Thread by @ProfPaulPoast

Let's talk about a US presidential election b/w a Democratic "socialist" and a Republican with imperial & pro-business leanings.

Of course, I'm talking about the 1900 US Presidential election

[THREAD]

The election was a rematch between "The Bills": William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley

Two BIG issues in the election, both of which placed foreign policy at the center

(1) Should the US be on the Gold Standard?

(2) Should the US have overseas colonies?

Let's start with issue #2, overseas colonies.

The US had just defeated Spain in the "nice little war" of 1898

As a result, the US acquired a number of new colonies (as shown by this nifty @voxdotcom map)

But should the US be in the "business" of acquiring colonies?

For McKinley, the answer was "yes".

Consider what William Appleman Williams wrote in his Tragedy of American Diplomacy

google.com/books/edition/…

Williams writes (page 48) of how acquiring the Philippines was vital to the US maintaining an "open door" to China

For Bryan, the answer was "no"

He made this crystal clear in his August 8, 1900 speech in Indianapolis titled "Imperialism: Flag of an Empire."

americanrhetoric.com/speeches/wjbry…

The speech, in addition to including the phrase "gun-powder gospel" (to criticize using Christianity as a justification for imperialism), put forward the following argument

What about issue #1, the gold standard?

The US dollar had been on backed by gold since the 1870s, but there was still debate about moving to "bimetallism", meaning GOLD and SILVER

Should the US adopt bimetallism?

For Bryan, the answer was "yes"

This was the basis for Bryan's famous "Cross of Gold" speech at the 1896 Democratic Convention in Chicago

Bryan's position was clear

For McKinley, the answer was "no"

His campaign made the position equally clear

In the end, "colonies and gold" won...in rather convincing fashion (292 electoral college votes to 155)

In sum, if the 2020 Presidential Election does come down to a Democratic "socialist" & a Republican with imperial & pro-business leanings, remember that the USA has been here before

[END]

P.S. Yes, I do think the Wizard of Oz was an allegory for the gold standard v silver standard debate 😉