life of william jennings bryan. then, the palestinian president on application for u.n. membership. then, israeli prime minister netanyahu. now, the life of william >> good evening, welcome to the third installment of c-span's "the contenders" series. we look at the life of william jennings bryan. what better way to introduce you to the man by hearing directly from him. this is commonly referred to as the "cross of gold" speech. >> we do not come as aggressors. our goal is not a goal of conquest. we are fighting in defense of our families and prosperity. we have traditions and our traditions have been scorned. our in treaties have been disregarded. we have begged and they have bought an hour, amit-- we have balked. we brought forth confidence that we shall win. >> the words of william jennings bryan. we are coming to you from his home and office in the state capital of nebraska. and hisjennings bryan wife moved here in 1902. we are coming to you from the first floor. he did much of his riding an entertaining here in this house. we welcome our guest, a professor of history at georgeto

who would resemble a william jennings bryan? >> i'm not sure. there are people who want to be william jennings bryan. sarah palin might try to be. angry populist. they believe that a small greedy elite is after the majority of americans. bryan was representative of an anti-monopoly movement. a movement where people believed that corporate america was taking the country in a revolutionary direction. we have come to grips and come to peace with big business. we cannot imagine a society where that is not there. that was not true for bryan. >> we just looked at the desk that he worked with mary side by side. most businesses were like that in the 1870's and 1860's and 1850's. they were small partnerships and firms. that time before 1896 was a time of enormous industrial growth. colossal corporations. the pennsylvania railroad employing more people than the united states post office. these were corporations with enormous resources, enormous wealth, and enormous power. most people had experienced a very different america, one with small partnerships. th

. >> as we look at life and political career of william jennings bryan. caller: bryan publicly supported the coup kluck's claremont. did he also support clinching in the south? >> he did not support the klan. the democratic convention was about whether to denounce the klan by name. he believed the democrats should win it over rather than to announce them. -- rather than denounce them. it is unfair to say he was a supporter of the clan. he was a racist, but he did not support violence against them. he was a white supremacist. i want to clarify his racial views are not so simple as to say he was a klansman or in favor of lynching people without a trial. he supported the view of most white southerners and northerners as well, which is that european americans are superior to other people. >> he is certainly a democratic political figure in the senses that he broadly believes in white supremacy, and he is appealing to voters in a democratic south on those terms as well. >> when would he think about the democratic party today, which counts so many african-americ

who would resemble a william jennings bryan? >> i'm not sure. there are people who want to be william jennings bryan. sarah palin, might try to be. angry populist. they believe that a small greedy elite is after the majority of americans. bryan was representative of a movement. an anti-monopoly movement. a movement that people believe that corporate america was taking the country in a revolutionary direction. we have come to grips and come to peace with big business. we cannot imagine a society where that is not there. that was not true for bryan. >> we just looked at the desk that he worked with mary side by side. most businesses were like that in the 1870's and 1860's and 1850's. they were small partnerships and firms. that time before 1896 was a time of enormous industrial growth. 0 colossal corporations. the pennsylvania railroad employing more people than the united states post office. these were corporations with enormous resources, and thomas wolfe, enormous power. -- enormous wealth, a enormous power. most people hadn't experienced of ver

and, of course, william jennings bryan goes down this to work with the prosecution. a footnote to this is that one of the preacher, in fact, the man probably most responsible for getting william jennings bryan to go to dayton, tennessee, was j. frank norris. and one of the last things that bryan did before he died just a few days after that trial while he was still in dayton, tennessee, he dropped dead, was write a handwritten note to j. frank norris in fort worth thanking him for his help, for his encouragement in going to the trial, and norris opened that handwritten note after he'd gotten the news that william jennings bryan had died. and he printed the note in his newspaper which at that time had 50,000 subscribers and used it as a way to link himself. and his goal very much was to become the heir to william jennings bryan and become the leader of fundamentalists or what we might call conservative christians in america at the time. and it very well might have happened except that within a year he got into a battle with local city leaders in fort worth, texas. now,

william jennings bryan was not against darwinism because he earther.at pthirdea william jennings bryan was very much worried that darwinism would be used -- evolution would be used as an excuse to not help support, not help children, not help people with disabilities. that is what he was really arguing against. i picked him now because he is this misunderstood guy. >> do you have any idea we could compare into today? >> 0, boy. >> it is politics. >> let me tell you what i think about him. maybe that will help. to generate a modern political figure. i think of them -- i think of him as a good campaigner. those speeches, there are several of them, they are quite memorable. he also is committed to campaigning. he is one of the modern presidents, one of the first modern presidents who gets off of his porch. william mckinley did not. i think he even campaigns -- >> there is an amazing statistic to show you how much he transformed the campaign. in 1896, more americans turned out to see them in person. more people turned out to see them in person than 100 years later turned out to sea bill cl

of course william jennings bryan goes out there to work with the prosecution. a footnote this is one of the preachers, in fact the man most responsible for getting william jennings to go to dayton tennessee was frank morris. one of the last things that brain dead before he died just a few days after the trial, while he was still in tennessee was write a handwritten note to jay frank torres, thanking him for his help, encouragement and going to the trail and norris opened by a handwritten note after he'd gotten the news that william jennings bryan had died in a printed note in his newspaper which at that time of 50,000 subscribers and is there a way to link himself and his gold very much was to become the air and the leader of the fundamentalists we might call conservative christians in america at the time. and it very well might have happened, except that within a year he got into a battle with local city leaders in fort worth, texas. he's always fighting about something. particular issue this time had to do with taxes. it was an interesting little story because

and that is why to salvage his case, he called william jennings bryan to the stand as an expert on the bible. there were too many people in the courtroom. the judge was afraid that the floor was going to collapse. it was a second-story courtroom. you can go there and see it. it is beautifully preserved and in fact they still have trials in that courtroom and so they all went went outside to a platform built under the maple trees in the courtyard and that is where what i called the single greatest confrontation, legal confrontation in american history took place with darrow questioning brian about -- very little about science and much more of did jonah really stay three days in the whale? [laughter] how did this make it around before -- dated hop on its tail? he asked these questions to embarrass william jennings bryan and what he did ask prying questions about science, brian was so an educated that he hadn't take that's horrible to look into it and he could answer those questions so to an educated audience and this was the first trial that was carried by radio across the country, to an

william jennings bryan, based on the scopes trial, was in the play and in the book and on television. he is the buffoonish figure. but william jennings bryan was not against darwinism because he was a flat earth for or on caring bigot, he was against darwinism for the same reason most of the liberals of his day work -- he equated them with social darwinism. william jennings bryan was very much worried that darwinism was -- evolution would be used as an excuse to not help the poor, not help emigrants, not help children, not help people with disabilities. that is what he was really arguing against. i picked him out because he is the singularly misunderstood guy who today's liberals ought to the break. >> let me tell you what i think about, maybe that will help. generally, a modern political figure -- i think of him as a really good campaigner. those speeches, there are several of them besides "the cross of gold" that are quite memorable. he is also committed to campaigning. he is one of the first modern presidents who gets off of his porch. william mckinley did not. i think he even camp

looking at the life of william jennings bryan.morning on "washington journal," a discussion on securing ballot access and third-party candidates with elliott ackerman, c.e.o. of the group americans ele 2

. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best-known speakers of his time and the first politician to campaign from the backs of railroad cars and automobiles, he ran for president three times and lost, but he changed political history. he's one of the 14 men featured in c-span's new weekly series, "the contenders," live from fairview, the bryan home in lincoln, nebraska, friday at 8:00 eastern. learn more about this series and our upcoming programs at c-span.org/thecontenders. >> "washington journal" is coming up next. week take your calls, emails, and tweets. the house will gavel in in three hours for general speeches. at noon eastern, they'll debate extending the temporary assistance for needy families program. live house coverage on c-span. and coming up this hour, an and coming up this hour, an update on

roosevelt -- wilson's secretary of state, william jennings bryan, was a pacifist who really was a pose today the exercise of american power, resigned because he thought the wilson administration was getting too belligerent by 1915. fdr's immediate boss was a will sewn yang and a disciple of bryan's who looked upon the uniform navy with kind of bemused suspicion. he was always reluctant to use the navy in any way. and, of course; this was all anathema to franklin roosevelt who spent his entire eight years as assistant secretary very, in that wonderful way of his, very charmingly but effectively undermining his boss on a day-to-day basis. the extent to which franklin roosevelt was insubordinate in the wilson navy department toward his boss, i mean, when daniels would leave town, franklin would have fun and do all sorts of things which daniels would have to undo when he returned. and yet the amazing thing is that daniels retained his affection for fdr. he loved franklin roosevelt. he actually survived franklin roosevelt. i think he, i think he thought of franklin roosevelt as his kind of

take william jennings bryan, had some jimmy stewart in throwing a healthy dose of don rickles and that is pretty much what they were about to get from me. i thought there were elks in the room but instead the judge was a speech teacher from a local high school. as they gave a speech i kept my eye on him in the -- nothing moved on his face. some of the boys in the room started snickering. a couple looked upset. the lone black kid in the room, he was trying to cover the smile on his face. when the speech was over, the teacher/judge went to the head of the room and said thank you all for your well-written speeches. the winner of this years else club boys state speech contest is michael moore. [laughter] [applause] congratulations, michael. he then proceeds to tell me that i have to give the speech tomorrow at the closing ceremonies at lloyd's date in front of 2000 other boys. no, no, no i don't want to do that. you don't really want me to give that speech. oh, yes i do. you have to give it. that is the rule. he also told me for my own good he wasn't going to mention this content of the sp

williams jennings bryant, one of the best known speakers of this time, -- william jennings bryan, oneof the best known speaker of his time, ran for president three times and lost, but he changed political history. he is one of the 14 men featured in c-span's new series "the contenders." friday at 8:00 eastern. learn more about the series at our upcoming programs at c- span.org/thecontenders. "washington journal" continues. host: every monday at this time on "washington journal" we have a special feature called "your money," a chance to find out about federal programs and what they do, how much it they cost. today we will learn about military retirement pay, the programs and how they are structured. our guest is entereentered andrewn -- > tilghman of "the military times." explain the structure. how does it work for retirees and the military? guest: right now, the current military retirement structure has not changed at all in the past 100 years. people who reached the 20-year mark and commit to 20 years of service at half their paycheck for the rest of their life. that is a real genero

we will look at folks like william jennings bryan and adlai stevenson and george wallace and hoover humphrey. a live -- live call-in programs beginning tonight at 8:00 eastern. tonight is henry clay. we are pleased to be joined by congressman from new york, a democrat, who serves on the education committee and infrastructure committee. two of the president's proposals last night greatly affect your two committees -- education spending and infrastructure spending. congressman bishop, what did you think? guest: i thought the proposals were good proposals, practical proposals. they have at least a shot of passing the house of representatives. and i also think they have the potential to put people back to work and to try to get our economy growing again. in general, i was pleased with the proposals. host: "the wall street journal" you heard me reading, trying to manipulate a $15 trillion economy with a $447 billion stimulus package, and where does the money come from? guest: the second part first. the president indicated last night that the money would come from increasing the mandate for spendi

. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best known speakers of his time and the first politician to campaign from the backs of railroad cars and automobiles. he changed political history. he's one to have 14 men featured in c-span's new weekly series, "the contenders," live from fair view in lincoln, nebraska. learn more at c-span.org/the contenders. >> the c-span networks. we provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books and american history. this month look for congress to continue federal spending into november including funding for recent natural disasters. keep tabs on the testify sit committee as they form late a plan to lower the debt, and follow the presidential candidates. it's all available to you on it's, radio, online and on social media sites. search, watch and share all our programs anytime with c-span's video library. and we're on the road with our c-span digital bus and local content vehicles, bringing our resources to local communitieses and showing events from around the country.un it's washington your way. the c-span networks; created by cable, provided as

[applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] william jennings bryan one of the bestnown speakers of his time and the first politician to campaign on the backs of railroad cars and automobiles ran for president three times and lost but he changed political history. he's one of the 14 men featured in c-span's weekly series the contenders live from the fairview the common link in nebraska friday at 8 p.m. eastern. learn more about our upcoming programs at c-span.org/thecontenders." >> more a look at the house of commons first session. canadian prime minister stephen harper started the meeting praising the late new democratic leader jack clayton. he also talks about canada's economy, crime and security of the canada u.s. border. this is about 45 minutes. [applause] >> the honorable leader of the opposition. [applause]

william jennings bryan and his famous campaign. alongside that, george mcgovern. charles evans hughes. and henry clay. henry clay will be our first subject. that's tomorrow night from his estate in lexington, kentucky, called ashland, a 90-minute live program talking about his history and his legacy and contributions he made to american society, sometimes for good and sometimes for ill as we go through the series. join us for that. sent francisco, john is up next as we talk about last night's debate. republican, you are on. good morning. caller: good morning. speaking of losers, last night i was watching the debate, nothing but losers. let's talk about rick perry. rick perry cut education spending. then he turns to cutting federal funding for firefighters. and now look at texas is burning up. let me go to newt gingrich. it seems last night that he was sucking uup to rick perry, probably in looking to unseat the vice president's position. speaking of losers, all losers. go obama, 2012. host: bank. and now this from twitter -- just a couple of minutes of your analys

william jennings bryan, one of the best no speakers at this time and one at the first politicians to campaign from the backs of railroad cars and automobiles. he ran for president three times and lost, but he changed political history. he is featured in c-span's series "the contenders." tonight at 8:00 eastern. learned more about the series at our upcoming programs ant c- span.org/thecontenders. >> in my opinion, i think that that balance of academic freedom have just gotten -- been pushed too far. >> naomi schaefer riley suggests that the job-for-like entitlement mentality needs to go. >> there are pressures of nutritional studies who have tenure now. when pressed, somewhat at aup or professor telling the party line will say, "we need someone with tenure in security studies to talk about immigration," even though it is controversial. >> that and other reasons you will not get a college education you paid for, sunday night on c-span's "q&a." >> two top executives from the solyndra solar panel manufacturing company invoked their fifth amendment rights today before the house subcommitt

. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best known speakers of the time and the first politician to campaignrom the backs of railroad cars and automobiles. he ran for president three times and lost but the changed political history. he is one of the 14 men featured in our new weekly series, "the contenders." live from his home in lincoln, nebraska, friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. watch our live coverage of the national book festival this weekend on book tv. saturday highlights include eugene robinson on black america, and isabelle wilkerson on african-american migration. and sunday, american spy master wild bill donovan. david mccullough on the greater journey, americans in paris. look for our entire national book festival schedule and call- ins at booktv.org. >> of the joint chiefs of staff agreed to remove the record -- question regarding one's sexual orientation on future versions of the enlistment application and will not be asked in the engine room. >> this week marked the end of the policy that kept -- that kept of the league gay and lesbian personnel serving in the military. at service m

. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best known speakers of this time in the first politician to campaignm the back of trocars and automobiles. he ran for president three-time and lost but changed political history. is one of the 14 men featured in our new series to the contenders'." live from his home in lincoln, neb., learn more about the series and our upcoming programming at c-span.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: back at our table this morning, congressman darrell issa, republican of california and chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee. we will begin with postal reform. as part of their deficit reduction plan, the white house included a proposal for the postal service ending the six- day delivery in going to five days. your quick reaction to that. guest: it doesn't belong connected to the budget in any way, shape, or form. the $10 billion loss this year is because of a failure to make reform and right size their work force. host: they also outline a plan to return $6.9 billion in overpayments that have occurred in the federal employees retiremen

. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best known speakers of his time in the first politician to campaign from the backs of road cars and automobiles ran for president three times and lost, but he changed political history. he is one of the 49 featured in c-span new series, "the contenders." learn more about the series in the upcoming program at c- span.org/the contenders. >> president obama is national economic director allied the president's jobs plan recently before the american action network, an advocacy network that was treated by john mccain advisor, douglas holtz taken. the comets run about 35 minutes. -- comments run about 35 minutes. >> thank you for inviting me. i am -- good news is i am not here to deliver a prepared speech. i am here to talk to you about the american jobs act and give you a sense of the rationale for why we put forward the american jobs act and why we chose the components that together make up what we feel is a very strong and powerful initiative to jump- start growth and job creation in our country. we face today a serious economic challenge, a pivotal econo

[applause] william jennings bryan one of the best speakers in his time and the first politician to campaign on the backs of automobiles ran for president three times and lost but he changed political history. he's one of the 14 men featured on c-span's new weekly series, the contenders live from fairview the home in lincoln nebraska. friday at 8 p.m. eastern degette learn more about the series and upcoming programs at c-span.org/thecontenders. >>> former senate majority leader tom daschle and former white house chief of staff andrew card talks about u.s. trade and investment policy. those are the co-chairs on a task force of the council of foreign relations on trade and investment. the task force recently released a report on u.s. trade and investment policy which called for enforcement of u.s. trade laws. this is about one hour. >> good morning. while we are getting settled think you all for being here on a chilly monday morning. i'm the director of the council task force program and it's my pleasure to welcome you here to the special event to release the report of the independent task for

. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best known speakers of his time and one of the first to campaign from the backs of railroad cars and automobiles. he ran for president three times and lost, but he changed history. he is one of the 14 featured in a new c-span's series, "the contenders." learn more about the series and the upcoming shows at c- span.org/contenders. >> the joint chiefs of staff have agreed to remove the question regarding one's sexual orientation from future versions of the enlistment application, and it will not be asked in the interim. >> this week marked the end of do not ask, do not tell, the policy that kept openly gay personnel from serving in the military and more than 14,000 can reapply for reinstatement. this is all on line, archived in searchable at the c-span video library. >> on wednesday, the house looked at a federal bill to fund programs through november 18. democrats objected to a provision in the bill that would cut energy department programs to partially offset spending on disaster relief. the funding measure was ultimately rejected in a 195-203 vote

lincoln, neb., talk with historians, and take your calls about the presidential campaign of william jennings bryan airs live friday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c- span. for more information, go to our website at c-span.org. you will find a schedule of the series, biographies of all the candidates, historians appraisals, and portions of their speeches when available. that is all at c-span.org /thecontendors. next, former pennsylvania governor ed rendell and grover norquist discussed the tax levels and transportation needs. after that, palestinian president abbas. then the british home secretary to resume on the country's counter-terrorism efforts. >> even a partially successful strategic defense initiative would mean that the soviet planner, looking at the united states, could not be assured of the outcome of an assault and a first reich on us. >> the late senator malcolm wallop served until 1995 and was a leading conservative during the reagan presidency, and earlier proponent of the star wars space defense. watch his speeches from the senate floor and other c-span appearances at the c-span vide