Who would support william jennings bryan in his campaign of 1896?

Bryan electrified the 1896 Democratic convention with his stirring Cross of Gold speech favoring free silver and thereby captured the presidential nomination. Also nominated by the Populists, Bryan agreed with their view that government should protect individuals and the democratic process against monopolistic corporations. ‘The Boy Orator of the Platte’ traveled eighteen thousand miles and spoke to thousands of voters, but lost; William McKinley’s victory initiated a generation of Republican dominance in national politics. Bryan’s 1896 campaign, however, marked a long-term shift within the Democratic party from a Jacksonian commitment to minimal government toward a positive view of government.