A Republican satire on Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech.
Graphic source: this image is in the public domain due to its age.
The populist William Jennings Bryan delivered his famous "Cross of Gold" speech to advocate the interests of the people. The speech was delivered at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Bryan advocated bimetallism. At the time, the Democratic Party wanted to standardize the value of the dollar to silver and opposed pegging the value of the United States dollar to a gold standard alone. The inflation that would result from the silver standard would make it easier for farmers and other debtors to pay off their debts by increasing their revenue dollars. It would also reverse the deflation which the U.S. experienced from 1873-1896.
The speech gets its popular name from its ending, with its biblical allusions:
Having behind us the producing masses of this nation and the world, supported by the commercial interests, the laboring interests and the toilers everywhere, we will answer their demand for a gold standard by saying to them: You shall not press down upon the brow of labor this crown of thorns, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.
At the conclusion of the speech, Bryan stretched out his arms in a Christ-like manner for five seconds, while the crowd remained quiet. According to the New York World, at that point everyone seemed to go mad at once and shrieked and rushed the stage. The New York Times commented that "A WILD, RAGING, IRRESISTIBLE MOB" had been unleashed.
Today, if a public figure advocates the public interest, as Bryan did, "mob" is a term of derision.
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