In 1896, William Jennings Bryan gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention in which he addressed his populist party beliefs. In it he spoke upon the question of whether the free coinage of silver should be endorsed. Also, he tells of how he is running in the election not for a party, but rather for the principles in which he believes. Among these are that working men are the true business men and that the government should have more control over money and banking. He also holds true to the fact that he supported an income tax law that was recently declared "unconstitutional." He attacked in this speech the wishy-washy nature of McKinley's views on bimetalism and said he was confident that his party would win the election. He states that if the United States switches to bimetalism, that they would gain much power and become a major leader in the world. He finished with his famous quote that "you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold" and the crowd went wild.
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