1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, May 1896 tornado outbreak, St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado
Homes and buildings along the river were completely swept away and a quarter of the buildings there were damaged or destroyed. An additional 118 people were killed, 35 of whom were at the Vandalia railroad freight yards. By the end of the day, the confirmed death toll stood at 255, with some estimates above 400; more than 1,000 were injured. The tornado was later rated F4 on the Fujita scale.


1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, May 1896 tornado outbreak, St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado
Following the cyclone's destruction, members of Light Battery "A" and the First Regiment were placed on volunteer duty. Within an hour of the tornado striking, 32 members were on duty with ambulances and hospital corps to assist in rescue operations and to help victims. The mayor asked that both commands remain on patrol duty on May 30. Members of the bicycle corps of Company "G" First Regiment assisted when railway service was inaccessible. Telephone and telegraph wires were destroyed and streets were impassable. Officers were summoned to duty by bicycle couriers, as this was the only means of communication. Enough damage was done to the city that there was some speculation that St. Louis might not be able to host the 1896 Republican National Convention in June, just three weeks later, but after a massive clean-up effort, the convention went ahead as planned.


1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, Long-term impact
The May 27, 1896, St. Louis tornado was the most devastating known in the United States up to that time. Approximately 12,000 buildings were seriously damaged, valued in excess of $10 million. In the wake of highly sensationalized local, national, and international news coverage of the tornado, over 140,000 sightseers flocked to inspect the damaged areas. The cyclone permanently altered the course of residential, commercial, and industrial development in the most heavily damaged areas of the city, though undamaged areas were not affected.


1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, Long-term impact
Political reverberations came in the 1897 city elections, when middle-class reform candidates were decisively defeated by a coalition supported largely by the German vote in heavily impacted neighborhoods.


1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, In perspective, St. Louis tornado history
It is somewhat rare for the core of a large city to be hit directly by a tornado (due to their relatively small area and the relative lack of large cities in the highest tornado threat region)—especially a large and intense tornado—yet several other tornadoes have tracked through the City of St. Louis during its history. Several of these tornadoes were also very deadly and destructive. Tornadoes have hit St. Louis in 1871 (9 killed); 1890 (4 killed); 1904 (3 killed, 100 injured); 1927 (72-79+ killed, 550+ injured); and 1959 (21 killed, 345 injured). This makes St. Louis the most tornado-afflicted urban area in the U.S. Additionally, the Greater St. Louis area is the scene of even more historically destructive and deadly tornadoes. Oklahoma City is the metropolitan area with the most frequent significant tornadoes.


1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, In perspective, 1896 tornado season
In what was apparently an intense tornado outbreak sequence, other major tornado outbreaks occurred on May 15, May 17, and May 24–25, with other smaller outbreaks during the month as well. The middle to end of May was extremely active but sparse records preclude knowing much detail. Tom Grazulis has stated that the week of May 24–28 was "perhaps the most violent single week of tornado activity in US history".


1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado, In perspective, 1896 tornado season
The 1896 tornado season has the distinction of being one of the deadliest in United States history. There were at least 40 killer tornadoes between April 11 and November 26, including this one, which was the only one to kill more than 100 people in two separate cities.


1896 Stanford football team
The 1896 Stanford football team represented Stanford University in the 1896 college football season and was coached by Harry P. Cross in the first of his two nonconsecutive seasons with the team. He returned to coach again in 1898. Like the two coaches who preceded him, Cross played football at Yale.


1896 Storrs Aggies football team
The 1896 Storrs Aggies football team represented Storrs Agricultural College, now the University of Connecticut, in the 1896 college football season. This was the first year that the school fielded a football team. The Aggies completed the season with a record of 5–3, against a mix of nearby high school and YMCA teams.


1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Summer Olympics (Greek: Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 1896, romanized: Therinoí Olympiakoí Agónes 1896), officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad (Greek: Αγώνες της 1ης Ολυμπιάδας, romanized: Agónes tis 1is Olympiádas) and commonly known as Athens 1896 (Greek: Αθήνα 1896), was the first international Olympic Games held in modern history. Organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had been created by French aristocrat Pierre de Coubertin, it was held in Athens, Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896.


1896 Summer Olympics
Fourteen nations (according to the IOC, though the number is subject to interpretation) and 241 athletes (all males; this number is also disputed) took part in the games. Participants were all European, or living in Europe, with the exception of the United States team. Over 65% of the competing athletes were Greek. Winners were given a silver medal, while runners-up received a copper medal. Retroactively, the IOC has converted these to gold and silver, and awarded bronze medals to third placed athletes. Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals. The United States won the most gold medals, 11, while host nation Greece won the most medals overall, 47. The highlight for the Greeks was the marathon victory by their compatriot Spyridon Louis. The most successful competitor was German wrestler and gymnast Carl Schuhmann, who won four events.


1896 Summer Olympics
Athens had been unanimously chosen to stage the inaugural modern Games during a congress organised by Coubertin in Paris on 23 June 1894, during which the IOC was also created, because Greece was the birthplace of the Ancient Olympic Games. The main venue was the Panathenaic Stadium, where athletics and wrestling took place; other venues included the Neo Phaliron Velodrome for cycling, and the Zappeion for fencing. The opening ceremony was held in the Panathenaic Stadium on 6 April, during which most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games. Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras, with words by poet Kostis Palamas.


1896 Summer Olympics
The 1896 Olympics were regarded as a great success. The Games had the largest international participation of any sporting event to that date. The Panathenaic Stadium overflowed with the largest crowd ever to watch a sporting event. After the Games, Coubertin and the IOC were petitioned by several prominent figures, including Greece's King George and some of the American competitors in Athens, to hold all the following Games in Athens. However, the 1900 Summer Olympics were already planned for Paris and, except for the Intercalated Games of 1906, the Olympics did not return to Greece until the 2004 Summer Olympics, 108 years later.


1896 Summer Olympics, Reviving the Games
During the 19th century, several small-scale sports festivals across Europe were named after the Ancient Olympic Games. The 1870 Olympics at the Panathenaic stadium, which had been refurbished for the occasion, had an audience of 30,000 people. Pierre de Coubertin, a French pedagogue and historian, adopted Dr William Penny Brookes' idea to establish a multi-national and multi-sport event—the ancient games only allowed male athletes of Greek origin to participate. In 1890, Coubertin wrote an article in La Revue Athletique, which espoused the importance of Much Wenlock, a rural market town in the English county of Shropshire.


1896 Summer Olympics, Reviving the Games
It was here that, in October 1850, the local physician William Penny Brookes had founded the Wenlock Olympian Games, a festival of sports and recreations that included athletics and team sports, such as cricket, football and quoits. Coubertin also took inspiration from the earlier Greek games organised under the name of Olympics by businessman and philanthropist Evangelis Zappas in 1859, 1870 and 1875.


1896 Summer Olympics, Reviving the Games
The 1896 Athens Games were funded by the legacies of Evangelis Zappas and his cousin Konstantinos Zappas and by George Averoff who had been specifically requested by the Greek government, through crown prince Constantine, to sponsor the second refurbishment of the Panathenaic Stadium. The Greek government did this despite the cost of refurbishing the stadium in marble already being funded in full by Evangelis Zappas forty years earlier.


1896 Summer Olympics, Reviving the Games
With deep feeling towards Baron de Coubertin's courteous petition, I send him and the members of the Congress, with my sincere thanks, my best wishes for the revival of the Olympic Games.


1896 Summer Olympics, Reviving the Games
On 18 June 1894, Coubertin organised a congress at the Sorbonne, Paris, to present his plans to representatives of sports societies from 11 countries. Following his proposal's acceptance by the congress, a date for the first modern Olympic Games needed to be chosen. Coubertin suggested that the Games be held concurrently with the 1900 Universal Exposition of Paris. Concerned that a six-year waiting period might lessen public interest, congress members opted instead to hold the inaugural Games in 1896. With a date established, members of the congress turned their attention to the selection of a host city.


1896 Summer Olympics, Reviving the Games
It remains a mystery how Athens was finally chosen to host the inaugural Games. In the following years both Coubertin and Demetrius Vikelas would offer recollections of the selection process that contradicted the official minutes of the congress. Most accounts hold that several congressmen first proposed London as the location, but Coubertin dissented. After a brief discussion with Vikelas, who represented Greece, Coubertin suggested Athens. Vikelas made the Athens proposal official on 23 June, and since Greece had been the original home of the Olympics, the congress unanimously approved the decision. Vikelas was then elected the first president of the newly established International Olympic Committee (IOC).


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
News that the Olympic Games would return to Greece was well received by the Greek public, media, and royal family. According to Coubertin, "the Crown Prince Constantine learned with great pleasure that the Games will be inaugurated in Athens." Coubertin went on to confirm that, "the King and the Crown Prince will confer their patronage on the holding of these games." Constantine later conferred more than that; he eagerly assumed the presidency of the 1896 organising committee.


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
However, the country had financial troubles and was in political turmoil. The job of prime minister alternated between Charilaos Trikoupis and Theodoros Deligiannis frequently during the last years of the 19th century. Because of this financial and political instability, both prime minister Trikoupis and Stephanos Dragoumis, the president of the Zappas Olympic Committee, which had attempted to organise a series of national Olympiads, believed that Greece could not host the event. In late 1894, the organising committee under Stephanos Skouloudis presented a report that the cost of the Games would be three times higher than originally estimated by Coubertin. They concluded the Games could not be held, and offered their resignation. The total cost of the Games was 3,740,000 gold drachmas.


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
With the prospect of reviving the Olympic games very much in doubt, Coubertin and Vikelas commenced a campaign to keep the Olympic movement alive. Their efforts culminated on 7 January 1895 when Vikelas announced that crown prince Constantine would assume the presidency of the organising committee. His first responsibility was to raise the funds necessary to host the Games. He relied on the patriotism of the Greek people to motivate them to provide the required finances. Constantine's enthusiasm sparked a wave of contributions from the Greek public. This grassroots effort raised 330,000 drachmas.


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
A special set of postage stamps were commissioned; the sale of which raised 400,000 drachmas. Ticket sales added 200,000 drachmas. At the request of Constantine, businessman George Averoff agreed to pay for the restoration of the Panathenaic Stadium. Averoff would donate 920,000 drachmas to this project. As a tribute to his generosity, a statue of Averoff was constructed and unveiled on 5 April 1896 outside the stadium. It stands there to this day.


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
Some of the athletes would take part in the Games because they happened to be in Athens at the time the Games were held, either on holiday or for work (e.g., some of the British competitors worked for the British embassy). A designated Olympic Village for the athletes did not appear until the 1932 Summer Olympics. Consequently, the athletes had to provide their own lodging.


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
The first regulation voted on by the new IOC in 1894 was to allow only amateur athletes to participate in the Olympic Games. The various contests were thus held under amateur regulations with the exception of fencing matches. The rules and regulations were not uniform, so the Organising Committee had to choose among the codes of the various national athletic associations. The jury, the referees and the game director bore the same names as in antiquity (Ephor, Helanodic and Alitarc). Prince George acted as final referee; according to Coubertin, "his presence gave weight and authority to the decisions of the ephors."


1896 Summer Olympics, Organization
Women were not entitled to compete at the 1896 Summer Olympics, because de Coubertin felt that their inclusion would be "impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and incorrect".


1896 Summer Olympics, Venues
Seven venues were used for the 1896 Summer Olympics. Panathenaic Stadium was the main venue, hosting four of the nine sports contested. The city of Marathon served as host to the marathon event and the individual road race events. Swimming was held in the Bay of Zea, fencing at the Zappeion, sport shooting at Kallithea, and tennis at the Athens Lawn Tennis Club. Tennis was a sport unfamiliar to Greeks at the time of the 1896 Games.


1896 Summer Olympics, Venues
The Bay of Zea is a seaport and marina in the Athens area; it was used as the swimming venue because the organizers of the Games wanted to avoid spending money on constructing a special purpose swimming venue.


1896 Summer Olympics, Venues
Four of the 1896 venues were reused as competition venues for the 2004 Games. The velodrome would be renovated into a football stadium in 1964 and was known as Karaiskakis Stadium. This venue was renovated in 2003 for use as a football venue for the 2004 Games. During the 2004 Games, Panathinaiko Stadium served as host for archery competitions and was the finish line for the athletic marathon event. The city of Marathon itself served as the starting point for both marathon events during the 2004 Games. The Zappeion served as the first home of the organizing committee (ATHOC) for the 2004 Games from 1998 to 1999, and served as the main communications center during those Games.


1896 Summer Olympics, Calendar
‡ The iconic Olympic rings symbol was not designed by Baron Pierre de Coubertin  until 1912.Note: Silver medals were awarded to the winners with copper medals given to the runners-up and no prizes were given to those who came in 3rd place in any events.


1896 Summer Olympics, Opening ceremony
On 6 April (25 March according to the Julian calendar then in use in Greece), the games of the First Olympiad were officially opened; it was Easter Monday for both the Western and Eastern Christian Churches and the anniversary of Greece's independence. The Panathenaic Stadium was filled with an estimated 80,000 spectators, including King George I of Greece, his wife Olga, and their sons. Most of the competing athletes were aligned on the infield, grouped by nation. After a speech by the president of the organising committee, Crown Prince Constantine, his father officially opened the Games with the words (in Greek):


1896 Summer Olympics, Opening ceremony
"I declare the opening of the first international Olympic Games in Athens. Long live the Nation. Long live the Greek people."


1896 Summer Olympics, Opening ceremony
Afterwards, nine bands and 150 choir singers performed an Olympic Hymn, composed by Spyridon Samaras, with words by poet Kostis Palamas. Thereafter, a variety of musical offerings provided the backgrounds to the Opening Ceremonies until 1960, since which time the Samaras/Palamas composition has become the official Olympic Anthem (decision taken by the IOC Session in 1958). Other elements of current Olympic opening ceremonies were initiated later: the Olympic flame was first lit in 1928, the first athletes' oath was sworn at the 1920 Summer Olympics, and the first officials' oath was taken at the 1972 Olympic Games.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events
At the 1894 Sorbonne congress, a large roster of sports were suggested for the program in Athens. The first official announcements regarding the sporting events to be held featured sports such as football and cricket, but these plans were never finalised, and these sports did not make the final list for the Games. Rowing and yachting were also scheduled, but were cancelled due to poor weather on the planned day of competition. As a result, the 1896 Summer Olympics programme featured 9 sports encompassing 10 disciplines and 43 events. The number of events in each discipline is noted in parentheses.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Athletics
The athletics events had the most international field of any of the sports. The major highlight was the marathon, held for the first time in international competition. Spyridon Louis, a previously unrecognised water carrier, won the event to become the only Greek athletics champion and a national hero. Although Greece had been favoured to win the discus and the shot put, the best Greek athletes finished just behind the American Robert Garrett in both events.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Athletics
No world records were set, as few top international competitors had elected to compete. In addition, the curves of the track were very tight, making fast times in the running events virtually impossible. Despite this, Thomas Burke, of the United States, won the 100-meter race in 12.0 seconds and the 400-meter race in 54.2 seconds. Burke was the only one who used the "crouch start" (putting his knee on soil), confusing the jury. Eventually, he was allowed to start from this "uncomfortable position".


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Athletics
Chile claims one athlete, Luis Subercaseaux, who competed for the nation at the 1896 Summer Olympics. This makes Chile one of the 14 nations to appear at the inaugural Summer Olympic Games. Subercaseaux's results are not listed in the official report, though that report typically includes only winners and Subercaseaux won no medals. An appraisal of a famous photo of series 2 of the 100 meters sprint, performed by facial recognition experts of the Chilean forensic police, concluded that Subercaseaux was one of the participants.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Athletics
The day after the official marathon Stamata Revithi ran the 40-kilometer course in 5 hours 30 minutes, finishing outside Panathinaiko Stadium. She was denied entry into the official race as the 1896 Olympics excluded women from competition.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Cycling
The rules of the International Cycling Association were used for the cycling competitions. The track cycling events were held at the newly built Neo Phaliron Velodrome. Only one road event was held, a race from Athens to Marathon and back (87 kilometres).


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Cycling
In the track events, the best cyclist was Frenchman Paul Masson, who won the one lap time trial, the sprint event, and the 10,000 meters. In the 100 kilometres event, Masson entered as a pacemaker for his compatriot Léon Flameng. Flameng won the event, after a fall, and after stopping to wait for his Greek opponent Georgios Kolettis to fix a mechanical problem. The Austrian fencer Adolf Schmal won the 12-hour race, which was completed by only two cyclists, while the road race event was won by Aristidis Konstantinidis.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Fencing
The fencing events were held in the Zappeion, which, built with money Evangelis Zappas had given to revive the ancient Olympic Games, had never seen any athletic contests before. Unlike other sports (in which only amateurs were allowed to take part at the Olympics), professionals were authorised to compete in fencing, though in a separate event. These professionals were considered gentlemen athletes, just as the amateurs.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Fencing
Four events were scheduled, but the épée event was cancelled for unknown reasons. The foil event was won by a Frenchman, Eugène-Henri Gravelotte, who beat his countryman, Henri Callot, in the final. The other two events, the sabre and the masters foil, were won by Greek fencers. Leonidas Pyrgos, who won the latter event, became the first Greek Olympic champion in the modern era.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Gymnastics
The gymnastics competition was carried out on the infield of the Panathinaiko Stadium. Germany had sent an 11-man team, which won five of the eight events, including both team events. In the team event on the horizontal bar, the German team was unopposed. Three Germans added individual titles: Hermann Weingärtner won the horizontal bar event, Alfred Flatow won the parallel bars; and Carl Schuhmann, who also competed successfully in wrestling, won the vault. Louis Zutter, a Swiss gymnast, won the pommel horse, while Greeks Ioannis Mitropoulos and Nikolaos Andriakopoulos were victorious in the rings and rope climbing events, respectively.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Sailing and rowing
A regatta of sailing boats was on the program of the Games of the First Olympiad for 31 March 1896. However this event had to be given up.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Sailing and rowing
The Regatta could not take place because some special boats embarkation had not been provided for.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Sailing and rowing
The sailing competitions were cancelled because neither had we provided the special boats for it, nor had foreign applicants registered.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Shooting
Held at a range at Kallithea, the shooting competition consisted of five events—two using a rifle and three with the pistol. The first event, the military rifle, was won by Pantelis Karasevdas, the only competitor to hit the target with all of his shots. The second event, for military pistols, was dominated by two American brothers: John and Sumner Paine. They became the first siblings to finish first and second in the same event. To avoid embarrassing their hosts, the brothers decided that only one of them would compete in the next pistol event, the free pistol. Sumner Paine won that event, thereby becoming the first relative of an Olympic champion to become Olympic champion himself.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Shooting
The Paine brothers did not compete in the 25-meter pistol event, as the event judges determined that their weapons were not of the required calibre. In their absence, Ioannis Phrangoudis won. The final event, the free rifle, began on the same day. However, the event could not be completed due to darkness and was finalised the next morning, when Georgios Orphanidis was crowned the champion.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Swimming
The swimming competition was held in the open sea because the organizers had refused to spend the money necessary for a specially constructed stadium. Nearly 20,000 spectators lined the Bay of Zea off the Piraeus coast to watch the events. The water in the bay was cold, and the competitors suffered during their races. There were three open events (men's 100-metre freestyle, men's 500-metre freestyle, and men's 1200 metre freestyle), in addition to a special event open only to Greek sailors, all of which were held on the same day (11 April).


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Swimming
For Alfréd Hajós of Hungary, this meant he could only compete in two of the events, as they were held too close together, which made it impossible for him to adequately recuperate. Nevertheless, he won the two events in which he swam, the 100 and 1200 meter freestyle. Hajós later became one of only two Olympians to win a medal in both the athletic and artistic competitions, when he won a silver medal for architecture in 1924. The 500-meter freestyle was won by Austrian swimmer Paul Neumann, who defeated his opponents by more than a minute and a half.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Tennis
Although tennis was already a major sport by the end of the 19th century, none of the top players turned up for the tournament in Athens. The competition was held at the courts of the Athens Lawn Tennis Club, and the infield of the velodrome used for the cycling events. John Pius Boland, who won the event, had been entered in the competition by a fellow-student of his at Oxford; the Greek, Konstantinos Manos.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Tennis
As a member of the Athens Lawn Tennis sub-committee, Manos had been trying, with the assistance of Boland, to recruit competitors for the Athens Games from among the sporting circles of Oxford University. In the first round, Boland defeated Friedrich Traun, a promising tennis player from Hamburg, who had been eliminated in the 100-meter sprint competition. Boland and Traun decided to team up for the doubles event, in which they reached the final and defeated their Greek opponents after losing the first set.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Weightlifting
The sport of weightlifting was still young in 1896, and the rules differed from those in use today. Competitions were held outdoors, in the infield of the main stadium, and there were no weight limits. The first event was held in a style now known as the "clean and jerk". Two competitors stood out: Scotsman Launceston Elliot and Viggo Jensen of Denmark. Both of them lifted the same weight; but the jury, with Prince George as the chairman, ruled that Jensen had done so in a better style. The British delegation, unfamiliar with this tie-breaking rule, lodged a protest. The lifters were eventually allowed to make further attempts, but neither lifter improved, and Jensen was declared the champion.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Weightlifting
Elliot got his revenge in the one hand lift event, which was held immediately after the two-handed one. Jensen had been slightly injured during his last two-handed attempt, and was no match for Elliot, who won the competition easily. The Greek audience was charmed by the Scottish victor, whom they considered very attractive. A curious incident occurred during the weightlifting event: a servant was ordered to remove the weights, which appeared to be a difficult task for him. Prince George came to his assistance; he picked up the weight and threw it a considerable distance with ease, to the delight of the crowd.


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Wrestling
No weight classes existed for the wrestling competition, held in the Panathenaic Stadium, which meant that there would only be one winner among competitors of all sizes. The rules used were similar to modern Greco-Roman wrestling, although there was no time limit, and not all leg holds were forbidden (in contrast to current rules).


1896 Summer Olympics, Events, Wrestling
Apart from the two Greek contestants, all the competitors had previously been active in other sports. Weightlifting champion Launceston Elliot faced gymnastics champion Carl Schuhmann. The latter won and advanced into the final, where he met Georgios Tsitas, who had previously defeated Stephanos Christopoulos. Darkness forced the final match to be suspended after 40 minutes; it was continued the following day, when Schuhmann needed only fifteen minutes to finish the bout.


1896 Summer Olympics, Closing ceremony
On the morning of Sunday 12 April (or 31 March, according to the Julian calendar then used in Greece), King George organised a banquet for officials and athletes (even though some competitions had not yet been held). During his speech, he made clear that, as far as he was concerned, the Olympics should be held in Athens permanently. The official closing ceremony was held the following Wednesday, after being postponed from Tuesday due to rain. Again the royal family attended the ceremony, which was opened by the national anthem of Greece and an ode composed in ancient Greek by George S. Robertson, a British athlete and scholar.


1896 Summer Olympics, Closing ceremony
Afterwards, the king awarded prizes to the winners. Unlike today, the first-place winners received a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma, while runners-up received a copper medal, a laurel branch, and diploma. Third place winners did not receive a prize.


1896 Summer Olympics, Closing ceremony
Some winners also received additional prizes, such as Spyridon Louis, who received a cup from Michel Bréal, a friend of Coubertin, who had conceived the marathon event. Louis then led the medalists on a lap of honour around the stadium, while the Olympic Hymn was played again. The King then formally announced that the first Olympiad was at an end, and left the Stadium, while the band played the Greek national hymn and the crowd cheered.


1896 Summer Olympics, Closing ceremony
Like the Greek king, many others supported the idea of holding the next Games in Athens; most of the American competitors signed a letter to the Crown Prince expressing this wish. Coubertin, however, was heavily opposed to this idea, as he envisioned international rotation as one of the cornerstones of the modern Olympics. According to his wish, the next Games were held in Paris, although they would be somewhat overshadowed by the concurrently held Universal Exposition.


1896 Summer Olympics, Participating nations
The concept of national teams was not a major part of the Olympic movement until the Intercalated Games 10 years later, though many sources list the nationality of competitors in 1896 and give medal counts. There are significant conflicts with regard to which nations competed. The International Olympic Committee gives a figure of 14, but does not list them. The following 14 are most likely the ones recognised by the IOC. Some sources list 12, excluding Chile and Bulgaria; others list 13, including those two but excluding Italy. Egypt is also sometimes included because of Dionysios Kasdaglis' participation. Belgium and Russia had entered the names of competitors, but withdrew.


1896 Summer Olympics, Participating nations, Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees
National Olympic Committees did not yet exist. Over 65% of all athletes were Greek.


1896 Summer Olympics, Medal count
Ten of the 14 participating nations earned medals, in addition to two medals won by mixed teams, i.e. teams made up of athletes from multiple nations. The IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to the three best placed athletes in each event to comport with more recent traditions. The United States won the most gold medals (11), while host nation Greece won the most medals overall (47) as well as the most silver (18) and bronze (19) medals, finishing with one fewer gold medal than the United States, having 155 athletes more than the U.S.


1896 Summer Olympics, Medal count
To sort this table by nation, total medal count, or any other column, click on the  icon next to the column title.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table
The 1896 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the I Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Athens, the capital of Greece, from 6 to 15 April 1896, and were the first Olympic Games of the Modern era.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table
A total of 241 athletes from 14 nations participated in 43 events in nine sports at these games.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table
Ten of the fourteen participating nations earned medals, in addition to three medals won by mixed teams, i.e. teams made up of athletes from multiple nations. The United States won the most gold medals (11) with 14 athletes participating, while host nation, Greece with 169 athletes participating, won the most medals overall (47) as well as the most silver (18) and bronze (19) medals, finishing with one less gold medal than the United States, having 155 athletes more than the US.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table
In the early Olympic Games, several team events were contested by athletes from multiple nations. Retroactively, the IOC created the designation "Mixed team" (with the country code ZZX) to refer to these group of athletes. Some athletes won medals both individually and as part of a mixed team, so these medals are tabulated under different nations in the official counts. Dionysios Kasdaglis, an athlete of Greek origins living in Alexandria, Egypt, is listed by the IOC as Greek during both his competition in the singles tennis competition and the doubles tennis competition along with his teammate, the Greek athlete Demetrios Petrokokkinos.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table
During these inaugural Olympics, winners were given a silver medal and an olive branch, while runners-up received a copper medal and a laurel branch. The IOC has retroactively assigned gold, silver and bronze medals to the three best placed athletes in each event to comport with more recent traditions. Three ties resulted in medals being shared between athletes, increasing the medal count of various nations.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table
These include ties between Francis Lane of the United States and Alajos Szokolyi of Hungary, for the third place in the 100 metres; between Evangelos Damaskos and Ioannis Theodoropoulos of Greece in the pole vault; and between Konstantinos Paspatis of Greece and Momcsilló Tapavicza of Hungary, in singles tennis. In addition, bronze medals were not awarded in a number of events where there was no third-place finisher.


1896 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal count
This is the full table of the medal count of the 1896 Summer Olympics, based on the medal count of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). There are sources, besides the International Olympic Committee (IOC), that display variations in the medal totals, but as the governing body of the Olympic Games, the IOC is considered the most authoritative source for the purposes of this article. These rankings sort by the number of gold medals earned by a country. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If, after the above, countries are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically. This information is provided by the IOC; however, the IOC does not recognise or endorse any ranking system.


1896 Svenska Mästerskapet
The 1896 Svenska Mästerskapet was the first season of Svenska Mästerskapet, the football Cup to determine the Swedish champions. Örgryte IS won the tournament by defeating IS Idrottens Vänner in the final with a 3–0 score.


1896 Swarthmore Quakers football team
The 1896 Swarthmore Quakers football team was an American football team that represented Swarthmore College as an independent during the 1896 college football season. The team compiled a 2–6 record and was outscored by a total of 110 to 76. Jacob K. Shell was the head coach. Hodge was the captain and quarterback.


1896 Swedish general election
General elections were held in Sweden in September 1896. The Lantmanna Party received a narrow plurality of the vote. Erik Gustaf Boström remained Prime Minister.


1896 Swedish general election, Campaign
The Liberals and the Swedish Social Democratic Party ran joint lists in some constituencies.


1896 Swedish general election, Results
Only 23.9% of the male population aged over 21 was eligible to vote. Voter turnout was 45.3%.


1896 Swiss federal election
Federal elections were held in Switzerland on 25 October 1896. The Free Democratic Party retained its majority in the National Council.


1896 Swiss federal election, Electoral system
The 147 members of the National Council were elected in 52 single- and multi-member constituencies using a three-round system. Candidates had to receive a majority in the first or second round to be elected; if it went to a third round, only a plurality was required. Voters could cast as many votes as there were seats in their constituency. There was one seat for every 20,000 citizens, with seats allocated to cantons in proportion to their population.


1896 Swiss federal election, Results, Summary
Voter turnout was highest in Nidwalden at 90.3% (higher than the 89.3% in Schaffhausen where voting was compulsory) and lowest in Obwalden at 21.4%.


1896 Swiss referendum
A three-part referendum was held in Switzerland on 4 October 1896. Voters were asked whether they approved of a federal law on guarantees in the cattle trade, a federal law on the accounting system for the railways and a federal law on the disciplinary penal code for the federal army. Whilst the law on the railways was approved, the other two were rejected by voters.


1896 Swiss referendum, Background
The referendums were optional referendums, which required only a majority of the public vote, rather than a majority of votes and cantons.


1896 Syracuse Orangemen football team
The 1896 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University during the 1896 college football season. The head coach was George O. Redington, coaching his second season with the Orangemen. The team finished the season with a final record of 5–3–2.


1896 Tennessee Volunteers football team
The 1896 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1896 college football season. It was the first official Tennessee Volunteers football team since 1893. The 1896 Vols went undefeated at 4–0 for the first winning season in school history. This was also the Tennessee's first season in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA), though they did not play a conference opponent.


1896 Tennessee gubernatorial election
The 1896 Tennessee gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 1896. Democratic nominee Robert Love Taylor defeated Republican nominee G. N. Tillman with 48.75% of the vote.


1896 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 1896 Texas A&M Aggies football team represented Texas A&M during the 1896 college football season.


1896 Texas A&M Aggies football team, References, Additional sources
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1896 Texas A&M Aggies football team, References, Additional sources
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1896 Texas Longhorns football team
The 1896 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1896 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season.


1896 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship
The 1896 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship was the seventh staging of the Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Tipperary County Board in 1887.


1896 Tipperary Senior Hurling Championship
Tubberadora won the championship after a 3–09 to 2–07 defeat of Suir View in the final. It was their second championship title overall and their second title in succession.


1896 Tulane Olive and Blue football team
The 1896 Tulane Olive and Blue football team represented Tulane University during the 1896 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The game against LSU of this year was forfeited during the game due to Tulane having fielded an ineligible player. At the time that the game was declared forfeit, Tulane was leading with a score of 2–0. Due to the forfeiture, the official score was set at LSU 6, Tulane 0 by the game's referee. In addition to the forfeiture, Tulane was further sanctioned by the SIAA by being barred from fielding a team in intercollegiate play for the 1897 season.


1896 Tulane Olive and Blue football team, Game summaries, LSU
The Tulane-LSU game of this year was forfeited during the game due to Tulane having fielded an ineligible player. At the time that the game was declared forfeit, Tulane was leading with a score of 2 to nothing. About 10 minutes into the second half, LSU was moving the ball toward the goal line when a Tulane player named Depleche was injured. The injured player was replaced by George H. Brooke. LSU ran another play and gained 5 yards before realizing the identity of this substitute Tulane player.


1896 Tulane Olive and Blue football team, Game summaries, LSU
LSU's team captain, Edwin A. Scott, protested to the game's referee, Lieutenant Wall. Scott cited the rules of the SIAA and the mutual pre-game agreement between the schools as reasons that Brooke should be declared ineligible to play. Tulane's team captain, Louis J. Genella, refused to take Brooke out of the game and stated that Tulane refused to play without him. After a lengthy debate, the referee ruled that Brooke could not play, and that Tulane forfeited the game by refusing to play without him.


1896 Tulane Olive and Blue football team, Game summaries, LSU
During the debate, Tulane argued that Brooke, who was previously a two time All-American at Pennsylvania, planned to enroll as a graduate student at Tulane. Brooke refused to sign an affidavit stating his intention to enroll at Tulane, as he was already enrolled in law school at the University of Pennsylvania. Due to the forfeiture, the official score was set at LSU 6, Tulane 0 by the game's referee.


1896 Tulane Olive and Blue football team, Game summaries, LSU
Dr. William Dudley, of the SIAA, later ruled that the game referee was right to declare the game forfeited and that men planning to enter a school were not eligible to play. Dudley ruled that prospective players should be enrolled for two weeks before being allowed to play in a game.


1896 U.S. National Championships (tennis)
List of champions of the 1896 U.S. National Championships tennis tournament (now known as the US Open). The men's tournament was held from 17 August to 26 August on the outdoor grass courts at the Newport Casino in Newport, Rhode Island. The women's tournament was held from 17 June to 20 June on the outdoor grass courts at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Philadelphia, PA. It was the 17th U.S. National Championships and the second Grand Slam tournament of the year.


1896 U.S. National Championships (tennis), Finals, Men's Singles
Robert Wrenn defeated  Fred Hovey  7–5, 3–6, 6–0, 1–6, 6–1


1896 U.S. National Championships (tennis), Finals, Men's Doubles
Carr Neel /  Sam Neel defeated  Robert Wrenn /  Malcolm Chace 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–1


1896 U.S. National Championships (tennis), Finals, Women's Doubles
Elisabeth Moore /  Juliette Atkinson defeated  Annabella Wistar /  Amy Williams 6–3, 9–7


1896 U.S. National Championships (tennis), Finals, Mixed Doubles
Juliette Atkinson /  Edwin P. Fischer defeated  Amy Williams /  Mantle Fielding 6–2, 6–3, 6–3


1896 U.S. National Championships – Men's Singles
Robert Wrenn defeated Fred Hovey in the final 7–5, 3–6, 6–0, 1–6, 6–1 to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 1896 U.S. National Championships. This was a repeat of the prior year's final.


1896 U.S. National Championships – Men's Singles
With Malcolm Whitman, William Clothier and Holcombe Ward, three players made their first appearance at the championships who would eventually win the title in later years.


1896 U.S. National Championships – Women's Singles
Elisabeth Moore won the singles tennis title by defeating reigning champion Juliette Atkinson 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 in the Challenge Round of the 1896 U.S. Women's National Singles Championship. Moore had won the right to challenge Atkinson by defeating Annabella Wistar 6–3, 7–5, 6–0 in the final of the All Comers' competition. The event was played on outdoor grass courts and held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in Wissahickon Heights, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia from June 17 through June 20, 1896.


1896 U.S. Open (golf)
The 1896 U.S. Open was the second U.S. Open, held July 18 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. James Foulis won his only major title, three strokes ahead of runner-up Horace Rawlins, the defending champion. Like the first Open, it was a sideshow to the U.S. Amateur. However, there were 35 entrants and 28 finished the 36 holes.


1896 U.S. Open (golf)
Before play began, several players signed a petition stating that they would not play if John Shippen, an African-American, and Oscar Bunn, a Native American, were allowed to play. The petition was denied, however, and the players relented. Shippen, a caddie at Shinnecock Hills, shot an opening round of 78, which placed him just two back of leader Joe Lloyd. He was in a position to win the championship until an eleven on the 13th hole of the final round, and finished tied for sixth.


1896 U.S. Open (golf)
Foulis, the third-place finisher in the inaugural U.S. Open the year before, recorded rounds of 78-74 to prevail by three over Rawlins. Foulis' 74 set a record that was not broken until 1903, after the rubber-core ball had come into use.


1896 U.S. Open (golf)
At 4,423 yards (4,044 m), Shinnecock Hills played as the shortest course in U.S. Open history. Its next U.S. Open was 90 years later, in 1986. By then, the course had been lengthened to 6,912 yards (6,320 m).


1896 USC Methodists football team
The 1896 USC Methodists football team was an American football team that represented the University of Southern California during the 1896 college football season. The team competed as an independent without a head coach, compiling a 0–3 record.


1896 USFSA Football Championship
Statistics of the USFSA Football Championship in the 1896 season.


1896 United Kingdom local elections
The 1896 United Kingdom local elections took place in late 1896 for municipal councils (including Urban Districts), as well as Rural districts. Municipal elections were held across England and Wales on Monday 2 November, with Scotland holding municipal elections the following day. Municipal elections in Ireland took place later that month, on Wednesday 25 November.


1896 United Kingdom local elections
The English and Welsh election saw the main parties making inroads into municipal politics, although many contests took place on non-party political lines, with little reference to the candidates party affiliation. Across England and Wales Liberals gained 56 seats, Conservatives 32, Liberal Unionists 1, Independents 5, and Labour 3.


1896 United Kingdom local elections
In Scotland the newly enlarged Glasgow Corporation saw a group of Progressive candidates, known as the Progressive Union, become the largest force on the council.


1896 United Kingdom local elections
The Irish elections, particularly in Dublin, saw the ongoing battle between rival factions of Irish nationalists; the Redmondites and supporters of John Dillon and the Irish National Federation.


1896 United States House of Representatives election in Wyoming
The Wyoming United States House election for 1896 was held on November 3, 1896. Democratic John Eugene Osborne defeated Republican incumbent Frank Wheeler Mondell with 49.14% of the vote making Mondell the third incumbent Representative from Wyoming to lose reelection and was the third time in a row that the incumbent had lost. It was the first time that the House election was won with only a plurality of the votes.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections
Elections to the United States House of Representatives were held in 1896 for members of the 55th Congress, coinciding with the election of President William McKinley.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections
In spite of McKinley's victory over William Jennings Bryan, both the Democratic and Populist parties gained seats from McKinley's Republican Party. This is most likely a reaction to the extraordinary Republican gains in 1894, in which many normally Democratic districts switched parties due to the severity of and fallout from the Panic of 1893. Many Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern regions that were dominated by Catholic and working-class voters, switched to Republican in 1894, but returned to the Democratic Party during this election cycle. The Populist Party also made huge gains as Republicans were ousted in Western states. Despite this, the Republicans did maintain a strong majority in the House. Also, several Western Republicans split with the party in 1896, forming the tiny Silver Republican Party faction, which advocated a silver standard.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections
This election marked the zenith of the Populist Party, which would go on to lose most of its seats in the 1898 elections and thereafter slowly fade from prominence.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections, Early election dates
Three states, with 8 seats between them, held elections early in 1896:


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in California
The United States House of Representatives elections in California, 1896 was an election for California's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred as part of the general election of the House of Representatives on November 3, 1896. Republicans lost one seat to the Democrats and two to the Populists.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
Elections to the United States House of Representatives in Florida were held November 3, 1896 for two seats in the 55th Congress. These elections were held at the same time as the 1896 Presidential election and the election for Governor.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida
There were a total of five different parties running, including a short-lived breakaway faction of the Democratic Party known as the National Democratic Party.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, Background
The previous two elections had involved only the Democratic and People's Parties. The Republicans returned to Floridian congressional elections in this race, as did the Prohibition Party, which had last run a candidate for Congress in Florida in 1886.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in Florida, Election results
Charles Merian Cooper (D) of the 2nd district did not run for renomination.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina
The 1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina were held on November 3, 1896 to select seven Representatives for two-year terms from the state of South Carolina. Five Democratic incumbents were re-elected, one Republican incumbent was defeated, and the open seat was retained by the Democrats. The composition of the state delegation after the election was solely Democratic.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 1st congressional district
Incumbent Republican Congressman George W. Murray of the 1st congressional district, in office since 1896, was defeated by Democratic challenger William Elliott.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 2nd congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman W. Jasper Talbert of the 2nd congressional district, in office since 1893, defeated Republican challenger B.P. Chatfield.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 3rd congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Asbury Latimer of the 3rd congressional district, in office since 1893, won the Democratic primary and defeated two Republican candidates in the general election.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 4th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Stanyarne Wilson of the 4th congressional district, in office since 1895, won the Democratic primary and defeated two Republican candidates in the general election.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 5th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman Thomas J. Strait of the 5th congressional district, in office since 1893, won the Democratic primary and defeated Republican John F. Jones in the general election.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 6th congressional district
Incumbent Democratic Congressman John L. McLaurin of the 6th congressional district, in office since 1893, defeated two Republican candidates in the general election.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 7th congressional district special election
The seat for the 7th congressional district was declared vacant by the Republican controlled Congress in 1896. A special election was called to be held simultaneously with the regular election and J. William Stokes defeated two Republican candidates in the election.


1896 United States House of Representatives elections in South Carolina, 7th congressional district
J. William Stokes, the winner of the previous election for the 7th congressional district, defeated Altamount Moses in the Democratic primary and two Republican candidates in the general election.


1896 United States elections
The 1896 United States elections elected the 55th United States Congress. Republicans won control of the Presidency and maintained control of both houses of Congress. The election marked the end of the Third Party System and the start of the Fourth Party System, as Republicans would generally dominate politics until the 1930 elections. Political scientists such as V.O. Key, Jr. argue that this election was a realigning election, while James Reichley argues against this idea on the basis that the Republican victory in this election merely continued the party's post-Civil War dominance. The election took place in the aftermath of the Panic of 1893, and featured a fierce debate between advocates of bimetallism ("free silver") and supporters of the gold standard.


1896 United States elections
In the Presidential election, Republican former Governor William McKinley of Ohio defeated Democratic former Representative William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska. McKinley took the Republican nomination on the first ballot, while Bryan took the Democratic nomination on the fifth ballot (at age 36, he became youngest presidential nominee of a major party), defeating former Missouri Representative Richard P. Bland and several other candidates. Bryan's Cross of Gold speech, in which he advocated for "free silver," helped deliver him the Democratic nomination, and also attracted the support of the Populist Party and the Silver Republican Party. Though Bryan carried most of the South and the West, McKinley won a comfortable margin in both the electoral college and the popular vote by carrying the Northeast and the Great Lakes region.


1896 United States elections
Democrats won major gains in the House, but Republicans continued to command a large majority in the chamber. The Populists also won several seats, holding more seats in the House than any third party since the Civil War.


1896 United States elections
In the Senate, the Republicans maintained their plurality, keeping control of the same number of seats. The Democrats lost several seats, while the Silver Republicans established themselves for the first time with five seats. Republican William P. Frye won election as President pro tempore.


1896 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 1896, in 32 states, concurrent with the House, Senate elections and presidential election, on November 3, 1896 (except in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont, which held early elections).


1896 United States gubernatorial elections
Following the death of Delaware Governor Joshua H. Marvil, the General Assembly scheduled the next gubernatorial election for 1896, two years into the term. Delaware's gubernatorial elections have been held in presidential election years ever since.


1896 United States gubernatorial elections
In Florida, the gubernatorial election was held in October for the last time, moving to the same day as federal elections from the 1900 elections.


1896 United States presidential election
The 1896 United States presidential election was the 28th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican candidate, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic candidate. The 1896 campaign, which took place during an economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, was a political realignment that ended the old Third Party System and began the Fourth Party System.


1896 United States presidential election
Incumbent Democratic President Grover Cleveland did not seek election to a second consecutive term (which would have been his third overall), leaving the Democratic nomination open. Bryan, an attorney and former Congressman, galvanized support with his Cross of Gold speech, which called for a reform of the monetary system and attacked business leaders as the cause of ongoing economic depression. The 1896 Democratic National Convention repudiated the Cleveland administration and nominated Bryan on the fifth presidential ballot. Bryan then won the nomination of the Populist Party, which had won several states in 1892 and shared many of Bryan's policies. In opposition to Bryan, some conservative Bourbon Democrats formed the National Democratic Party and nominated Senator John M. Palmer. McKinley prevailed by a wide margin on the first ballot of the 1896 Republican National Convention.


1896 United States presidential election
Since the onset of the Panic of 1893, the nation had been mired in a deep economic depression, marked by low prices, low profits, high unemployment, and violent strikes. Economic issues, especially tariff policy and the question of whether the gold standard should be preserved for the money supply, were central issues. McKinley forged a conservative coalition in which businessmen, professionals, and prosperous farmers, and skilled factory workers turned off by Bryan's agrarian policies were heavily represented. McKinley was strongest in cities and in the Northeast, Upper Midwest, and Pacific Coast.


1896 United States presidential election
Republican campaign manager Mark Hanna pioneered many modern campaign techniques, facilitated by a $3.5 million budget. Bryan presented his campaign as a crusade of the working man against the rich, who impoverished America by limiting the money supply. Silver, he said, was in ample supply and if coined into money would restore prosperity while undermining the illicit power of the money trust. Bryan was strongest in the South, rural Midwest, and Rocky Mountain states. Bryan's moralistic rhetoric and crusade for inflation (to be generated by the institution of bimetallism) alienated conservatives.


1896 United States presidential election
Bryan campaigned vigorously throughout the swing states of the Midwest, while McKinley conducted a "front porch" campaign. At the end of an intensely heated contest, McKinley won a majority of the popular and electoral vote. Bryan won 46.7% of the popular vote, while Palmer won just under 1% of the vote. Turnout was very high, passing 90% of the eligible voters in many places. The Democratic Party's repudiation of its Bourbon faction largely gave Bryan and his supporters control of the Democratic Party until the 1920s, and set the stage for Republican domination of the Fourth Party System.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Republican Party nomination, Other candidates
At their convention in St. Louis, Missouri, held between June 16 and 18, 1896, the Republicans nominated William McKinley for president and New Jersey's Garret Hobart for vice-president. McKinley had just vacated the office of Governor of Ohio. Both candidates were easily nominated on first ballots.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Republican Party nomination, Other candidates
McKinley's campaign manager, a wealthy and talented Ohio businessman named Mark Hanna, visited the leaders of large corporations and major, influential banks after the Republican Convention to raise funds for the campaign. Given that many businessmen and bankers were terrified of Bryan's populist rhetoric and demand for the end of the gold standard, Hanna had few problems in raising record amounts of money. As a result, Hanna raised a staggering $3.5 million for the campaign and outspent the Democrats by an estimated 5-to-1 margin. Major McKinley was the last veteran of the American Civil War to be nominated for president by either major party.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party nomination, Other candidates
One month after McKinley's nomination, supporters of silver-backed currency took control of the Democratic convention held in Chicago on July 7–11. Most of the Southern and Western delegates were committed to implementing the "free silver" ideas of the Populist Party. The convention repudiated President Cleveland's gold standard policies and then repudiated Cleveland himself. This, however, left the convention wide open: there was no obvious successor to Cleveland. A two-thirds vote was required for the nomination and the silverites had it in spite of the extreme regional polarization of the delegates. In a test vote on an anti-silver measure, the Eastern states (from Maryland to Maine), with 28% of the delegates, voted 96% in favor. The other delegates voted 91% against, so the silverites could count on a majority of 67% of the delegates.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party nomination, Other candidates
An attorney, former congressman, and unsuccessful Senate candidate named William Jennings Bryan filled the void. A superb orator, Bryan hailed from Nebraska and spoke for the farmers who were suffering from the economic depression following the Panic of 1893. At the convention, Bryan delivered what has been considered one of the greatest political speeches in American history, the "Cross of Gold" Speech. Bryan presented a passionate defense of farmers and factory workers struggling to survive the economic depression, and he attacked big-city business owners and leaders as the cause of much of their suffering. He called for reform of the monetary system, an end to the gold standard, and government relief efforts for farmers and others hurt by the economic depression. Bryan's speech was so dramatic that after he had finished many delegates carried him on their shoulders around the convention hall.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party nomination, Other candidates
The following day, eight names were placed in nomination: Richard "Silver Dick" Bland, William J. Bryan, Claude Matthews, Horace Boies, Joseph Blackburn, John R. McLean, Robert E. Pattison, and Sylvester Pennoyer. Despite a strong initial showing by Bland, who led on the first three ballots, Bryan's electrifying speech helped him gain the momentum required to win the nomination, which he did on the fifth ballot after most of the other candidates withdrew in his favor.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Democratic Party nomination, Other candidates
Following Bland's defeat, his supporters instead attempted to nominate him as Bryan's running-mate; however, Bland was more interested in winning back his former seat in the House of Representatives, and so withdrew his name from consideration despite leading the early rounds of voting. Arthur Sewall, a wealthy shipbuilder from Maine, was eventually chosen as the vice-presidential nominee. It was felt that Sewall's wealth might encourage him to help pay some campaign expenses. At just 36 years of age, Bryan was only a year older than the minimum age required by the Constitution to be president. Bryan remains the youngest person ever nominated by a major party for president.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
The Prohibition Party found itself going into the convention divided into two factions, each unwilling to give ground or compromise with the other. The "Broad-Gauge" wing, led by Charles Bentley and former Kansas Governor John St. John, demanded the inclusion of planks endorsing the free coinage of silver at 16:1 and of women's suffrage, the former refusing to accept the nomination if such amendments to the party platform were not approved.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
The "Narrow-Gauge" wing, which was led by Professor Samuel Dickie of Michigan and rallied around the candidacy of Joshua Levering, demanded that the party platform remain exclusively one dedicated to the prohibition of alcohol. It wasn't long into the convention when conflict between the two sides broke out over the nomination of a permanent chairman, with a number of presented candidates for the position withdrawing before Oliver Stewart of Illinois, a "Broad-Gauger", was nominated.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
A minority report made by St. John that supported the free coinage of silver, government control of railroads and telegraphs, an income tax and referendums was prevented from being tabled giving "Broad-Gaugers" confidence, but a number of those who voted in favor of the report were actually fence-sitters, undecided on how to vote, or were against gagging the report.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
After the report was brought forward by a majority of 188, "Narrow-Gaugers" campaigned among wavering delegates of the Northeast and Midwest in an effort to convince them of the electoral consequences that would come should the minority report be adopted, that Party gains in States like New York would reverse overnight in the face of free coinage and populism. When St. John's report was brought up to a formal vote the margins had largely reversed, with it being rejected 492 to 310.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
With the silver delegates still in shock and St. John attempting to move for a reconsideration, a move was made by Illinois "Narrow-Gaugers" to offer as a substitute to both the minority and majority reports a single plank platform centered around Prohibition. A rising vote was taken in lieu of a roll call, with the "Narrow-Gauge" Platform winning the vote and being adopted.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
In an attempt to mollify suffragists who were incensed at the lack of a plank endorsing women's suffrage, the plank itself was adopted through a resolution by the convention by a near unanimous vote. By the time it came to the Party's nomination for president, many of the "Broad-Gaugers" were already openly considering bolting and running their own candidate as it became increasingly apparent that the "Narrow-Gaugers" had brought a majority of the convention under their influence, formal action was deferred until after the nomination for president was made.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Prohibition Party nomination
With Charles Bentley refusing to be nominating under the single-plank platform an attempt was made to nominate the recently retired Governor of the Arizona Territory, Louis Hughes, but as it became apparent that the "Narrow-Gauger" Joshua Levering was set to receive the support of most of the convention delegates, they opted to withdraw Hughes's name. Once Levering's nomination was confirmed without any visible opposition, around 200 of those who were suffragists, silverites or populists bolted the convention, lead by Charles Bentley and John St. John, and would join with the National Reform "Party" to create the National Party. Afterwards the convention nominated with unanimity Hale Johnson of Illinois for the Vice Presidency.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Party nomination
Initially known as the "National Reform Party", the convention itself started only a day before the Prohibition National Convention, also being held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Though initially only a gathering of eight or so delegates, it was hoped that any bolters from the Prohibition Party might find their way there and would support the nomination of Representative Joseph C. Sibley for president.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Party nomination
A sizable bolt did indeed occur upon the nomination of Joshua Levering by the Prohibition Party to the Presidency, with Charles E. Bentley and former Kansas Governor John St. John leading a walkout of "Broad-Gaugers" from their convention, St. John himself exclaiming that the regular convention had been "...bought up by Wall Street." The two groups would reorganize as the "National Party" and swiftly nominated Charles Bentley for the Presidency, with James Southgate, the State Chairman for the North Carolina Prohibition Party, as his running mate. The delegates approved the minority report that had been rejected at the Prohibitionist Convention calling for free coinage and greenbacks, government control of railroads and telegraphs, direct election of Senators and the President, and an income tax among others.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Socialist Labor Party nomination
The Socialist Labor Convention was held in New York City on July 9, 1896. The convention nominated Charles Matchett of New York and Matthew Maguire of New Jersey. Its platform favored reduction in hours of labor; possession by the federal government of mines, railroads, canals, telegraphs, and telephones; possession by municipalities of water-works, gas-works, and electric plants; the issue of money by the federal government alone; the employment of the unemployed by the public authorities; abolition of the veto power; abolition of the United States Senate; women's suffrage; and uniform criminal law throughout the Union.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Peoples' Party nomination
Of the several third parties active in 1896, by far the most prominent was the People's Party. Formed in 1892, the Populists represented the philosophy of agrarianism (derived from Jeffersonian democracy), which held that farming was a superior way of life that was being exploited by bankers and middlemen. The Populists attracted cotton farmers in the South and wheat farmers in the West, but very few farmers in the Northeast, South, West, and rural Midwest.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Peoples' Party nomination
In the presidential election of 1892, Populist candidate James B. Weaver carried four states, and in 1894, the Populists scored victories in congressional and state legislature races in a number of Southern and Western states. In the Southern states, including Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, the wins were obtained by electoral fusion with the Republicans against the dominant Bourbon Democrats, whereas in the rest of the country, fusion, if practiced, was typically undertaken with the Democrats, as in the state of Washington.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Peoples' Party nomination
By 1896, some Populists believed that they could replace the Democrats as the main opposition party to the Republicans. However, the Democrats' nomination of Bryan, who supported many Populist goals and ideas, placed the party in a dilemma. Torn between choosing their own presidential candidate or supporting Bryan, the party leadership decided that nominating their own candidate would simply divide the forces of reform and hand the election to the more conservative Republicans. At their national convention in 1896, the Populists chose Bryan as their presidential nominee.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Peoples' Party nomination
However, to demonstrate that they were still independent from the Democrats, the Populists also chose former Georgia Representative Thomas E. Watson as their vice-presidential candidate instead of Arthur Sewall. Bryan eagerly accepted the Populist nomination, but was vague as to whether, if elected, he would choose Watson as his vice-president instead of Sewall. With this election, the Populists began to be absorbed into the Democratic Party; within a few elections the party would disappear completely. The 1896 election was particularly detrimental to the Populist Party in the South; the party divided itself between members who favored cooperation with the Democrats to achieve reform at the national level and members who favored cooperation with the Republicans to achieve reform at a state level.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Peoples' Party nomination
As a result of the double nomination, both the Bryan-Sewall Democratic ticket and the Bryan-Watson Populist ticket appeared on the ballot in many states. Although the Populist ticket did not win the popular vote in any state, 27 electors for Bryan cast their vice-presidential vote for Watson instead of Sewall. (The votes came from the following states: Arkansas 3, Louisiana 4, Missouri 4, Montana 1, Nebraska 4, North Carolina 5, South Dakota 2, Utah 1, Washington 2, Wyoming 1.)


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
The Silver Party was organized in 1892. Near the beginning of that year, U.S. senators from silver-producing states (Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Montana) began objecting to President Benjamin Harrison's economic policies and advocated the free coinage of silver. Senator Henry Teller notified the Senate that if the two major parties did not back down on their financial policies, the four western states would back a third party. The Portland Morning Oregonian reported on June 27, 1892, that a Silver Party was being organized along those lines.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
Nevada silverites called a state convention to be held on June 5, 1892, just days following the close of the Democratic National Convention. The convention noted that neither the Republicans or Democrats addressed the silver concerns of western states and officially organized the "Silver Party of Nevada." Proceeding by itself, the Silver Party swept the state in 1892; James Weaver, the People's Party nominee for president running on the Silver ticket, won 66.8% of the vote. Francis Newlands was elected to the U.S. House with 72.5% of the vote. The Silverites took control of the legislature, assuring the election of William Stewart to the U.S. Senate.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
The success of the Nevada silverites spurred their brethren in Colorado to action; the Colorado Silver Party never materialized, however.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
In the 1894 midterm elections, the Silver Party remained a Nevada party. It swept all statewide offices, formerly held by Republicans. John Edward Jones was elected Governor with 50% of the vote; Newlands was re-elected with 44%.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
Following the Democratic Party debacle in 1894, James Weaver began agitating for the creation of a nationwide Silver Party. He altered the People's Party platform from 1892 and eliminated planks he felt would be divisive for a larger party and began to lobby silver men around the nation. The first major statement by the national Silver Party was an address delivered to the American Bimetallic League, printed in the Emporia Daily Gazette on March 6, 1895. Letterhead for the nascent party promoted U.S. Representative Joseph Sibley of Pennsylvania for President, noting that his endorsement by the Prohibitionists would secure that party's support.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
Silver leaders met in Washington DC on January 22 to discuss holding a national convention. They decided to wait until after the conventions of the two major parties in case one of them agreed to the 16:1 coinage demands. Just a few days later, however, party regulars convinced the leaders to change course. On January 29, the leaders issued a call for a national convention to be held in St. Louis on July 22. J.J. Mott, the Silver Party National Chairman, went to great lengths to organize state parties, but his efforts did not produce dramatic results. The Silver State convention in Ohio was attended by just 20 people, even though the president of the Bimetallic League, A.J. Warner, lived there.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
Although most Silverites had been pushing the nomination of Senator Teller, the situation changed with the Democratic nomination of William Jennings Bryan. Congressman Newlands was in Chicago as the official Silver Party visitor, and he announced on July 10 that the Silver Party should endorse the Democratic ticket. Chairman Mott, who was in St. Louis making final arrangements for the Silver National Convention, told a reporter five days later "All the Silver Party wants is silver, and the Democratic platform will give us that." I.B. Stevens, a member of the executive committee, told a reporter that the Silver Party "will bring to the support of [Bryan] hundreds of thousands who do not wish to vote a Democratic ticket."


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, Silver Party nomination
On July 25, both Bryan and Arthur Sewall would be nominated by acclamation.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Democratic Party nomination
The pro-gold Democrats reacted to Bryan's nomination with a mixture of anger, desperation, and confusion. A number of pro-gold Bourbon Democrats urged a "bolt" and the formation of a third party. In response, a hastily arranged assembly on July 24 organized the National Democratic Party. A follow-up meeting in August scheduled a nominating convention for September in Indianapolis and issued an appeal to fellow Democrats. In this document, the National Democratic Party portrayed itself as the legitimate heir to Presidents Jefferson, Jackson, and Cleveland.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Democratic Party nomination
Delegates from forty-one states gathered at the National Democratic Party's national nominating convention in Indianapolis on September 2. Some delegates planned to nominate Cleveland, but they relented after a telegram arrived stating that he would not accept. Senator William Freeman Vilas from Wisconsin, the main drafter of the National Democratic Party's platform, was a favorite of the delegates. However, Vilas refused to run as the party's sacrificial lamb. The choice instead was John M. Palmer, a 79-year-old former Senator from Illinois. Simon Bolivar Buckner, a 73-year-old former governor of Kentucky, was nominated by acclamation for vice-president. The ticket, symbolic of post-Civil War reconciliation, featured the oldest combined age of the candidates in American history.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Democratic Party nomination
Despite their advanced ages, Palmer and Buckner embarked on a busy speaking tour, including visits to most major cities in the East. This won them considerable respect from the party faithful, although some found it hard to take the geriatric campaigning seriously. "You would laugh yourself sick could you see old Palmer," wrote lawyer Kenesaw Mountain Landis. "He has actually gotten it into his head he is running for office."


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Democratic Party nomination
The Palmer ticket was considered to be a vehicle to elect McKinley for some Gold Democrats, such as William Collins Whitney and Abram Hewitt, the treasurer of the National Democratic Party, and they received quiet financial support from Mark Hanna. Palmer himself said at a campaign stop that if "this vast crowd casts its vote for William McKinley next Tuesday, I shall charge them with no sin." There was even some cooperation with the Republican Party, especially in finances. The Republicans hoped that Palmer could draw enough Democratic votes from Bryan to tip marginal Midwestern and border states into McKinley's column. In a private letter, Hewitt underscored the "entire harmony of action" between both parties in standing against Bryan.


1896 United States presidential election, Nominations, Third parties and independents, National Democratic Party nomination
However, the National Democratic Party was not merely an adjunct to the McKinley campaign. An important goal was to nurture a loyal remnant for future victory. Repeatedly they depicted Bryan's prospective defeat, and a credible showing for Palmer, as paving the way for ultimate recapture of the Democratic Party, and this did indeed happen in 1904.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies
While the Republican Party entered 1896 assuming that the Democrats were in shambles and victory would be easy, especially after the unprecedented Republican landslide in the congressional elections of 1894, the nationwide emotional response to the Bryan candidacy changed everything. By summer, it appeared that Bryan was ahead in the South and West and probably also in the Midwest. An entirely new strategy was called for by the McKinley campaign. It was designed to educate voters in the money issues, to demonstrate silverite fallacies, and to portray Bryan himself as a dangerous crusader.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies
McKinley would be portrayed as the safe and sound champion of jobs and sound money, with his high tariff proposals guaranteed to return prosperity for everyone. The McKinley campaign would be national and centralized, using the Republican National Committee as the tool of the candidate, instead of the state parties' tool. Furthermore, the McKinley campaign stressed his pluralistic commitment to prosperity for all groups (including minorities).


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Financing
The McKinley campaign invented a new form of campaign financing that has dominated American politics ever since. Instead of asking office holders to return a cut of their pay, Hanna went to financiers and industrialists and made a business proposition. He explained that Bryan would win if nothing happened, and that the McKinley team had a winning counterattack that would be very expensive. He then would ask them how much it was worth to the business not to have Bryan as president. He suggested an amount and was happy to take a check. Hanna had moved beyond partisanship and campaign rhetoric to a businessman's thinking about how to achieve a desired result. He raised $3.5 million. Hanna brought in banker Charles G. Dawes to run his Chicago office and spend about $2 million in the critical region.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Financing
Meanwhile, traditional funders of the Democratic Party (mostly financiers from the Northeast) rejected Bryan, although he did manage to raise about $500,000. Some of it came from businessmen with interests in silver mining.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Financing
The financial disparity grew larger and larger as the Republicans funded more and more rallies, speeches, and torchlight parades, as well as hundreds of millions of pamphlets attacking Bryan and praising McKinley. Lacking a systematic fund-raising system, Bryan was unable to tap his potential supporters, and he had to rely on passing the hat at rallies. National Chairman Jones pleaded, "No matter in how small sums, no matter by what humble contributions, let the friends of liberty and national honor contribute all they can."


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Republican attacks on Bryan
Increasingly, the Republicans personalized their attacks on Bryan as a dangerous religious fanatic. The counter-crusading rhetoric focused on Bryan as a reckless revolutionary whose policies would destroy the economic system. Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld was running for re-election after having pardoned several of the anarchists convicted in the Haymarket bombings. Republican posters and speeches linked Altgeld and Bryan as two dangerous anarchists. The Republican Party tried any number of tactics to ridicule Bryan's economic policies. In one case they printed fake dollar bills which had Bryan's face and read "IN GOD WE TRUST ... FOR THE OTHER 53 CENTS," thus illustrating their claim that a dollar bill would be worth only 47 cents if it was backed by silver instead of gold.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Ethnic responses
The Democratic Party in Eastern and Midwestern cities had a strong German Catholic base that was alienated by free silver and inflationist panaceas. They showed little enthusiasm for Bryan, although many were worried that a Republican victory would bring prohibition into play. The Irish Catholics disliked Bryan's revivalistic rhetoric and worried about prohibition as well. However their leaders decided to stick with Bryan, since the departure of so many Bourbon businessmen from the party left the Irish increasingly in control.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Labor unions and skilled workers
The Bryan campaign appealed first of all to farmers. It told urban workers that their return to prosperity was possible only if the farmers prospered first. Bryan made the point bluntly in the "Cross of Gold" speech, delivered in Chicago just 25 years after that city had indeed burned down:


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Labor unions and skilled workers
Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again; but destroy our farms, and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Labor unions and skilled workers
Juxtaposing "our farms" and "your cities" did not go over well in cities; they voted 59% for McKinley. Among the industrial cities, Bryan carried only two (Troy, New York, and Fort Wayne, Indiana).


1896 United States presidential election, Campaign strategies, Labor unions and skilled workers
The main labor unions were reluctant to endorse Bryan because their members feared inflation. Railroad workers especially worried that Bryan's silver programs would bankrupt the railroads, which were in a shaky financial condition in the depression and whose bonds were payable in gold. Factory workers saw no advantage in inflation to help miners and farmers, because their urban cost of living would shoot up and they would be hurt. The McKinley campaign gave special attention to skilled workers, especially in the Midwest and adjacent states. Secret polls show that large majorities of railroad and factory workers voted for McKinley.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
Throughout the campaign the South and Mountain states appeared certain to vote for Bryan, whereas the East was certain for McKinley. In play were the Midwest and the Border States.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
The Republican Party amassed an unprecedented war chest at all levels: national, state and local. Outspent and shut out of the party's traditional newspapers, Bryan decided his best chance to win the election was to conduct a vigorous national speaking tour by train. His fiery crusading rhetoric to huge audiences would make his campaign a newsworthy story that the hostile press would have to cover, and he could speak to the voters directly instead of through editorials. He was the first presidential candidate since Stephen Douglas in 1860 to canvass directly, and the first ever to criss-cross the nation and meet voters in person.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
The novelty of seeing a visiting presidential candidate, combined with Bryan's spellbinding oratory and the passion of his believers, generated huge crowds. Silverites welcomed their hero with all-day celebrations of parades, band music, picnic meals, endless speeches, and undying demonstrations of support. Bryan focused his efforts on the Midwest, which everyone agreed would be the decisive battleground in the election. In just 100 days, Bryan gave over 500 speeches to several million people. His record was 36 speeches in one day in St. Louis. Relying on just a few hours of sleep a night, he traveled 18,000 miles by rail to address five million people, often in a hoarse voice; he would explain that he left his real voice at the previous stops where it was still rallying the people.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
In contrast to Bryan's dramatic efforts, McKinley conducted a novel "front porch" campaign from his home in Canton, Ohio. Instead of having McKinley travel to see the voters, Mark Hanna brought 500,000 voters by train to McKinley's home. Once there, McKinley would greet the men from his porch. His well-organized staff prepared both the remarks of the visiting delegations and the candidate's responses, focusing the comments on the assigned topic of the day. The remarks were issued to the newsmen and telegraphed nationwide to appear in the next day's papers.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
Bryan, with practically no staff, gave much the same talk over and over again. McKinley labeled Bryan's proposed social and economic reforms as a serious threat to the national economy. With the depression following the Panic of 1893 coming to an end, support for McKinley's more conservative economic policies increased, while Bryan's more radical policies began to lose support among Midwestern farmers and factory workers.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
To ensure victory, Hanna paid large numbers of Republican orators (including Theodore Roosevelt) to travel around the nation denouncing Bryan as a dangerous radical. There were also reports that some potentially Democratic voters were intimidated into voting for McKinley. For example, some factory owners posted signs the day before the election announcing that, if Bryan won the election, the factory would be closed and the workers would lose their jobs.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
Bryan's midsummer surge in the Midwest played out as the intense Republican counter-crusade proved effective. Bryan spent most of October in the Midwest, making 160 of his final 250 speeches there. Morgan noted, "full organization, Republican party harmony, a campaign of education with the printed and spoken word would more than counteract" Bryan's speechmaking.


1896 United States presidential election, The fall campaign
Several of Bryan's advisors recommended additional campaigning in the Upper South States of Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Another plan called for a coastal tour from Washington State to Southern California. Bryan however, opted to concentrate in the Mid-West and to launch a unity tour into the heavily Republican Northeast. Bryan saw no chance of winning in New England, but felt that he needed to make a truly national appeal. On election day the results from the Pacific Coast and Upper South would be the closest of the election.


1896 United States presidential election, Results
McKinley secured a solid victory in the electoral college by carrying the core of the East and Northeast, while Bryan did well among the farmers of the South, West, and rural Midwest. The large German-American voting bloc supported McKinley, who gained large majorities among the middle class, skilled factory workers, railroad workers, and large-scale farmers.


1896 United States presidential election, Results
The national popular vote was rather close, as McKinley defeated Bryan by 602,500 votes, receiving 51% to Bryan's 46.7%: a shift of 53,000 votes in California, Kentucky, Ohio and Oregon would have won Bryan the election despite McKinley winning the majority of the popular vote, but due to the joint Democratic-Populist ticket, this also would have left Hobart and Sewell short of the 224 electoral votes required to win the vice-presidency, forcing a contingent election for vice-president in the Senate.


1896 United States presidential election, Results
The National Democrats did not carry any states, but they did divide the Democratic vote in some states and helped the Republicans flip Kentucky; Gold Democrats made much of the fact that Palmer's small vote in Kentucky was higher than McKinley's very narrow margin in that state. This was the first time a Republican presidential candidate had ever carried Kentucky, but they did not do so again until Calvin Coolidge in 1924. From this, they concluded that Palmer had siphoned off needed Democratic votes and hence thrown the state to McKinley. However, McKinley would have won the overall election even if he had lost Kentucky to Bryan.


1896 United States presidential election, Results
Mayor Tom L. Johnson of Cleveland, Ohio, summed up the campaign as the "first great protest of the American people against monopoly – the first great struggle of the masses in our country against the privileged classes."


1896 United States presidential election, Results
According to a 2017 National Bureau of Economic Research paper, "Bryan did well where mortgage interest rates were high, railroad penetration was low, and crop prices had declined by most over the previous decade. Using our estimates, we show that further declines in crop prices or increases in interest rates would have been enough to tip the Electoral College in Bryan's favor. But to change the outcome, the additional fall in crop prices would have had to be large."


1896 United States presidential election, Results, General results
McKinley received a little more than seven million votes, Bryan a little less than six and a half million, about 800,000 in excess of the Democratic vote in 1892. It was larger than the Democratic Party was to poll in 1900, 1904, or 1912. It was somewhat less, however, than the combined vote for the Democratic and Populist nominees had been in 1892. In contrast, McKinley received nearly 2,000,000 more votes than had been cast for Benjamin Harrison, the Republican nominee, in 1892. The Republican vote was to be but slightly increased during the next decade.


1896 United States presidential election, Results, Geography of results
One-half of the total vote of the nation was polled in eight states carried by McKinley (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin). In these states, Bryan not only ran far behind the Republican candidate, but also polled considerably less than half of his total vote.


1896 United States presidential election, Results, Geography of results
In only one other section, in the six states of New England, was the Republican lead great; the Republican vote (614,972) was more than twice the Democratic vote (242,938), and every county was carried by the Republicans.


1896 United States presidential election, Results, Geography of results
The West North Central section gave a slight lead to McKinley, as did the Pacific section. Nevertheless, within these sections, the states of Missouri, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Washington were carried by Bryan.


1896 United States presidential election, Results, Geography of results
In the South Atlantic section and in the East South Central section, the Democratic lead was pronounced, and in the West South Central section and in the Mountain section, the vote for Bryan was overwhelming. In these four sections, comprising 21 states, McKinley carried only 322 counties and four states – Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Kentucky.


1896 United States presidential election, Results, Geography of results
A striking feature of this examination of the state returns is found in the overwhelming lead for one or the other party in 22 of the 45 states. It was true of the McKinley vote in every New England state and in New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. It was also true of the Bryan vote in eight states of the lower South and five states of the Mountain West. Sectionalism was thus marked in this first election of the Fourth Party System.