Doug1943
Platinum Member
- Jan 3, 2016
- 1,243
- 617
- 928
Let' let a great populist (and Democrat!) weigh in on this debate:
[ American Rhetoric: William Jennings Bryan - A Cross of Gold ]
Patriots should have another look at this great man. We were taught the wrong lessons about him in our history classes.
Start here: [ In the Shadow of William Jennings Bryan ]
Ah, my friends, we say not one word against those who live upon the Atlantic coast, but the hardy pioneers who have braved all the dangers of the wilderness, who have made the desert to blossom as the rose -- the pioneers away out there [pointing to the West], who rear their children near to Nature's heart, where they can mingle their voices with the voices of the birds -- out there where they have erected schoolhouses for the education of their young, churches where they praise their Creator, and cemeteries where rest the ashes of their dead -- these people, we say, are as deserving of the consideration of our party as any people in this country. It is for these that we speak. We do not come as aggressors. Our war is not a war of conquest; we are fighting in defense of our homes, our families, and posterity.
.
.
.
You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the gold standard; we reply that the great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms, and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.
[ American Rhetoric: William Jennings Bryan - A Cross of Gold ]
Patriots should have another look at this great man. We were taught the wrong lessons about him in our history classes.
Start here: [ In the Shadow of William Jennings Bryan ]