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 Bryan and Free Silver

 


 “Lest We Forget—Lest We Forget!”
  Cartoonist:  Grant Hamilton
  Source:  Judge
  Date:  June 2, 1900

Click to see a large version of this cartoon...

Click to see a large version of this cartoon

Complete HarpWeek Explanation:
This Judge cover cartoon reminds voters of William Jennings Bryan’s dire predictions about the economy when he was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1896. He had argued that reliance on gold was ruining the economy (then in a depression) and that the inflationary free coinage of silver would restore prosperity. In 1900, Bryan insisted that the Democratic National Platform include the free-silver plank even though crop prices were up and the economy had been booming for three years without free silver. Here, he is depicted as a false prophet with a tin halo, descending in mimicry of Moses from Mount Sinai, but with a tablet of false prophecy from 1896.

 

 

 

 
 

 

     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 
     
 

 

 

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