From the prior election in 1892 to the 1896 election, the US experienced a large economic panic in 1893. Consequently, many businesses answer this panic by lowering wages and cutting workers. Demands for long hours and little pay caused strikes to break out in the country with the Pullman Strike in 1894 being one of the largest. Cleveland, a Democrat, brought in troops to end the strike. Farmers were unhappy with railroad owners and price hiking. William Jennings Bryan a conservative man brought together the concerns of the farmer and the worker promising to take down the Gilded Age corporate Titans. He also made the coinage a silver a priority which would have allowed more currency into circulation helping the farmer make more money and pay off debts. WJ Bryan posed a serious threat to the power of the Titans and they unified in a joint effort to fund their own candidate, William McKinley, who would then allow for continued policies and keep them in power. McKinley would win and progressive reform would have to wait until after the turn of the century.
