Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1900. Incumbent Republican President William McKinley defeated his Democratic challenger, William Jennings Bryan.
McKinley and Bryan each faced little opposition within their own parties. Although some Gold Democrats explored the possibility of a campaign by Admiral George Dewey, Bryan was easily re-nominated at the 1900 Democratic National Convention after Dewey withdrew from the race. McKinley was unanimously re-nominated at the 1900 Republican National Convention. As Vice President Garret Hobart had died in 1899, the Republican convention chose New York Governor Theodore Roosevelt as McKinley's running mate.
The return of economic prosperity and recent victory in the Spanish–American War helped McKinley score a decisive victory, while Bryan's anti-imperialist stance and continued support for bimetallism attracted only limited support. McKinley carried most states outside of the Solid South and won 51.6% of the popular vote. The election results were similar to those of 1896, though McKinley picked up several Western states and Bryan picked up Kentucky.
McKinley's victory made him the first president since Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 to win re-election to a consecutive second term. Six months into his second term, McKinley was assassinated, and his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded him.
Nominations
Republican Party nomination
1900 Republican Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President 25thPresident of the United States(1897–1901) 33rdGovernor of New York(1899–1900)
The 926 delegates to the Republican convention, which met in Philadelphia on June 19–21, re-nominated President William McKinley by acclamation. Thomas C. Platt, the "boss" of the New York State Republican Party, did not like Theodore Roosevelt, New York's popular governor, even though he was a fellow Republican. Roosevelt's efforts to reform New York politics – including Republican politics – led Platt and other state Republican leaders to pressure President McKinley to accept Roosevelt as his new vice presidential candidate, thus filling the spot left open when Vice President Garret Hobart died in 1899. By electing Roosevelt vice president, Platt would remove Roosevelt from New York state politics. Although Roosevelt was reluctant to accept the nomination for vice president, which he regarded as a relatively trivial and powerless office, his great popularity among most Republican delegates led McKinley to pick him as his new running mate. Quite unexpectedly, Roosevelt would be elevated to the presidency in September 1901, when McKinley was assassinated in Buffalo, New York.
+The ballotingPresidential ballot Vice presidential ballot William McKinley 926 Theodore Roosevelt 925 Not voting 1 (Theodore Roosevelt)
Democratic Party nomination
1900 Democratic Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President U.S. Representativefor Nebraska's 1st(1891–1895) 23rdVice President of the United States(1893–1897)Campaign
Other candidates Candidates are sorted by date of withdrawalGeorge DeweyAdmiral of the Navy from Vermont (1899–1917): May 17, 1900: 1900
After Admiral George Dewey's return from the Spanish–American War, many suggested that he run for president on the Democratic ticket. Dewey, however, had already angered some Protestants by marrying the Catholic Mildred McLean Hazen (the widow of General William Babcock Hazen and daughter of Washington McLean, owner of The Washington Post) in November 1899 and giving her the house that the nation had given him following the war.HarpWeek | Elections | 1900 Medium Cartoons at elections.harpweek.com His candidacy was also almost immediately plagued by a number of public relations gaffes. Newspapers started attacking him as naïve after he was quoted as saying the job of president would be easy, since the chief executive was merely following orders in executing the laws enacted by Congress, and that he would "execute the laws of Congress as faithfully as I have always executed the orders of my superiors." Shortly thereafter, he admitted never having voted in a presidential election before, mentioning that the only man he ever would have voted for, had he voted, would have been Grover Cleveland. He drew even more criticism when he offhandedly (and prophetically) told a newspaper reporter that, "Our next war will be with Germany."Convention Diary: NRO Total Convention at nationalreview.com
Dewey's campaign was met with pessimism by Gold Democrats on whose support his campaign depended. Some even threw their support to Bryan, believing him to be the stronger candidate. As early as three days into his candidacy, his campaign having been damaged by the aforementioned missteps, rumors abounded regarding Dewey's impending withdrawal which proved false. Further injuries were made, however, when it became clear that the Democratic Party leaders of Vermont, Dewey's home state, were hostile to him and wholly committed to Bryan. Ohio similarly went for Bryan, though with the caveat that some leaders there suggested dropping all mention of silver from the party platform. By May 5, John Roll McLean Dewey's brother-in-law and de facto campaign manager defected from the campaign and was widely considered to be silently supporting Bryan. Dewey recognized soon afterward that he had very little chance of gathering enough delegates from Western and Southern states to keep Bryan from attaining a two-thirds majority at the convention, publicly commenting on May 17 that he no longer knew why he had even run for president at all. He effectively withdrew at about this time. There was some support in June for his nomination as vice president on the ticket alongside Bryan; however, Dewey resolutely refused to be considered.
Once Dewey withdrew, William Jennings Bryan faced little opposition for the nomination. He won it at the 1900 Democratic National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri on July 4–6, garnering 936 delegate votes.
Presidential ballotWilliam Jennings Bryan 936
Official or speculated candidates for the vice-presidential nomination:
Adlai Stevenson I, Former Vice President and former Representative from Illinois Charles A. Towne, Former Representative from Minnesota Elliott Danforth, Former Democratic State Committee Chairman from New York William Sulzer, Representative from New York Joseph C. Sibley, Representative from Pennsylvania Robert E. Pattison, Former Governor of Pennsylvania George F. Williams, Former Representative from Massachusetts James P. Tarvin, Judge from Kentucky George B. McClellan Jr., Representative from New York John W. Daniel, Senator and Former Representative from Virginia John J. Lentz, Representative from Ohio Carter Harrison IV, Mayor of Chicago, Illinois John W. Keller, Charities Commissioner of New York City, from New York
David B. Hill, Former Senator from and former Governor of New York John Walter Smith, Representative from Maryland Jim Hogg, Former Governor of Texas Edward Atkinson, Economist and founding member of the American Anti-Imperialist League from Massachusetts Winfield Scott Schley, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy from Maryland Henry Clay Caldwell, Federal Judge from Arkansas Alton B. Parker, Chief Judge from New York Benjamin F. Shively, Former Representative from Indiana George Dewey, Admiral of the Navy from Vermont William Randolph Hearst, Business magnate from New York William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody, soldier, bison hunter and showman from Colorado Augustus Van Wyck, Former Court Justice from New York
Vice presidential ballot Ballot 1st before shifts 1st after shiftsAdlai E. Stevenson 559.5 936David B. Hill 200 0Charles A. Towne 89.5 0Abraham W. Patrick 46 0Julian Carr 23 0John Walter Smith 16 0Elliott Danforth 1 0Jim Hogg 1 0
People's Party nomination As the nation's third-largest party, the Populists had made an organizational decision in 1896 to "fuse" with the Democratic Party on the national level, their identity kept separate by the nomination of two different candidates for vice president. At the state level, local Populist parties were left at liberty to proceed as they saw fit. In the Plains states, the Populists fused with the Democrats and, in some states, replaced them entirely. In the South, the Populists fused with the Republican Party. The result, though Bryan was defeated, was that the Populists greatly enlarged their representation in Congress from 10 to 26. In several southern states, however, the legislatures were still controlled by the Democrats, and they began passing a series of laws to eliminate the franchise for black voters with the intention of undermining a significant bloc of Populist support. The move had its intended consequences; in the 1898 mid-term election, Populist representation in the House of Representatives fell to 9, its lowest level since the party was founded.
The treatment of Populists by Democrats led to a division within the party. On May 17, 1899, Populist leaders met in St. Louis and issued an address calling for a "Middle of the Road" policy in which the party would decline future fusion efforts. The statement was primarily aimed at the party's national chairman, U.S. Senator Marion Butler of North Carolina, who had been elected to the Senate through fusion with North Carolina Republicans and was already working for the renomination of William Jennings Bryan on the 1900 Populist ticket. The pro-fusion leaders of the Populists fought back in early 1900. The first state party known to have split was the Nebraska party, which divided during its state convention on March 19. Both factions appointed delegates to the national convention, scheduled for Cincinnati. Ultimately, the Fusion Populists decided to hold a separate national convention when it became apparent that the Ohio Populists did not favor fusion and were working to organize a convention which would not nominate Bryan.
"Fusion" Populist nomination
1900 "Fusionist" People's Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President U.S. Representativefor Nebraska's 1st(1891–1895) 23rdVice President of the United States(1893–1897)Campaign
The "Fusion" Populist National Convention assembled in a large tent just west of Sioux Falls, South Dakota on May 9 and unanimously nominated Bryan for the presidency. Charles Towne, the leader of the Silver Republican Party, was almost unanimously nominated as his running mate, facing only weak opposition from Representative John Lentz from Ohio. When Adlai Stevenson won the Democratic vice-presidential nomination over Towne, Towne withdrew from the race and the Fusion Populists endorsed Stevenson.
"Middle of the Road" Populist nomination
1900 "Middle-Road" People's Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President Financier and Publisherfrom Pennsylvania Member of the MinnesotaHouse of Representatives(1897–1898)
Meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio, the "Middle of the Road" faction adopted a platform that called for the creation of fiat money, government ownership of key industries and the opening of conservation lands for economic development. Businessman Wharton Barker was nominated for the presidency, while Representative Ignatius Donnelly was chosen as his running mate.
+The ballotingPresidential ballot 1st 2nd Vice presidential ballot 1stWharton Barker 314.4370Ignatius L. Donnelly 715Milford W. Howard 326.6336 Ignatius L. Donnelly 707 Others 32
Minor party nominations
Social Democratic Party nomination
1900 Social Democratic Party ticket for Presidentfor Vice President State Representativefrom Indiana(1885–1887) Attorney at Lawfrom California