author
William Jennings Bryan
1860–1925
A magnetic speaker and towering force in American politics, he ran for president three times and became famous for his powerful defense of farmers and working people. His life also placed him at the center of some of the country’s biggest public debates, from money and reform to religion and science.
3 Audiobooks
In His Image
by William Jennings Bryan
The old world and its ways : describing a tour around the world and journeys through Europe
by William Jennings Bryan
The Price of a Soul
by William Jennings Bryan
About the author
Born in Salem, Illinois, in 1860, William Jennings Bryan trained as a lawyer and later built his career in Nebraska, where his gift for public speaking quickly made him a national figure. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives and became known as the "Great Commoner," a champion of Populist and progressive causes who argued for policies he believed would help ordinary Americans.
Bryan was the Democratic nominee for president three times, in 1896, 1900, and 1908. He never won the presidency, but he remained one of the most influential political voices of his era, especially after his famous "Cross of Gold" speech, which turned him into a household name. From 1913 to 1915, he served as U.S. secretary of state under President Woodrow Wilson.
Late in life, Bryan became closely associated with public arguments over religion and modern science. He took part in the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial in Tennessee, where he supported laws against teaching evolution in public schools. He died in Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925, only days after the trial ended, but his career still stands as one of the most vivid and contested in American political history.