A Righteous Cause: The Life of William Jennings Bryan

Library of American Biography

by Robert W. Cherny

Three times the Democratic Party’s nominee for president (1896, 1900, and 1908) and secretary of state under Woodrow Wilson, William Jennings Bryan voiced the concerns of many Americans left out of the post–Civil War economic growth.

In A Righteous The Life of Williams Jennings Bryan , Robert W. Cherny presents Bryan’s key role in the Democratic Party’s transformation from the conservatism of Grover Cleveland to the progressivism of Woodrow Wilson. Cherny draws on Bryan’s writings and correspondence to trace his major political crusades for a new currency policy, prohibition, and women’s suffrage, and against colonialism, monopolies, America’s entry into World War I, and the teaching of evolution in the public schools.

Genres: History, Biography

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Robert W. Cherny is professor emeritus of history at San Francisco State University. His publications deal with U.S. politics in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era and with the history of San Francisco, California, and the West. His most recent book, A Short History of San Francisco (2026) draws upon his previous work in an effort, he says, "to sort out what's most significant and what's most interesting (not always the same thing)." His other recent books include The Coit Tower Murals: New Deal Art and Political Controversy in San Francisco (2024), which focuses on the once controversial murals at Coit Tower and then looks more generally at the influence of those murals and at recent controversies over New Deal art in the city. Among his other recent books, San Francisco Reds: Communists in the Bay Area, 1919-1958 (2024), explores the history of the Communist Party through the experiences of some fifty individuals active in the Bay Area, most of whom joined in the 1920s or 1930s, and most of whom left the party in late 1950s. Harry Bridges: Labor Radical, Labor Legend (2023), the biography of the long-time leader of the Pacific Coast longshore and warehouse union, deals with labor and politics on the Pacific Coast from the 1930s to the 1980s. Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art (2017), examines New Deal and Cold War art and politics through the life of a San Francisco artist.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a local interest in William Jennings Bryan. The hospital named after him is just down the street from my house, and his "Fairview" property included the land on which I currently live. Bryan was a principled, passionate speaker, lawyer, and politician. He ran for president three times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and served as Secretary of State to President Wilson. Politically, he defies 21st century classification; he was a passionate Christian who opposed the teaching of evolution in schools and favored Prohibition, but he was also notably a liberal on all economic issues, as well as a strong voice against American Imperialism, war, and military armament.
I admire Bryan for his tireless defense of labor and important turn-of-the-century advancements: the income tax, the 8-hour-day, anti-trust laws, the Federal Reserve, and the FDIC, as well as his push away from the Gold Standard, and his crusade for inflation and increased government regulation to protect farmers and wage-earners from vampiric railroad trusts and Wall Street investors. Bryan represents everything great about turn-of-the-century populism, and I am proud that such a man called Lincoln, Nebraska his home.
Of course, Bryan had some intellectual blind spots. Don't we all?
This book was very well written: fascinating and brief, with great quotes and solid sources. It's the perfect overview of Bryan's political life and causes.

[Ben Vance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short overview of the life of Williams Jennings Bryan. Looks at his life a series of crusades for various causes. Makes the book easy to read and follow even if the author runs into difficulties with the timeline at times. Biggest flaw is the lack of even a mention of Bryan’s silence on segregation. Aside from a portion towards the end on the Klan, the author completely ignores Bryan’s single biggest flaw. Hurts and otherwise fun, informative read.