Document B: William Jennings Bryan, 1896 (Modified)

Democratic National Convention in July 1896. It is considered one of the most famous speeches in American history. The passage is an excerpt.

The merchant at the corner store is as much a businessman as themerchant of New York. The farmer who goes forth in the morning and toilsall day...is as much a businessman as the man who [works on Wall Street].We come to speak for this broader class of businessmen....It is for thesethat we speak. We are fighting in the defense of our homes and ourfamilies. We have petitioned, and our petitions have been scorned. Wehave entreated, and our entreaties have beendisregarded. We havebegged, and they have mocked us.We beg no longer; we entreat no more; we petition no more. We defythem!You come to us and tell us that the great cities are in favor of the goldstandard. I tell you that the great cities rest upon these broad and fertileprairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities willspring up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass willgrow in the streets of every city in this country.Having behind us the commercial interests and the laboring interests andall the toiling masses, we shall answer their demands for a gold standardby saying to them: you shall not press down upon the brow of labor thiscrown of thorns. You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.
Source: The speech above was delivered by William Jennings Bryan at theDemocratic National Convention in July 1896. It is considered one of the most famous speeches in American history. The passage is an excerpt.