Video: 'William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech'

(Thursday, July 9, 1896, 2:00 p.m. local time) — Former Rep. William Jennings Bryan of Nebraska delivered his famous “Cross of Gold” speech at the 1896 Democratic National Convention at Chicago Coliseum, in which he decried the gold standard, concluding, “you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

Bryan’s address, considered one of the greatest political speeches in American history, would help catapult him to the party’s presidential nomination the next day.

Video: 'William Jennings Bryan's Cross of Gold Speech'