The trumpet soundeth : William Jennings Bryan and his democracy, 1896-1912
This book constitutes a balanced defense of William Jennings Bryan. The author begins by analyzing some of the patterns of culture on the Middle Border where Bryan was reared. American Protestantism, the McGuffey Reader, and the Chautauqua tent all receive due consideration for their contributions to the "middle western mentality." Bryan's attitudes "were grounded in his emotions rather than in reason," he had high principles, and was unusually consistent in his refusal to compromise on those principles. Glad only addresses the infamous Scopes trial to illustrate that point, in that Bryan was not motivated in the science of the case. Bryan was devoted to the principle of majority rule, and believed that Scopes was violating that rule by teaching something banned by a law passed by a state legislature representing a majority of the voters. Committed to the idea that the people must rule, the Commoner "labored to keep them informed through his newspaper and his lectures." He helped raise the level of debate, led the campaign for ratification of the Sixteenth (income tax) Amendment, and led and left the leadership of the Democratic Party in a manner that significantly changed American political life
Print Book, English, ©1960
University of Nebraska Press, [Lincoln], ©1960