Rhetorical Analysis of William Jennings Bryan

William Jennings Bryan was born on March 19^th, 1860 at Salem, Illinois. He was known by most as "The Great Commoner" for he fought for the rights of the farmers and the common people. He was elected to the House of Representatives from Nebraska in 1890-1894. He did not run for re-election in 1894 because the democratic caucus in Nebraska supported the gold standard, which he did not. The Gold Standard was what the US Government used to determine how much things were worth. In today's society, the government itself supports paper money, in the late 19^th century however, it was only supported by the value of Gold. In 1893, financial panic swept the country, and congress repealed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 that bought silver from farmers for Treasury bonds that could be converted to gold. Bryan lead the way to stop the repealing of the act, but failed to do so. The gold standard was looked at as helping only the rich businessmen of the Northeast, and Bryan spoke out against the gold standard frequently in 1894-1896. The Democratic Party was also split into two different groups, the gold democrats, and the silver democrats, which Bryan was a part of.

The Republican Party, with their presidential candidate, William McKinley, supported the gold standard. In 1896, after the Republican national convention, the Democrats held their convention in Chicago. After four ballots to try and determine who would get the Democratic nomination for president, Bryan stood up, and gave his now famous speech. He was voted to be the democratic nominee on the next ballot. The People's Party whose main platform was also to get rid of the gold standard, and allow for the free coinage of silver also supported Bryan.

Invention

The majority of Bryan's speech lies in the ethical and emotional proofs. He does not touch too much on logical proof. However, we will see that he does use some forms of logical proof.

Ethical Proof

Good Character

Bryan starts out his speech by showing the audience that he is in good company, and that his convictions are as solid as an oak tree. He tells them that he is not trying to go against what anyone has said so far, but only to give a new perspective out there. For example, he states; "The gentleman who preceded me spoke of the State of Massachusetts; let me assure him that not one present in all this convention entertains the least hostility to the people of Massachusetts." He is showing that he is for everyone there, not just the people he is representing. He also says that he is here with a cause as holy as liberty-the cause of humanity. That right there shows the conviction of Bryan, and his commitment to the free coinage of silver. Also, people have known that Bryan was a supporter of silver for a few years since he spoke out for it when he was in the House of Representatives. And for the last couple of years, he spent traveling the U.S. talking about the free coinage of silver. So he conviction is very strong, and he ties himself to the people that spoke earlier at the convention that most people trusted.

Sagacity

Obviously, Bryan was very knowledgeable of the issues of the day. He had been a part of the debate over gold and silver for over four years, and had given numerous speeches to that account. He used a lot of current ideas and arguments that were being argued at the time.

Good Will

This is where Bryan excelled. He praises his audience throughout the entire speech. Telling them, how great they are, and that he is here to represent people that are for equality and freedom. However, he mostly attacks his opponents, those who supported the gold standard. He states; "When I find a man who is not willing to bear his share of the burden of the government which protects him, I find a man who is unworthy to enjoy the blessings of a government like ours." It is interesting to note that he is talking about the income tax issues here, but that is just an example of how he attacked his opponents. Also, he even says that there is no state in the east that supports the gold standard, that isn't controlled by the Republican Party. So once again, he is attacking his opponents, and attaching them to the opposite party.

Logical Proof

Comparison

Bryan's most used evidence that he uses is that of comparison. When he is talking about businessmen, he starts to show how people out west and in small neighborhoods are also businessmen. "The man who is employed for wages is as much a business man as his employer; the attorney in a country town is as much a business man at the corporation counsel in a great metropolis." He continues for quite sometime on the comparisons with the small town to the bigger metropolises.

Illustration

Bryan also uses some illustration throughout his speech, especially the ending of it. He ties the pioneers of the west to that of nature's heart, and making the desert blossom as the rose, etc. He uses these illustrations to show that we cannot just support those big businesses that are controlling a good majority of politicians in the Republican Party. He also talks about how the gold standard has "slain tens of thousands" of people in America. The most vivid illustration however came in his closing remark; "You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold." That illustrates pretty well what he wants to say.

Emotional Proof

The emotional proof that Bryan uses, will be a little repetitious from what I was talking about in the other two proofs. He is trying to persuade his audience to move towards the free coinage of silver, and to move away from the gold standard. There are some people there, that are "Gold Democrats", and they are not too eager to change their ideas. However, Bryan showed how this issue is more important than what this country was founded on, that of liberty. He does this right away in his speech, but he also does this near the end of his speech as well; "It is the issue of 1776 over again." Bryan's use of illustration showed how the gold standard has hurt the people that the Democratic Party is representing.

Arrangement

Topical Arrangement

Bryan's arrangement is that of Topical. He focuses upon a certain topic, and then moves on to the next before he finally gets to his main topic, that of the gold issue. He first focuses on the National Income Tax issue, and then he looks at other monetary issues such as banks, changing the monetary system, and the practice of loaning money. He then gets to his main issue with the transition towards the free coinage of silver.

Introduction and Conclusion

The reason that I include the introduction and conclusion in this paper is simple, it is the most important part of his speech I believe. His intro sets the stage for what he is going to focus on, by saying that he is going to defend an issue that is as holy as liberty. That in itself catches your eye (or ear if you are hearing the speech) and makes you pay attention to the speech. His conclusion is so powerful, that it needs to be included. We are a Christian society that has the image of Jesus Christ being crucified as one of the horrible things that has ever happened (the practice of crucifixion as a whole is looked at as horrible). So when Bryan says that the we will not be crucified on a cross of gold, since the image of the gold cross would be the gold standard, that sticks in the minds of people for a long time to come.

Style

Bryan's style was very simple. Some critics have said that he wasn't very smart, so he had to keep it simple, but the way he was raised, and the way he lived is a main reason why he always spoke simply. Many referred him to as "The Great Commoner" because he wanted to represent the common people, and he liked talking to them. So when you read his speeches, you can follow it very easily since it is very simple. The speech was extremely appropriate for the time he gave it. The Democrats were split down the middle on what they wanted to support, and Bryan gave a speech that related to everyone at the time. The vividness of his language was excellent. I looked at this earlier with the illustrations that he used, and he didn't just use those illustrations and vividness to compare businessmen. He used vivid language throughout his speech to give people a picture in their heads to what he was talking about, especially at the end of his speech.

Delivery

Nothing in the criticism's I read let me know exactly what type of delivery he used, but if I can remember from history class, I believe he gave this speech impromptu. Now, to say that he made up this great speech off of the top of his head might be a little much. He had been giving speeches for the free coinage of silver for a couple of years, so his knowledge of the subject was great, and he probably had the majority of his speech already memorized from the numerous times he gave them. He obviously had to adapt a lot of his speech since he was at the convention, but an extemporaneous style would have been the best option to use. This allows Bryan to communicate better with the audience, and use some gestures and eye contact to get his point across.

Effectiveness

This speech was one of the most effective speeches that I have ever read. In one criticism that someone wrote, he said that he was sitting next to a "Gold Democrat" that was very cynical of silver coinage. However, by the end of Bryan's speech, that cynical person was standing up and yelling for Bryan's nomination. That is effectiveness. Also, as I stated in the background information, the Democrats were split on their decision for the nomination of president. They could not decide who they would try to put into the white house, but after Bryan's speech, almost everyone voted for him. If you read the speech and imagine yourself at the convention in 1896, you are moved by what he says. His language is vivid and powerful, and the way the speech flows, it makes you want to vote for Bryan...I still can't believe he lost to McKinley.

References:

Thonssen and Baird (Lester & A. Craig); Speech Criticism: The Development of Standards for Rhetorical Appraisal, State University of Iowa, Ronald Press Company, NY 1948
http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=18850191

William Jennings Bryan; "Cross of Gold"; Speech given to the Democratic National Convention of 1896, found on-line at:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/