The 1900 Democratic National Convention met in Kansas City, Missouri, the westernmost location that either major party had ever held a national convention.
Some Democratic leaders opposed to Bryan had hoped to nominate Admiral George Dewey for president, but Bryan faced no significant opposition by the time of the convention and he won his party's nomination unanimously.
Bryan did not attend the convention, but he exercised control of the convention's proceedings via telegraph.
Bryan faced a decision regarding what issue his campaign would focus on.
Many of his most fervent supporters wanted Bryan to continue his crusade for free silver, while Democrats from the Northeast advised Bryan to center his campaign on the growing power of trusts.
Bryan, however, decided that his campaign would focus on anti-imperialism, partly to unite the factions of the party and win over some Republicans.
The party platform contained planks supporting free silver and opposing the power of trusts, but imperialism was labeled as the "paramount issue" of the campaign.
The party nominated former Vice President Adlai Stevenson to serve as Bryan's running mate.

In his speech accepting the Democratic nomination, Bryan argued that the election represented "a contest between democracy and plutocracy."
He also strongly criticized the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, comparing it to the British rule of the Thirteen Colonies.
Bryan argued that the United States should refrain from imperialism and should seek to become the "supreme moral factor in the world's progress and the accepted arbiter of the world's disputes."
By 1900, the American Anti-Imperialist League, which included individuals like Benjamin Harrison, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Schurz and Mark Twain, had emerged as the primary domestic organization opposed to the continued American control of the Philippines.
Many of the leaders of the league had opposed Bryan in 1896 and continued to distrust Bryan and his followers.
Despite this distrust, Bryan's strong stance against imperialism convinced most of the league's leadership to throw their support behind the Democratic nominee.

Once again, the McKinley campaign established a massive financial advantage, while the Democratic campaign relied largely on Bryan's oratory.
In a typical day Bryan gave four hour-long speeches and shorter talks that added up to six hours of speaking.
At an average rate of 175 words a minute, he turned out 63,000 words a day, enough to fill 52 columns of a newspaper.
The Republican Party's superior organization and finances boosted McKinley's candidacy and, as in the previous campaign, most major newspapers favored McKinley.
Bryan also had to contend with the Republican vice presidential nominee, Theodore Roosevelt, who had emerged a national celebrity in the Spanish–American War and proved to be a strong public speaker.
Bryan's anti-imperialism failed to register with many voters and as the campaign neared its end, Bryan increasingly shifted to attacks on corporate power.
He once again sought the voter of urban laborers, telling them to vote against the business interests that had "condemn[ed] the boys of this country to perpetual clerkship."

By election day, few believed that Bryan would win and McKinley ultimately prevailed once again over Bryan.
Compared to the results of 1896, McKinley increased his popular vote margin and picked up several Western states, including Bryan's home state of Nebraska.
The Republican platform of a strong American industrial economy proved to be more important to voters than questions of the morality of annexing the Philippines.
The election also confirmed the continuing organizational advantage of the Republican Party outside of the South.
The 1900 Democratic National Convention met in Kansas City, Missouri, the westernmost location that either major party had ever held a national convention. Some Democratic leaders opposed to Bryan had hoped to nominate Admiral George Dewey for president, but Bryan faced no significant opposition by the time of the convention and he won his party's nomination unanimously. Bryan did not attend the convention, but he exercised control of the convention's proceedings via telegraph. Bryan faced a decision regarding what issue his campaign would focus on. Many of his most fervent supporters wanted Bryan to continue his crusade for free silver, while Democrats from the Northeast advised Bryan to center his campaign on the growing power of trusts. Bryan, however, decided that his campaign would focus on anti-imperialism, partly to unite the factions of the party and win over some Republicans. The party platform contained planks supporting free silver and opposing the power of trusts, but imperialism was labeled as the "paramount issue" of the campaign. The party nominated former Vice President Adlai Stevenson to serve as Bryan's running mate.
In his speech accepting the Democratic nomination, Bryan argued that the election represented "a contest between democracy and plutocracy." He also strongly criticized the U.S. annexation of the Philippines, comparing it to the British rule of the Thirteen Colonies. Bryan argued that the United States should refrain from imperialism and should seek to become the "supreme moral factor in the world's progress and the accepted arbiter of the world's disputes." By 1900, the American Anti-Imperialist League, which included individuals like Benjamin Harrison, Andrew Carnegie, Carl Schurz and Mark Twain, had emerged as the primary domestic organization opposed to the continued American control of the Philippines. Many of the leaders of the league had opposed Bryan in 1896 and continued to distrust Bryan and his followers. Despite this distrust, Bryan's strong stance against imperialism convinced most of the league's leadership to throw their support behind the Democratic nominee.
Once again, the McKinley campaign established a massive financial advantage, while the Democratic campaign relied largely on Bryan's oratory. In a typical day Bryan gave four hour-long speeches and shorter talks that added up to six hours of speaking. At an average rate of 175 words a minute, he turned out 63,000 words a day, enough to fill 52 columns of a newspaper. The Republican Party's superior organization and finances boosted McKinley's candidacy and, as in the previous campaign, most major newspapers favored McKinley. Bryan also had to contend with the Republican vice presidential nominee, Theodore Roosevelt, who had emerged a national celebrity in the Spanish–American War and proved to be a strong public speaker. Bryan's anti-imperialism failed to register with many voters and as the campaign neared its end, Bryan increasingly shifted to attacks on corporate power. He once again sought the voter of urban laborers, telling them to vote against the business interests that had "condemn[ed] the boys of this country to perpetual clerkship."
By election day, few believed that Bryan would win and McKinley ultimately prevailed once again over Bryan. Compared to the results of 1896, McKinley increased his popular vote margin and picked up several Western states, including Bryan's home state of Nebraska. The Republican platform of a strong American industrial economy proved to be more important to voters than questions of the morality of annexing the Philippines. The election also confirmed the continuing organizational advantage of the Republican Party outside of the South.
William Jennings Bryan