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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
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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
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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
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Argument & Debate
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I would be presumptuous, indeed, to present myself against the distinguished gentlemen to whom you have listened if this were a mere measuring of abilities; but this is not a contest between persons. The humblest citizen in all the land, when clad in the armor of a righteous cause, is stronger than all the hosts of error. I come to speak to you in defence of a cause as holy as the cause of liberty
-William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold, Speech concluding debate on the Chicago Platform at the Democratic National Convention, Chicago, Illinois, July 9, 1896
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Farming
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The great cities rest upon our broad and fertile prairies. Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic; but destroy our farms, and grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country.
-William Jennings Bryan, Cross of Gold, Speech given at the Democratic National Convention, July 9, 1896
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Fate & Destiny
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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
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Honesty
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No one can earn a million dollars honestly.
-William Jennings Bryan
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Liberty
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In commemoration of the fact that France was our ally in securing independence the citizens of that nation joined with the citizens of the United States in placing in New York harbor an heroic statue representing Liberty enlightening the world. What course shall our nation pursue? Send the statue of Liberty back to France and borrow from England a statue of William the Conqueror?
-William Jennings Bryan, speech regarding the the United States' conquering of the Philippines, February 14, 1899
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Politics
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I hope the two wings of the Democratic Party may flap together.
-William Jennings Bryan
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Rights
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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
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Spirituality
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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
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Books by and about William Jennings Bryan