He had gone to the convention favored to win the Democratic presidential nomination. His strongest opponent was from Nebraska. The odds were that he would receive the nomination no later than on the third ballot, but the night the platform was being considered, the Nebraskan made one of the most famous speeches in American political history. The tide turned and on the fifth ballot the next day it was the man from Nebraska, not the man from Missouri, who became the nominee. The Nebraska man was William Jennings Bryan.

AOWM – August 19