The correct answer is "The Democratic, Republican, and Populist Parties all gained strength as independent political entities."
The most important reason that the election of 1896 was significant in American politics was that "the Democratic, Republican, and Populist Parties all gained strength as independent political entities."
In the end, Republican William McKinley won the election of 1896 on a platform of increased industrialization, higher wages, and the "gold standard"?
William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States. He was the President from March 4, 1897, until his assassination on September 14, 1901. Republican candidate McKinley defeated Democratic-Populist candidate Willian Jennings-Bryan. He appealed to the American citizen by maintaining the US economy based on the gold standard, the promise of better wages, and the support of industrialization as the way to increase prosperity.