what year did william jennings bryan run for president?
1900 Democratic National Convention 1908 Democratic National Convention 1896 Democratic National Convention
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 Born in 1860 , Bryan grew up in rural Illinois and in 1887 moved to Nebraska , where he practiced law and entered politics . He won election to the House of Representatives in 1890 , and was re @-@ elected in 1892 , before mounting an unsuccessful US Senate run . He set his sights on higher office , believing he could be elected president in 1896 even though he remained a relatively minor figure in the Democratic Party . In anticipation of a presidential campaign , he spent much of 1895 and early 1896 making speeches across the United States ; his compelling oratory increased his popularity in his party . 

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 In 1896 , William Jennings Bryan ran unsuccessfully for President of the United States . Bryan , a former Democratic congressman from Nebraska , gained his party 's presidential nomination in July of that year after electrifying the Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech . He was defeated in the general election by the Republican candidate , former Ohio governor William McKinley . 

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 Bryan had been a dark horse candidate with little support in the convention . His speech , delivered at the close of the debate on the party platform , electrified the convention and is generally credited with getting him the nomination for president . However , he lost the general election to William McKinley and the United States formally adopted the gold standard in 1900 . 

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 One legacy of the campaign was the career of William Jennings Bryan . He ran for president a second time in 1900 and a third time in 1908 , each time losing . Through the almost three decades before his death in 1925 , he was ever present on political platform and speaking circuit , fighting first for silver , and then for other causes . Bryan served as Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915 , resigning as Wilson moved the nation closer to intervention in World War I. His final years were marked with controversy , such as his involvement in the Scopes Monkey Trial in the final weeks of his life , but according to Kazin , " Bryan 's sincerity , warmth , and passion for a better world won the hearts of people who cared for no other public figure in his day " . 

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 Bryan quickly became prominent in Lincoln as a lawyer and a public speaker , becoming known as the " Boy Orator of the Platte " . In 1890 , he agreed to run for Congress against William J. Connell , a Republican , who had won the local congressional seat in 1888 . At that time , Nebraska was suffering hard times as many farmers had difficulties making ends meet due to low grain prices , and many Americans were discontented with the existing two major political parties . As a result , disillusioned farmers and others formed a new far @-@ left party , which came to be known as the Populist Party . The Populists proposed both greater government control over the economy ( with some calling for government ownership of railroads ) and giving the people power over government through the secret ballot , direct election of United States Senators ( who were , until 1913 , elected by state legislatures ) , and replacement of the Electoral College with direct election of the president and vice president by popular vote . Party members in many states , including Nebraska , demanded inflation of the currency through issuance of paper or silver currency , allowing easier repayment of debt . After a candidate backed by the nascent Populists withdrew , Bryan defeated Connell for the seat by 6 @,@ 700 votes ( nearly doubling Connell 's 1888 margin ) , receiving support from the Populists and Prohibitionists . 
