and cross of gold was a powerful metaphor and william jennings bryant, a very serious evanggel call question, who who wanted to keep them on a gold standard, wanted to keep interest rates high, reflikt the supply of money. for bryant and many who supported him, this was a way of keeping american who's were poor, poorer, keep americans in debt deeper in debt. a way of keeping the british economy, the supreme economy in the world. this economy based on the gold standard, so it sounds like a have at the kalish eau, but really an issue of haves to have-nots, that's the way bryant saw it. to crucify gold would be, of course, connected to pontius pilate crucifying christ. in the same way, bryant and populist minded democrats and republicans thought that the american economy was being run for the interest of those who already had property or had money, those who already had banks so it's really a class divide in america at that time. now we have a lot of anger about the economy. the anger wasn't focused the same way it is then. every dollar people had in their pockets could be redeemed for a dollar

there are people who want to be william jennings bryant. sarah palin, in some ways, tried to be in some ways 1896. an angry populous, people who believe a small media elite is after the majority of americans. but, you know, bryant was representative of a movement, i think. an antimonopoly movement that believed corporate america was taking the country in a revolutionary direction. we have, for better or worse, come to grips or made our peace with big business, and we can't imagine a society in which big business is not there. that was not true for bryant. >> i think just where we are here in fairview, bryant's home, we looked at the desk where he worked with mary bryant side by side. most businesses were like that in the 1870s, 1860s, 1850s, they were partnerships. they were small partnerships, small firms. that period before 1896 was a period of enormous industrial growth. colossal corporations emerging in american society. the pennsylvania railroad employed more people than the united states post office. these were corporations with enorm

he remains a populist up until 1896 when williams jennings bryant runs for the united states president and ends up winning the nomination, not only the populist party but the democratic party as well. after that, he becomes more of a socialist. he is not accepted really by his former populist brethren. he can't go back to the republican party because he is the enemy now. he kind of switches gears and goes more towards socialism. he ends up getting elected to the state senate where he serves until he dies.

he remains a populist up until 1896 when williams jennings bryant runs for the united states president and ends up winning the nomination, not only the populist party but the democratic party as well. after that, he becomes more of a socialist. he is not accepted really by his

william jennings bryant, was he a supporter of the gold and silver standard of currency in america? >> he wanted the money supply based on both gold and silver, which at the time would have meant that more dollars would have been put in circulation, more money out there and prices would have gone up, but that meant also that people who produced crops would have seen their prices that they were able to get for their crops go up. it meant interest rates would have gone down, because more money would have been in circulation. it sounds arcaic and he can on thetic today, but the best way to think about it bryan wanted cheaper money and more money in people's pockets and sfw rates to go down so people can borrow easily. >> he gets the nomination in 1896 and renominated in 1900. what happened in 1904? >> in 1904 the democrats decided to go with a less exciting candidate, a more conservative candidate who they thought could appeal to a more traditional electorate. they nominated a guy that ran for judge before, parker from new york. a very gray candidate, i think it's fair to say. a man wh

this week with three-time democratic candidate for president william jennings bryant, american history-tv, this weekend on c-span 3. >>> one of the quotes from a white house staffer that i thought was really exceptionally inspiring was once you realize the magnitude of difference can you make in public life, everything else will pale in comparison. >> and so i think it was best put this week when someone from the white house came and said -- he said a quote and said those who think they are crazy enough to change the world are the ones that actually do. >> mr. bryant, the same man that christopher was talking about, said choose carefully and execute relentlessly, and that meant a lot to me because too many times we find ourselves taking too many things on and not really focusing on that one thing that should be a top priority. >> every year the u.s. senate youth program brings students to washington for a week of government and leadership education. this year brian kamoie made an impact. he's a senior director on the white house national security staff. >> so i started with a mindset of w

"the contenders," this week with american jennings bryant. this weekend on c-span3. "washington journal" continues. host: we're taking a look at who is living in american cities. marc perry joins us from the u.s. census bureau. patrick phillips from the urban land institute, serves as their ceo. this information from the census bureau. here are some of the figures that they found. host: those are numbers. what is important to know about those numbers? guest: just above 40 million americans. cities are diverse and dynamic. there are all kinds of people that live in city. growth has slowed. when we talk about the kinds of cities that are growing and declining, it speaks to the larger issues and larger trends in american population. host: the city loses and gains people -- does that affect how the city functions? guest: it does. cities grown when they have more births and deaths and one people move in and out. they also grow through immigration and throughout miscible annexation, -- it is a bowl and exception -- municipal annexation. raw data.k about the broad da guest:

william mckinley defeated william jennings bryant.ned us, karen finney and matea gold is douglas brinkley who has written the book "cronkite" and this book has given me shoulder injury car carrying it around. and i want to point out from the opening salvo of the text, he is the great trusted person, and yet some of the practices that cronkite engages in are some things that we now would consider criminal at worst and certainly unethical at best, and mattia w t matea was saying before of the break, this is the first but i am saying that is not true, because is money driving it? are we in the nostalgic of some good democracy in the past that never existed? >> well, we always are, and as a historian the first rule of history is to remind us that our own times are not uniquely oppressive. do you want to be alive in the civil war going on and 600,000 dead? alive in the era of the 1950s when some people called the golden age of tv when there were jim crow laws throughout the south, and one word, dentistry, and we have modern medical miracle

"the contenders" this week with william jennings bryant.can history to be this weekend on c-span 3. >> now a discussion about the objections of the consumer national protection bureau and the assistance provided tohost:n looking at federal agencies and their final look, the financial protection europe is being represented by humphrey the third from the office of older americans. welcome. for those who do not know, the consumer financial protection bureau, in a sentence, what is it? guest: it is a new agency under the laws that have been passed. as a mission to see that the financial markets are open, that they are fair, and that their competitive and that they are open enough so that you and i, as consumers, understand all of the products and services that are out there so that we can make good decisions. that is really with the consumer finance protection bureau is all about. host: how does that stand different from the other agencies that have consumer division's attached to them? guest: they also have another focus and other missions as