William Jennings Bryan was an American politician.
Free silver . Free silver was the central issue for Democrats in the presidential election of 1896 and that of 1900 , under the leadership of William Jennings Bryan , famed for his Cross of Gold speech in favor of free silver . Scopes Trial . William Jennings Bryan , three-time presidential candidate , argued for the prosecution , while Clarence Darrow , the famed defense attorney , spoke for Scopes . William Jennings Bryan ( March 19 , 1860 -- July 26 , 1925 ) was an American orator and politician from Nebraska , and a dominant force in the populist wing of the Democratic Party , standing three times as the Party 's nominee for President of the United States ( 1896 , 1900 , and 1908 ) . After 1920 , he turned to Christian fundamentalism ; he supported Prohibition and attacked Darwinism and evolution , most famously at the Scopes Trial in 1925 in Tennessee .