Tyler Nisonoff Bryan depicts the Democratic part as the part of the masses. He claims that the masses are the foundation of the Democratic partyand that by legislating according the masses and make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them. Bryan depicts the opposition (Republicans) as those who bolster the idle holders of idle capital, referring to the upper-class aristocracy.
He believes the only people who support the gold standard are the wealthy capitalist businessmen, and that it is their power that enlarges them instead of their actual population. Bryan claims that the cities rest upon the broad and fertile prairies. He claims that if the cities are burned, the farms will be fine and the cities will build themselves back. He claims, however, if the farms were burned down, not only will the farms not grow back quickly, butthe cities will be ruined because they depend on the farm for so much, such as food.
Bryan claims that the cultural concerns of the populists are the concerns of the general population. He also claims that the populist movement fosters American culture, while the Republicans push for foreign powers to control our nation, therefore changing our culture. Bryan is trying to invoke a spirit of independence. He claims the country was born in a fight for national independence and that the gold standard along side with the Republicans were trying to destroy this.
Bryan viewed the gold and the gold standard as an economic evil that was only beneficial to the capitalist aristocracy. He claimed it severely damaged the general population, and therefore was not the proper solution. He depicted silver as the cure for the evils of the gold standard. He believed that moderate inflation would act as a vital boost to economic development. He argued that an increase in the supply of money was necessary to fix the depressed economy caused by the Panic of 1893.
