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=**William Jennings Bryan**=

**Occupation**
William Jennings Bryan was a politician. He graduated from Illinois College in 1881 and Union College of Law in 1883. He settled in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1887 and became active in politics as a democrat. He was elected to the U.S. House for 1891-1895. He was defeated for the Senate in 1894, and shortly thereafter became editor in chief of the Omaha World-Herald until 1896. Bryan is known primarily for running against William McKinley for president in the 1896 and 1900 elections, being the democratic nominee. In both presidential elections, Bryan lost by a slim margin to McKinley, mostly over the looming currency issue.

Position on Issue
In 1900, WJB wrote "The Paralyzing Influence of Imperialism". He makes it abundantly clear that he is __against__ the annexation of the Philippines. Bryan's main political tactic in the presidential election of 1900 was stabbing at the imperialistic policy of the republicans. This document greatly exemplifies his views on imperialism and more specifically, how America should handle the annex of the Philippines. In this document, he makes the argument that secure trade with the Philippines can be managed without the complete annexation of the country altogether. He claims that further holds on the Philippines might result in serious economic drawbacks because of the high costs of securing and retaining a market secured by force. He claimed the new market opportunity would be profitable for the army contractors and shipowners, but would seriously hurt the farmers and the laborers. If elected in 1900, Bryan formulated a thorough plan to handle current issues with imperialism, and more specifically, the question of the Philippines: "first, to establish a stable form of government in the Philippine Islands, just as we are now establishing a stable form of government in Cuba; second, to give independence to the Cubans; third, to protect the Filipinos from outside interference while they work out their destiny, just as we have protected the republics of Central and South America, and are, by the Monroe Doctrine, pledged to protect Cuba." (Annals of American History)

List of reasons for interest in the topic
With the upcoming election in 1900, one of the biggest questions asked by voters was the question of imperialism. WJB, as the democratic nominee, obviously needed to have a firm argument on the issue. Being a democrat, his reasoning for opposing the issue dealt much with securing the benefit of the lower class minority as well as preserving the security of foreign policy.