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Article: Bryan, William Jennings
- Article from:
- Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History
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BRYAN, WILLIAM JENNINGS
William Jennings Bryan (1860
–
1925) was a great populist orator who unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. presidency three times. He was born and brought up in Illinois. Following graduation from law school he practiced law in Jacksonville, Illinois, from 1883 to 1887, but his heart was never in his work. In 1887 he moved his family to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he ran for Congress in 1890. Bryan won his Congressional seat as a Democrat by 7,713 votes, a substantial margin in a strongly Republican district.
During his first term in the House of Representatives, Bryan attracted wide attention when he gave a masterful three-hour speech in defense of the "free silver ...