William Jennings Bryan - Arlington, VA - Grave of a Famous Person on Waymarking.com

William Jennings Bryan was born in Illinois but had moved to Nebraska before he was thirty to open a law practice. It wasn’t long though before this man with the gift of oratory, got into politics. Having twice represented his district in the U.S. House of Representatives (1890 - 1894), he decided to run for Senator but lost in his bid. During this hiatus from politics, he continued to promote his political ideas by becoming the editor of the ‘Omaha World Herald’ newspaper and on the lecture circuit.

In 1896, William Jennings Bryan was nominated for President at the Democratic National Convention. He had given a memorable speech strongly promoting the ‘free silver’ platform. At 36, he was the youngest man ever to be nominated for President by a major political party. Bryan put on a good showing but lost the election to William McKinley. Four years later he tried again, this time running on an anti-imperialist platform (by that time, ‘free silver’ had become about as popular a campaign issue as it is today). Once again, he lost to William McKinley. For the 1904 election, the Democratic Party decided to try someone else besides William Jennings Bryan but lost that election in a landslide to Theodore Roosevelt. By 1908, Bryan was back on the ticket but lost this time to William H. Taft.

Bryan supported Woodrow Wilson for President in 1912 and after Wilson was elected, was rewarded by being named Secretary of State. Bryan remained in that position for two years before resigning due to Wilson’s push toward American involvement in World War I. Bryan’s populist approach and progressive ideals greatly influenced future politicians of both parties. Today, historians consider William Jennings Bryan one of the most influential politicians who never served as President.

But what Williams Jennings Bryan is probably best known for today is arguing the prosecution’s case in the 1925 Scopes “monkey” trial, an ACLU show trial staged in rural Tennessee. Though he won that case, it took a toll on him physically and Bryan died in his sleep just five days later.
(Sources: wikipedia.com, nebraskastudies.org.)

Description: William Jennings Bryan is laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. Though not normally associated with the military, Bryan did raise a volunteer regiment in response to McKinley’s call for volunteers in support of the impending war with Spain (Spanish-American War). But this regiment (3rd Nebraska Infantry) sat out the war in Florida ostensibly because McKinley didn’t want his political opponent to possibly return a war hero. Date of birth: 03/19/1860 Date of death: 07/26/1925 Area of notoriety: Politics Marker Type: Headstone Setting: Outdoor Visiting Hours/Restrictions: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm Fee required?: No Web site: [Web Link]

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