1900 Conventions (The Hearse at Monticello)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

The crowning achievement of Bryan's presidency was the passage of the so-called "Silver Act" in 1898, which allowed for the coinage of silver currency at a ratio of 16 to 1 with gold. Hailed by farmers (and Western silver miners) as the salvation of the common man, the Act ended the period of deflation that had begun during the Cleveland Administration. Bryan likewise authorized the expansion of the Federal Subtreasury program, triggering a rise in prices for farm produce that greatly benefitted the nation's rural population. On the international stage, Bryan resisted calls for the United States to enter the Cuban War of Independence, though he has extended his sympathies to the Cuban rebels.

Emboldened by the Populist victories in the 1898 Midterms, Bryan urged Congress to pass the nation's first income tax, something that progressive reformers had been clamoring for since the days of James B. Weaver. Though the Populists, aided by reform Democrats and some members of the new American Party, managed to pass the bill, it was quickly challenged and brought before the Supreme Court. Had Walter Q. Gresham still been Chief Justice the law might have been upheld, but he had died in 1895; his replacement, Melville Fuller (who had been appointed under President Cleveland), struck down the income without a moment's hesitation, and an attempt to pass a Constitutional Amendment establishing the legality of the tax failed by four votes in the House of Representatives.

Having determined to seek a second term in 1900, Bryan is running on his record as a popular reformer, renewing calls for the passage of a graduated income tax, agitation for action to reign in the Trusts, and his determination to avoid a war with Spain. He faces very little opposition within the People's Party, with only a small portion of the party supporting his challenger, Wharton Baker, who has never held any political office. Following former President Cleveland's refusal to seek a second term, the Democrats have been thrown into their first competitive convention in nearly a decade. Those seeking the party's nomination include Senator George Gray, notable for his work on the board of the Smithsonian; former Senator Francis Cockrell, who supports repealing the Civil Rights Act of 1881; Congressman William R. Hearst, a titan of the newspaper industry who wants the United States to join forces with the rebels in Cuba to expel Spain from North America; and Judge Alton B. Parker, candidate of the Bourbon Democrats.

Meanwhile, the movement to fuse the Republican and Prohibitionist parties enters the 1900 Campaign with a spring in its step, having managed to beat down splinter candidates seeking to neuter the fusion movement in the 1898 Midterms. At their National Convention in Cincinnati, the delegates have christened themselves the "American Party" and adopted a platform calling for moderation in regards to the Trusts, action to protect American citizens living in Cuba, the repeal of the Silver Act, and nationwide prohibition. Front-runner for the nomination is Governor Thomas B. Reed, the party's candidate for president in 1896; however, Governor William McKinley - a rising star who was narrowly elected Governor of Ohio last year - and John G. Wooley - a temperance advocate - are also contesting the nomination. In general, Reed is seen as the candidate most likely to compromise with the Populists on reform issues, including the need to prosecute some of the larger Trusts, while McKinley is disinclined to take any immediate action against the business community.

Will the American Party survive as a political force? Can the Democrats defeat the "Great Commoner"? The choice is yours.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Bump.

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Interestingly, with the notable exception of the Populists, alternate US political history thus far has essentially been a series of fusion efforts to oppose the Democratic coalition. In 1828, the Federalists fused with the Adamsian Republicans to form the Nat. Reps/ Whigs, who in turn fused with the Libertyites in 1848 to form the Republicans, who continued the tradition in 1896 by joining forces with the Prohibitionists.

DR F
|    |
| --|
D  W
|    |    L
|    |-- |
D         R
|          |     PRO    POP
|          |     |           |
|          | -- |           |
D            A            POP

(Not the nicest chart, to be sure, but I really don't feel like going to great lengths for one post)

[Unconditional Surrender Truman]

Despite a last-minute surge for Parker, William R. Hearst has won the Democratic Nomination and will face President Bryan and Governor Reed in the general election.