William Jennings Bryan Quotes

A collection of quotes by William Jennings Bryan.

William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) was an American lawyer, politician, and orator who played a significant role in shaping American politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Salem, Illinois, Bryan grew up in a religious family and studied law after obtaining his undergraduate degree.

Bryan soared to national prominence as a skilled public speaker known for his impassioned speeches advocating for the common people and progressive causes. He served as a Democratic congressman from Nebraska from 1891 to 1895 and then as the United States Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915.

However, Bryan is most famously remembered for his three unsuccessful bids for the presidency. As the Democratic Party's nominee, he ran for president in 1896, 1900, and 1908, campaigning on a platform that championed populism, free silver, and progressive reforms. Though he lost each time, his influence was substantial, significantly shaping the Democratic Party's stance on economic and social issues.

Outside of politics, Bryan was also a strong advocate for causes such as prohibition, women's suffrage, and religious fundamentalism. He was an ardent supporter of the prosecution in the famous Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, which focused on the teaching of evolution in public schools.

William Jennings Bryan passed away later that same year, leaving behind a complex legacy as a prominent politician, orator, and populist figure in American history.

Eloquent speech is not from lip to ear, but rather from hear

Eloquent speech is not from lip to ear, but rather from heart to heart.

William Jennings Bryan

Anglo-Saxon civilization has taught the individual to protec

Anglo-Saxon civilization has taught the individual to protect his own rights American civilization will teach him to respect the rights of others.

William Jennings Bryan

The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fe

The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear and get a record of successful experiences behind you.

William Jennings Bryan

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice;

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It

Destiny is no matter of chance. It is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan

A man who murders another shortens by a few brief years the

A man who murders another shortens by a few brief years the life of a human being; but he who votes to increase the burden of debts upon the people of the United States assumes a graver responsibility.

William Jennings Bryan

Life People Man

The Imperial German Government will not expect the Governmen

The Imperial German Government will not expect the Government of the United States to omit any word or any act necessary to the performance of its sacred duty of maintaining the rights of the United States and its citizens and of safeguarding their free exercise and enjoyment.

William Jennings Bryan

The parents have a right to say that no teacher paid by thei

The parents have a right to say that no teacher paid by their money shall rob their children of faith in God and send them back to their homes skeptical, or infidels, or agnostics, or atheists.

William Jennings Bryan

If we have to give up either religion or education, we shoul

If we have to give up either religion or education, we should give up education.

William Jennings Bryan

Evolution seems to close the heart to some of the plainest s

Evolution seems to close the heart to some of the plainest spiritual truths while it opens the mind to the wildest guesses advanced in the name of science.

William Jennings Bryan

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice.

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. It is not something to be waited for, but something to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan

Destiny Proactive

My place in history will depend on what I can do for the peo

My place in history will depend on what I can do for the people and not on what the people can do for me.

William Jennings Bryan

I can not wish you success in your effort to reject the trea

I can not wish you success in your effort to reject the treaty because while it may win the fight it may destroy our cause. My plan cannot fail if the people are with us and we ought not to succeed unless we do have the people with us.

William Jennings Bryan

Anglo-Saxon civilization has taught the individual to protec

Anglo-Saxon civilization has taught the individual to protect his own rights; American civilization will teach him to respect the rights of others.

William Jennings Bryan

The chief duty of governments, in so far as they are coerciv

The chief duty of governments, in so far as they are coercive, is to restrain those who would interfere with the inalienable rights of the individual, among which are the right to life, the right to liberty, the right to the pursuit of happiness and the right to worship God according to the dictates of ones conscience.

William Jennings Bryan

The government being the peoples business, it necessarily fo

The government being the peoples business, it necessarily follows that its operations should be at all times open to the public view. Publicity is therefore as essential to honest administration as freedom of speech is to representative government. Equal rights to all and special privileges to none is the maxim which should control in all departments of government.

William Jennings Bryan

No one can earn a million dollars honestly.

No one can earn a million dollars honestly.

William Jennings Bryan

If that vital spark that we find in a grain of wheat can pas

If that vital spark that we find in a grain of wheat can pass unchanged through countless deaths and resurrections, will the spirit of man be unable to pass from this body to another?

William Jennings Bryan

I hope the two wings of the Democratic Party may flap togeth

I hope the two wings of the Democratic Party may flap together.

William Jennings Bryan