons, and the Political Science Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Cihak, Herbert E., "Bryan, Populism and Utah" (1975). Theses and Dissertations. 4602. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/4602 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. BRYAN POPULISM AND UTAH A thesis presented to the department of political science brigham young university in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree master of arts by herbert E cihak august 1975 this thesis by herbert E cihak is accepted in its present form by the department of political science of brigham young university as satisfying the thesis requirement for the degree of master of arts J heithhelthmelville cammicommiittqf chairman eleeie001 robert H sloverslovercomrikitteecor itteeattee member J ar7r & lateyatete department chairman 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES iv PREFACE v introduction i1 chapter J THE POPULIST REVOLT 5 early farm alliances popuusxnpo jjlbprn f y awn rheaheyhee pepecletpepletoe lesies s party in utah II11 BRYAN FREE SILVER AND SEWALL 15 the silver craze preconventionpre convention strategy cross of gold bryan into battle iliIII111 REPUBLIC OR EMPIRE 45 the paramount issue campaign and defeat IV UTAHS ABOUT FACE 57 utahs political climate an 1896 landslide reservations in 1900 appendixes 73 GLOSSARY OF POLITICAL personalities MENTIONED 88 SELECTED bibliography 91 iii 14 LIST OF TA BLES 1 farm organization issues in 1891 7 2 chicago coliseum 24 3 bryan campaign trips 36 4 1896 electoral results 39 5 1896 popular vote results 40 6 1900 electoral results 54 7 1900 popular vote results 55 IIV1 v PREFACE during my earlyearlyaly schooling I1 thought william jennings bryan was some sort of political demagogue yet I1 learned while listening to a history lecture that utah voted overwhelmingly for mr bryan in the 1896 presidential election my curiosity was aroused and I1 tried to figure out why utah voted for bryan by such a large 83 percent plural- ity 1896 I1 bryans presiden- when 1 that in I discovered utah rejected bryan tial bid in 1900 I1 decided to try and explain the circumstances of this turn around in my thesis this study involved extensive research in three main areas populism the free silver craze and the beliefs of bryanism these three factors were studied in order to help understand the politics of utah some eighty years ago all of these areas of research were im- portant to my thesis conclusion I1 am indebted to several people for assistance in finishing this project I1 extend my heartfeltheart felt appreciation to my parents mr and mrs gene engweiler for their constant support and encouragement to my old and good friend steven nelson I1 owe my thanks for his assis- tance in proofreadingproof reading editing and typing the rough draft kathy christensen served as the final authority and typist for this thesis and I1 am grateful for her help v introduction date summer of 1897 place western utah mining town mr bryan spoke in a little utah mining town the surround- ing mountains were so high that the valley in early afternoon was already in shadow he spoke from the secondstorysecond story balcony of the railway station to a great audience of miners with mine lamps on their caps mr bryan had just suffered a defeat he was speaking to them after an unsuccessful struggle but his youth and his deep earnestness rang to his audience on every clear note of his voice while he was speaking the shadows had deepened it was twilight when he closed his speech with the statement that all his life whether in victory or defeat n he would fight the battles of the common people his life was pledged to their cause through all the beaksyeaksyears to come with his closing phrase there came the moment when applause conven- tionallytionally follows but none came there was a deep silence and one miner after another took off his cap untilthatuntil that great crowd was standing with bared and bowed heads his mood of consecra- tion has carried to them after a tense pause such a roar of cheers filled the valley as sent echoes rattling from the hills a clamor of applause when mr bryan and our little girl and I1 came down to enter our carriage the miners crowded forward to shake his hand but again the crowd had grown still and so full of emotion were they that they could scarcely speak their words of gratitude and affection and those who could not reach his hand put out their hands to touch him 1 scope of stuystudy william jennings bryan what manner of man was he what qualities of political leadership did he possess what issues comericompricompriseds ed awilliam1williamwilliam J and mary B bryan the memoirs of william J bryan philadelphia john C winston co 1925 appp 249250249 250 bryanism what was the significance of the populist movement how did bryan relate to utahs predominant mormon electorate these and other issues will be explored as I1 answer the thesis question why did william jennings bryan win 83 percent of utahs votes cast for president of the united states in 1896 yet lose the presidential election in utah four years later in order to answer my research question adequately poli- tics in america from 189019001890 1900 will be considered within the scope of this thesis populism the freefreesilversilverslivercraze and imperialism were issues which affected W J bryan these same issuesi issuesssues affected the citizens of utah for one cannot divorce the state of utah from national politics during the 1890s 2 definitions the following definitions are provided to help understand the political jargon of the 1890s1890 the definitions quoted are W J bryanbryansI1 s 1 bimetallism that gold and livertiversilverslivers shall exist in a fixed ratio and both be made legal tender for public and private debts n3ifaif3 2 democracy the refers to the democratic party an archaic term zogdebogdeogdenn standard 10 august 1892 gives an interesting account of utah interest in national politics 3deseretade3de seret news 7 september 1895 bimetallism and free coinage were defined 3 3 expansion extension of the lines of the republic without a change of its character 4 4 free coinage the owner of silver or gold bullion can have thatahat minted without an expense to him and the weight of a silver dollar in bullion would be worth one dollar 11 5 gold bugs A derisive term used by the freesilverfree silver pro- ponents to refer to gold standard advocates 6 imperialism the policy of empire thishasthis has specific reference to the possession of colonies 7 liberal party utah the gentile or antimormonanti mormon party in utah until 1894 8 peoplespeopled party utah the official mormon church of anti gentile party in utah until 1891 9 peoplespeopled or populist party A united states political party 189119081891190811891 190811908 which was composed of agrarian capitalists and advocated social and political reforms 10 populism the political dogma espoused by members of the populist or peoples party calling for free coinage of sil- ver public ownership of utilities an income tax and agriculturallaboragricultural labor reforms 11 plutocrat A member of a wealthy ruling class this term was used by yanitesbryanitesBr 11 to refer to wealthy gold standard industrialistsindestindust riali s ts 12120 populist A person who advocated the principles of populist or peoples party 13 sixteen to one A monetary ratio of gold to silver coinage advanced by followers of bryan methods and problems in order to answer my thesis question extensive research saitisalt4saltsalt lake tribune 2526 march 1900 expansion and empire were defined 4 of material on bryan populism politipoliticaleaiealissues and utah politics was necessary I1 consulted theses ssertationsdissertationsdI1 books journals magazines and microfilmed newspaper articles my thesis has involved the qualitative analysis of data I1 have analyzed historical data in terms of its political implications and political relevancy only by measuring the political phenomena involved can we under- stand utahs aboutfaceabout face in the elections of 1896 and 1900 the problems I1 have encountered are those common to any historical research unavailability of recorded data many sources consulted have been inconsistent and unreliable the field of study surrounding bryan populism and early utah politics is strewn with error fallacies and partisanism many crossreferencecross reference checks however served to minimize the impact of the problems I1 have men- tioned CHAPTER I1 THE POPULIST REVOLT earlyfarmearly farbfarm alliances the lure of cheap land the presence of railroads andaand a desire for a fresh new start brought many potential farmers to the midwest plains states during the 1870s and 1880s18801s much of the 129 000 000 acres of public lands distributed to the railroads was resoldre sold by the railroads to eager settlers immigrants were beckoned by the millions to come to the land of riches and plenty the early 1880s brought an excess of rain to the arid west and so mortgages population and land prices boomed farm orders or alliances also flourished by 1889 some six major farm organizations