Paolo E. Coletta (1916–2007)

Among failed presidential candidates, few have the iconic stature of William Jennings Bryan. Though frustrated in his three campaigns for the presidency, his championing of the issues of rural Americans made “the Great Commoner” a hero to millions. Paolo E. Coletta’s book, the first volume of a three volume biography of Bryan, covers his early years and his political career through his final attempt to become president.

The son of a local politician, Bryan grew up in Illinois in a strongly religious household. After college he embarked upon law school and a career in the law, moving to Nebraska in 1883. Though successful as an attorney, his true passion was politics, and he won election to Congress in 1890 as a Democrat. There he became a staunch advocate of agrarian issues, calling for tariff reductions, the establishment of an income tax, and the free and unlimited coinage of silver. Bryan soon found himself at odds with Grover Cleveland over the silver issue, and decided to leave Congress in 1894 in a futile pursuit of statewide office.

A powerful orator, Bryan’s continued advocacy for silver coinage even after leaving Congress made him a contender for the 1896 Democratic presidential nomination. His famous and impassioned “cross of gold” speech at the convention captured the imagination of the delegates, who chose him as their party’s nominee the following day – at 36, the youngest presidential nominee in American history. Though Bryan campaigned vigorously, he was defeated by the Republican nominee, William McKinley, in what proved a historic turning point in national politics.

Despite his defeat Bryan continued his political activism. He remained true to the cause of silver, and when Cuba’s status became a national issue Bryan advocated its independence. Defeated again in a rematch with McKinley, Bryan nevertheless maintained a visible presence with highly profitable speaking tours and the publication of The Commoner, a weekly journal espousing agrarian political issues and Jeffersonian principles. Coletta argues that during this period Bryan was a prophet of progressivism, endorsing the emerging political mood for which much of his own advocacy had paved the way. His concerns about the excesses of capitalism prompted Bryan to run for the presidency a third and final time in 1908, in a campaign that ended in a frustrating and perplexing defeat at the hands of William Howard Taft.

First published in 1964, Coletta’s book was the first scholarly biography of Bryan. Based as it was on considerable archival labors, it remains an essential source for anyone seeking to understand the course of Bryan’s iconic life. Yet the lack of a systematic analysis of Bryan’s life based upon the research Coletta undertook is a serious disappointment, as readers are forced to draw their own conclusions from the details the author provides. Because of this, anyone seeking an introduction to Bryan would be better served turning to Robert Cherny’s [b:A Righteous Cause: The Life of William Jennings Bryan|1704339|A Righteous Cause The Life of William Jennings Bryan|Robert W. Cherny|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1410978841s/1704339.jpg|1701449] or Michael Kazin’s [b:A Godly Hero: The Life of William Jennings Bryan|79196|A Godly Hero The Life of William Jennings Bryan|Michael Kazin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388200173s/79196.jpg|76472], both of whom have built upon Coletta’s work to provide an understanding of Bryan’s considerable legacy as a politician and activist.… (plus d'informations)

4043 William Jennings Bryan III. Political Puritan 1915-1925, by Paolo E. Coletta (read 8 July 2005) This volume completes Coletta's great biography. Even though Coletta is generally favorable to Bryan, the account of the Scopes trial, while very well-done, has Bryan thoroughly bested by Darrow in the memorable cross-examination--more so than in the classic account in Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion, by Edward J. Larson (read 3 Oct 1998) (Pulitzer History prize for 1998). Bryan was a towering figure in the times from 1896 till he died in 1925, and reading these volumes was time well spent.… (plus d'informations)

4042 William Jennings Bryan II. Progressive Politician and Moral Statesman 1909-1915, by Paolo E. Coletta (read 4 July 2005) This is the second volume of Coletta's three-volume biography and covers the years from 1908 to Bryan's resignation as Secretary of State in June of 1915. The account of the Baltimore convention in 1912 is especially well-done and it is clear to me that but for Bryan Champ Clark would have been nominated and I suppose elected President in 1912--and it is fascinating to think how the history of the world since would have been changed if that had happened. The account of Bryan's years as Secretary of State did not seem as interesting, and I was not as caught up in the account as I was when I read Arthur S. Link's magisterial account of those same years in his books on Wilson, which I read in July of 1980, especially the volume called Wilson: The Struggle for Neutrality 1914-1915 (read 4 July 1980). But as I felt when I read those Link books, there is a lot to be said for Bryan's position re the Lusitania sinking. For an antidote to Link's volumes and this one re neutrality in 1914-1916, read The World War and American Isolation 1914-1917 by Ernest R. May (read 1 Nov 1984).… (plus d'informations)