| November 25 |  |
Editor says, what if Arthur Sewall had made it to the White House? Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s). This story was published in the December 2012 edition of Changing the Times Magazine.
| Share this Article on: |  Facebook |  Twitter |
In 1836, on this day the 26th President of the United States Arthur Sewall (pictured) was born in Small Point, Maine.
Silver BulletIn the 1896 general election, he was the running mate for William Jennings Bryan who had gained the nomination after electrifying the Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech (the left-wing Populist Party also endorsed Bryan for president, but found Sewall unacceptable, substituting Thomas E. Watson of Georgia who fully supported the principle of free silver).
But he only succeeded to the White House via an assassin bullet. Because in 1901, President Bryan was murdered by the anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. It has long been suggested that Czolgosz was funded by interests in the free silver business which had once again dominated the general election and who felt betrayed by actions taken during his first term.
Entry posted by Todayinah Editor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Arthur Sewell, William Jennings Bryan, Free Silver, Cross of Gold, Democrat. Editor says, this idea was co-developed with Jeff Provine
~ Don't you mean "because in 1901"? Fixed, thanks - Ed
~ It wouldn't have been easy for Bryan to win in 1896; he ws fiercely opposed by business interests, including bankers, who bullied potential Bryan voters in rural areas with threats of foreclosure on their farms if Bryan won and intimidated pro-Bryan industrial workers with the possibility that they would lose their jobs. And if he had won, he would have faced determined opposition from Republicans in Congress. Barring some upheaval, he'd have hard a hard time getting anything done. Some things never change.
~ Bryan as POTUS would have been interesting, to say the least. On the one hand, he made a lot of pacifist noises, and on the other, he was not above grabbing for military glory (or so I seem to remember). I doubt that Sewall would have been anything like as interesting as TR, though.
~ Sewall came from a ship building background, so it is safe to assume the U.S. Navy might have grown tremendously under him, but T.R. would most likely have been the more interesting man in the office.
~ Business interests bullying folks, sounds oddly familiar (Papa John's *cough cough*). The more things change...
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
