Alternate Republican President elect in 1896

raharris1973

Gone Fishin'
Donor
Monthly Donor
What other Republican besides McKinley might have won the 1896 election?

What is their range of potential policy differences from McKinley?

I cannot think of any on the domestic front except maybe for an adjustment up or down, but not by much, in the tariff rate.

I think there is more range of choice on foreign policy.

McKinley is described as being reluctantly drawn into the war with Spain after a majority of the American elite, including Congress, were convinced.

Might another guy been enthusiastic rather than reluctant, starting the fight weeks earlier or perhaps in1897?

Might they have been inclined to annex Hawaii faster?

On the other hand, could an alternateRepublican have held the line against going to war with Spain at all, or annexing Hawaii?
 
House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine. He opposed imperialism, but was otherwise a standard issue Republican. He was a powerful House Speaker and was supported by Theodore Roosevelt for President in 1896.
 
McKinley was the best choice for the Republicans in 1896, mostly, it seems, because he was inoffensive to the fewest number of people. I don't know if Thomas Brackett Reed or Levi P. Morton could have been as pleasing to many voters. I've heard William B. Allison could have been the nominee, but considering his own pro-silver past, could he have scared off the business interests and left the party isolated?
 
David Tenner argued that only McKinley could have won the election for the Republicans. But I can’t remember why. Perhaps David T could again his views on why is that?
 
David Tenner argued that only McKinley could have won the election for the Republicans. But I can’t remember why. Perhaps David T could again his views on why is that?

I didn't say flatly that McKinley was the only Republican who could have won. I said that Allison--another Midwesterner who was not too rigid about the gold standard--might also have won the Midwest states necessary for a GOP victory (though Ohio might be close without McKinley's home-state advantage, and McKinley had greater appeal to Civil War veterans). I did say an Easterner like Reed would probably have lost. Kevin Phillips in his biography of McKinley William McKinley (New York: Times Books 2003) writes that "In all likelihood, no other Republican could have done as well as McKinley. Certainly not porcine House Speaker Reed, whose Yankee drawl, acerbic wit, and longtime support for gold would have fit into an Eastern stereotype to voters west of the Appalachians. Simply subtract from McKinley's total the reasonably close states of California, Oregon, Indiana, Ohio, and North Dakota--all political cultures where Reed's Eastern orientation would have played into Bryan's hands--and the House Speaker would have been defeated. Probably he would not have done that well." New York governor Levi Morton would have done even worse--a 72 year old northeastern banker was not what the Midwest or West wanted. McKinley also probably had a greater appeal to urban workers than any other Republican candidate would have had; see Phillips' analysis at https://books.google.com/books?id=MkCuAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA77

It's also conceivable that Harrison (another Midwesterner) might have won: see my post at https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...son-second-term-in-1896.443763/#post-17035845
 
House Speaker Thomas Brackett Reed of Maine. He opposed imperialism, but was otherwise a standard issue Republican. He was a powerful House Speaker and was supported by Theodore Roosevelt for President in 1896.

Came here to say Reed. He was called Tsar Reed for a reason and was very influential, as well as a close friend of T. Roosevelt who actively lobbied for his candidacy.

Reed wasn't a very colorful character so I don't know about his chances of victory being as good as McKinley's, but he seems the best alternative candidate or at least the most likely.
 
Reed was the main alternative name to McKinley. He could choose Henry Teller as running mate to win Midwest and the Presidency. Both Reed and Teller were anti-imperialist so the Spanish-American Wa doesn't happen or happens later and ends with independence of Cuba, Puertorico and Philippines (Guam stays with Spain). Hawaii remains a free republic. Reed was a supporter of blacks rights so I can imagine a sort of earlier civil rights. If I wins reelection after a war victory against Spain then we have President Henry Moore Teller and America goes Silver.
 
Top