United States Congressman. His career is associated with the "common man," including currency reform and traditional American religion. An 1883 graduate of Chicago's Union College of Law, he would represent Nebraska in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895. He ran for President in 1896 on a platform calling for free coinage of silver. This position would be best elucidated at that year's Democratic National Convention, where Bryan would deliver a well-received speech including the admonition: "You will not crucify mankind on a Cross of Gold!" This speech, among others, established Bryan as an outstanding orator. Though he would win the Democratic nomination in 1896, 1900, and 1908, he lost the General Elections to Republicans William McKinley and William Howard Taft. When war broke out with Spain in 1898, he raised the Third Regiment of the Nebraska Volunteer Infantry and, while he saw no overseas duty, he was commissioned a Colonel. He was appointed Secretary of State by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, but resigned in 1915 because of Wilson's increasing antagonism against Germany during World War I. He continued his career as an activist in the Democratic party and the Presbyterian Church. In 1925, Bryan served as associate prosecutor in what came to be known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee. In this case, Bryan argued that John Scopes had violated state law by teaching evolution. Though the prosecution prevailed, defense attorney Clarence Darrow would score a public relations victory for the evolutionist side by calling Bryan as a witness for his Biblical knowledge, then pointing out various physical impossibilities associated with what the Bible held to be fact. Bryan would die five days after the trial's conclusion, never being able to deliver the closing statement he had prepared for the case.

United States Congressman. His career is associated with the "common man," including currency reform and traditional American religion. An 1883 graduate of Chicago's Union College of Law, he would represent Nebraska in the House of Representatives from 1891 to 1895. He ran for President in 1896 on a platform calling for free coinage of silver. This position would be best elucidated at that year's Democratic National Convention, where Bryan would deliver a well-received speech including the admonition: "You will not crucify mankind on a Cross of Gold!" This speech, among others, established Bryan as an outstanding orator. Though he would win the Democratic nomination in 1896, 1900, and 1908, he lost the General Elections to Republicans William McKinley and William Howard Taft. When war broke out with Spain in 1898, he raised the Third Regiment of the Nebraska Volunteer Infantry and, while he saw no overseas duty, he was commissioned a Colonel. He was appointed Secretary of State by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913, but resigned in 1915 because of Wilson's increasing antagonism against Germany during World War I. He continued his career as an activist in the Democratic party and the Presbyterian Church. In 1925, Bryan served as associate prosecutor in what came to be known as the "Scopes Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee. In this case, Bryan argued that John Scopes had violated state law by teaching evolution. Though the prosecution prevailed, defense attorney Clarence Darrow would score a public relations victory for the evolutionist side by calling Bryan as a witness for his Biblical knowledge, then pointing out various physical impossibilities associated with what the Bible held to be fact. Bryan would die five days after the trial's conclusion, never being able to deliver the closing statement he had prepared for the case.

Bio by: Stuthehistoryguy