The Cross of Gold speech was delivered by William Jennings Bryan, a
former congressman from Nebraska, at the Democratic National Convention
in Chicago on July 9, 1896. In the address, Bryan supported bimetallism
or "free silver", which he believed would bring the nation prosperity.
He decried the gold standard, concluding the speech, "you shall not
crucify mankind upon a cross of gold". Bryan's address helped catapult
him to the Democratic Party's presidential nomination; it is considered
one of the greatest political speeches in American history. For twenty
years, Americans had been bitterly divided over the nation's monetary
standard. Many Americans believed bimetallism (making both gold and
silver legal tender) was necessary to the nation's economic health.
Bryan's 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.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross_of_Gold_speech>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
455:
Roman military commander Avitus was proclaimed Emperor of the
Western Roman Empire.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avitus>
869:
An estimated magnitude 8.6 Ms earthquake and subsequent tsunami
struck the area around Sendai, Japan, leaving sand deposits up to 4 km
(2.5 mi) inland.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/869_Jogan_Sanriku_earthquake>
1850:
Following Zachary Taylor's death, Millard Fillmore became
President of the United States, the last member of the Whig Party to
hold that office.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millard_Fillmore>
1962:
In a seminal moment for pop art, Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup
Cans exhibition opened at the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campbell%27s_Soup_Cans>
2008:
Under the belief that Israel and the United States were
planning to attack its nuclear programme, Iran conducted the Great
Prophet III missile test and war games exercise.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Prophet_III>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
penitent:
1. Feeling pain or sorrow on account of sins or offenses; repentant;
contrite; sincerely affected by a sense of guilt, and resolved on
amendment of life.
2. Doing penance.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/penitent>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
If you have the courage to touch life for the first time, you will never
know what hit you. Everything man has thought, felt and experienced is
gone, and nothing is put in its place.
--U. G. Krishnamurti
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/U._G._Krishnamurti>
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