"Bryan, Bryan, Bryan, Bryan" is a 1919 poem by American poet Vachel Lindsay. It chronicles William Jennings Bryan's 1896 presidential campaign as seen through the eyes of an idealistic sixteen-year-old, who strongly supported the Democratic Party candidate and was crushed by Bryan's defeat at the hands of the Republican Party.
The narrator depicts the election outcome as a victory of the East Coast and large financial institutions, such as J.P. Morgan & Company, over regions and interest groups depicted as friendly toward Bryan such as the American Midwest and farmers.
The poem lists, and comments on, many of the key political figures of the 1896 election, including the retiring incumbent Grover Cleveland, the winning candidate William McKinley, and McKinley's innovative campaign manager Mark Hanna.
Famous quotes containing the word bryan:
“I think we will live through his term, Archie, and I’ll tell you something, old man, if they don’t stop hammering me, first Bryan for not enforcing the Anti-Trust Law and Wall Street for enforcing it, they may succeed in electing me to another term whether I want it or not.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)