1896 presidential election results. Red denotes states won by McKinley, blue denotes states won by Bryan. Numbers indicate the
electoral votes won by each candidate.
The 1896 United States elections elected the
55th United States Congress.
Republicans won control of the presidency and maintained control of both houses of Congress. The election marked the end of the
Third Party System and the start of the
Fourth Party System, as Republicans would generally dominate politics until the
1930 elections. Political scientists such as
V.O. Key, Jr. argue that this election was a
realigning election, while James Reichley argues against this idea on the basis that the Republican victory in this election merely continued the party's post-
Civil War dominance.[3] The election took place in the aftermath of the
Panic of 1893, and featured a fierce debate between advocates of
bimetallism ("
free silver") and supporters of the
gold standard.[4]
In the presidential election,
Republican former Governor
William McKinley of
Ohio defeated
Democratic former Representative
William Jennings Bryan of
Nebraska.[5] McKinley took the Republican nomination on the first ballot, while Bryan took the
Democratic nomination on the fifth ballot (at age 36, he became youngest presidential nominee of a major party), defeating former Missouri Representative
Richard P. Bland and several other candidates. Bryan's
Cross of Gold speech, in which he advocated for "
free silver," helped deliver him the Democratic nomination, and also attracted the support of the
Populist Party and the
Silver Republican Party. Though Bryan carried most of the South and the West, McKinley won a comfortable margin in both the electoral college and the popular vote by carrying the Northeast and the
Great Lakes region.
Democrats won major gains in the
House, but Republicans continued to command a large majority in the chamber. The
Populists also won several seats, holding more seats in the House than any
third party since the
Civil War.[6]
In the
Senate, the Republicans maintained their plurality, keeping control of the same number of seats. The Democrats lost several seats, while the
Silver Republicans established themselves for the first time with five seats.[7] Republican
William P. Frye won election as
President pro tempore.
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