The election of 1896 was between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan. William McKinley was the Republican nominee for president and William Jennings Bryan was the Democratic nominee. The two candidates had different campaign styles and supporters. Big businessmen supported McKinley and most men supported Bryan. William McKinley's campaign style was front-porch campaigning while Bryan had an emotional campaign. Mark Hanna played an important role as William McKinley's campaign manager. Ultimately, William McKinley defeated William Bryan in the presidential election. William McKinley was born in Niles, Ohio, on January 29, 1843. He fought in the Union Army during the Civil War and after the war he began studying law. He opened an office in 1867 and later became a member of Congress in 1876. In 1890, a tariff named after him was passed and his re-election was defeated due to rising consumer prices. He then returned to Ohio and narrowly won the governorship in 1891. In 1896, he won the Republican presidential nomination with Mark Hanna, his main supporter. Marcus Alonzo Hanna was a wealthy Cleveland industrialist who showed support for the Republican Party. He was very involved in politics and is today considered a political genius, but he was most noted when he was campaign manager for William McKinley. He used as many ways as possible to get people to vote for McKinley. For example, he promised the South support and the East support for a gold standard currency. These examples prompted many people to change their vote from Bryan to McKinley. He was also a skilled organizer for William McKinley, organizing events for Mckinley. He was also a major donor to William McKinley. Mark Hanna greatly helped Willia... middle of paper ......st William Jennings Bryan. Works Cited "Mark Hanna and the Election of 1896". United States Senate. NP, 2013. Web. November 3, 2013. “The Republican Party.” 1896. Rebecca Edwards, 2000. The Web. November 3, 2013. “William McKinley.” Discovering the biography. Detroit: Gale, 2003. N. pag. Gale Student Resources in Context. Internet. October 30, 2013. “William McKinley.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. N. pag. Gale Student Resources in Context. Internet. October 23, 2013. “William McKinley.” History. A&E Television Networks, and Web. October 30, 2013. .Williams, R. Hall. “The Election of 1896.” World War I and the Jazz Age. Woodbridge: np, 1999. N. pag. Gale Student Resources in Context. Internet. November 5. 2013.