William Jennings Bryan, Democratic nominee for president in 1896, 1900, and 1908, having recently returned to the national spotlight as the leader of anti-evolution fundamentalist Christians wins the hard fought Scopes "Monkey" Trial, which essentially declared that the state of Tennessee did, indeed, have the right to ban evolution from schools. Following the trial Bryan falls ill, however he recovers soon thereafter. William Jennings Bryan is given a home in the Dayton Tennessee by fundamentalists there as a gift for representing them to serve as a residence during the trial. Following the trial and his recovery from his illness Jennings Bryan receives a letter of "extreme thanks" from governor Austin Peay of the state. In the letter he goes on to state that Christian fundamentalists need a leader in Washington and offers him Lawrence Tyson's Tennessee seat in the senate. The letter is cosigned by Tyson who agrees to resign should Bryan accept. William Jennings Bryan does, indeed, accept and he returns to congress on September 14, 1925.
In the senate William Jennings Bryan has once again become one of the most powerful Democrats in the country. He quickly gains a reputation for his lack of actual presence at the senate, spending much his time, instead, going around the country, especially the South, on speaking tours supporting Democratic initiatives and opposing Republican ones. While his opposition in the contemporary party leadership hopes that this will minimize Bryan's influence over the senate, it has quite the opposite effect as he becomes very popular throughout the Midwest and South, giving him tremendous pull among his fellow senators. He focuses a powerful effort in the Indiana and Ohio elections, aiding the Democrats there, and those 2 victories for the Dems quickly led many to attribute the new Democratic 48-46 majority in the senate to Bryan. Joseph Robinson, the Arkansas senator and former Democratic leader in the Senate and close ally of Jennings Bryan, throws his support behind the 3 time former presidential nominee in his bid for Democratic senate leadership. Upon the opening of the 70th US Congress William Jennings Bryan is named Senate Majority Leader.
Soon after becoming Senate Majority Leader, William Jennings Bryan calls in all his favors and exerts all his influence, bringing before the senate one of the most controversial bills in the history of the Untied States, the "Christ Act." Upon bringing it to the floor Bryan declared it "the most important bill we will ever pass." He went on to say that "this bill shall ensure, for future generations, the moral clarity and faith that has guided this nation for so long and shall defend the United States against the threats of atheism and agnosticism, and the clear obvious causes of these, socialism and communism." This bill held within it several extremely controversial clauses. Paramount among these were a few statements in particular. First, and perhaps most controversial of all, was "the United States, while it shall continue to operate in a system of freedom of religion and without a legal state religion, shall, all the same, recognize the correctness of the Christian faith as the only true faith." Furthermore it required all congressmen to reveal their religious beliefs to the public, and finally guaranteed that "all sessions of congress, both federally and within the congress or assembly of each state, shall open with a Christian prayer and the reciting of the pledge of allegiance, the same shall be considered true for all public schools in the United States." Finally the bill went on to declare that all schools "must teach creation science equal to evolution, with an emphasis on the natural, logical nature of creationism." Despite widespread intellectual and legal opposition, the bill was popular among the American people, especially in rural areas and throughout the South. The bill passed through the senate with a vote of 59-38, with 45 Democrats, 13 Republicans, and the sole Farmer-Labor senator backing the "Christ Act."
However now the Christ Act would have to travel to the much more liberal, and much more Republican House. Socialist representative Victor L. Berger from Wisconsin was censored after an outburst upon the presentation of the bill in which he called those in support "Mussolinists," a reference to the Italian dictator who had risen two years prior, and Fascists, as well as labeling them "anti-American." The House debate was an extremely interesting one as the debate quickly moved outside of party labels. However the popularity of the bill among the public seemed to be enough to push some moderates towards supporting the Christ Act. Despite several attempts by the opposition to keep the bill from coming to a vote it was finally voted upon in October 1927. The bill passed narrowly 224-211, receiving a smaller majority in the House then the Senate. Berger, the socialist member, famously led a walkout in disgust which was joined by no less then 41 other members (30 Republicans and 11 Democrats), although, despite statements, they would all return to active service within 2 weeks.
The fundamentalist movement in the United States had hit its height. The movement, which had begun as purely reactionary, opposing the way the United States was headed, had now grown to encompass most of rural America and much of the elderly and upper class as well, also having a strong influence among parents and families. Bryan had become enormously popular and populism was the name of the game in the era. Polling done by newspapers indicated that at least 2/3 of America and as much as 3/4 supported the Christ Act, and despite some vocal opposition, especially among young voters, intellectuals, and college students, it was resoundingly popular. This put an enormous amount of pressure on President Coolidge to sign the act into law. Coolidge, however, was from the Northeast, where support for the bill was much less widespread, likely closer to 50%, and was personally opposed to the bill. On October 19, 1927, 9 days after the passage of the bill, Coolidge announced that, despite the widespread popularity of the bill, he could not, "in right conciseness," sign the act and would be vetoing it. Coolidge went on to declare that, despite his statement the previous summer, he had decided he would contend the 1928 election "for the good of the future of America." A day later, on October 20, 1927, William Bryan Jennings announced, in response, that he would seek the Democratic nomination for the 4th time and for the first time in 20 years.
The bill would return first to the senate, where it would require 66/98 votes in order to achieve the 2/3 necessary to override the veto and send it back to the house. The Senate had received in only 59 votes the first time through, however since then a vacant seat had been filled by a pro-Christ Act democrat bringing their working majority up to 60. They needed 6 more. Under the threat of Jennings Bryan removing them from any committee posts, the three Democrats who had initially opposed the bill agreed to support it. Robert B. Howell, a Republican from Nebraska became the first initial Republican opponent to switch over, citing election concerns for his primary reason. For weeks Bryan struggled to find two more Republicans to switch over and the bill was not brought to a vote before the senate adjourned for its Christmas recess. When it rejoined on February 1st Bryan was approached by two Republicans, Hiram W. Johnson and Samuel M. Shortridge from California, who had agreed together that, after witnessing pro-bill support in their state, it would be best for the GOP in California to support the act. The Christ Act was brought to a vote the next day and passed 66-32, the veto had been overridden in the senate, all the pressure rode on the House now.
All that was left now was the United States House of Representatives. It soon became clear that pro-bill members simply could not achieve a 2/3 majority here, at least for the time being. However, with Jennings Bryan's guidance, they adopted a strategy. The bill was brought to the floor for debate every few days, however they did not vote on it. The idea was to pro-long the issue until the election drew closer. Realizing the populist popularity of the Christ Act they hoped to place pressure on the opposing members to vote for it when it did come up or else risk defeat in the election. And so the issue continued, and the Christ Act stayed alive as one of the biggest points of debate. This also served Bryan well. He believed that so long as the Christ Act remained a major issue, his popularity would be ensured and Coolidge's unpopularity guaranteed, hopefully aiding his bid for president. For the time being, though, there was no telling what the future might hold.
