Location
Hope Hall
Start Date
30-3-2019 1:30 PM
End Date
30-3-2019 2:45 PM
Session Chair
Celsea Reeder
Mentor
Dr. Elizabeth Amato
Description
William Jennings Bryan is quite the tragic figure, and not for the reason one may immediately think, that being his three failed presidential campaigns. Rather, his tragedy lies in the duplicity of the ideals he sought to maintain and the way he sought to preserve them. William Jennings Bryan was born on the eve of the War Between the States in Illinois, to a staunch Jacksonian-Democrat father. Being raised in the Jacksonian tradition, Bryan grew to value the America of Jefferson and the founders, one in which the farmer extolled the ideal American virtues. This foundation propelled Bryan to oppose vigorously anything he saw as unfair to the common man. However, he was merely a man of his times, unaware of the dangers of the rhetorical strategies he popularized in his pursuit to protect the common-man. Bryan’s actions ultimately proved to work against the ideals he sought to preserve. This is the true tragedy of William Jennings Bryan, that he would work all his life pursuing one goal just to have his actions cause his own downfall.
III B Political Science Presentation 1: The Tragedy of William Jennings Bryan
Hope Hall
William Jennings Bryan is quite the tragic figure, and not for the reason one may immediately think, that being his three failed presidential campaigns. Rather, his tragedy lies in the duplicity of the ideals he sought to maintain and the way he sought to preserve them. William Jennings Bryan was born on the eve of the War Between the States in Illinois, to a staunch Jacksonian-Democrat father. Being raised in the Jacksonian tradition, Bryan grew to value the America of Jefferson and the founders, one in which the farmer extolled the ideal American virtues. This foundation propelled Bryan to oppose vigorously anything he saw as unfair to the common man. However, he was merely a man of his times, unaware of the dangers of the rhetorical strategies he popularized in his pursuit to protect the common-man. Bryan’s actions ultimately proved to work against the ideals he sought to preserve. This is the true tragedy of William Jennings Bryan, that he would work all his life pursuing one goal just to have his actions cause his own downfall.