There were several different McKinley Clubs formed during the Presidental Election of 1896 in Delaware Co., Indiana, to support William McKinley's campaign. It was to be a Republican sweep in Delaware County, Indiana. McKinley received 7340 votes, William Jennings Bryan 4253, Charles Bentley, the Nationalist, received 94 votes. Bryan won only one precinct in Delaware County #2 in Salem Township, by a single vote. Nationally, McKinley won by about 500,000 votes, but Bryan in losing received more votes than any winner had received previously.
The great hardship following the Panic of 1893 had made President Grover Cleveland extremely unpopular. The nation's population had expanded faster than the gold supply, which was the sole coinage after 1873. Prices and wages fell as money became scarce. Traditional small town and agrarian interests were in conflict with industrial interests which had been ascendant since the Civil War. Those who controlled capital resisted the effort of laborers to organize to improve their condition. Farmers, especially in the South and West, suffered from depressed prices from wheat, corn, and cotton. Debts increased as incomes decreased, and manufactured items were more expensive because of high tariffs. The one issue raised constantly by candidates for every office was the money issue.
In this atmosphere, William Jennings Bryan had won the Democratic nomination and favored "free and unlimited coinage" of silver - inducing monetary inflation to relieve the indebtedness of the common people. William McKinley represented "sound money" - a good standard dollar. Eastern Democrats favored sound money and Western Republicans tended to be for free silver.
A wildly enthusiastic crowd turned out for Bryan and his wife, Mary Baird Bryan. "The Herald" estimated the throng in Muncie to see the "Boy Orator of the Platte, the Great Commoner," at 40,000. Workers may have loved William Jennings Bryan, but they were afriad to vote for him when told their jobs were dependent on his defeat. In Muncie, several factories announced plans to increase production and hire more men only after McKinley was elected. After the election, Mr. Frank C. Ball of Ball Bros. Glass Manufacturing Co., Muncie, stated to "The News", "We made no open threat, but if Bryan had been successful in the campaign, our factory would have been closed for an indefinite period. We have no fear for the future now and will run steadily with a full quota of hands."
William McKinley's campaign was unprecedented in terms of finance. Mark Hanna, his manager, many have raised over 15 million dollars from industrialists and financiers to defeat Bryan.
A member of the First Voters McKinley Club, 23-year-old Albert E. Needham, gave the Muncie greeting and endorsement on McKinley's visit pre-election. C. M. Kimbrough presented the nominee with a small gift.
One of McKinley's closest advisors was Perry S. Heath, a Muncie native. He was in charge of the massive campaign literature approval and distribution effort. He became Second Assistant Postmaster-General and was an important figure in the establishment of Rural Free Delivery.
Fifty black citizens of Muncie met in the Court House to organize a Colored McKinley Club. The meeting had been called by A. H. L. Burnham. W. H. Stokes spoke on the issues and the importance of organizing. Officers elected included: A. H. L. Burnham, president; W. H. Stokes, vice president; W. H. Richardson, secretary; Smart Washington, treasurer; Moses Williams, sergeant-at-arms. The executive board included: William Newlain, Richard Ladd, Alexander Kelley, Dr. John Morin, and Jerre Dexter.
The campaign of 1896 in Muncie had been intense. The Democrats and their Populist allies lost in 1896, but the pressurs for reform were too great to be denied permanently. Within eight years, Theodore Roosevelt was advocating many progressive proposals for which William Jennings Bryan had laid the groundwork.
-- Excerpt, "Delaware Co. Genealogist and Historian" periodical, published "Delaware Co. Historical Alliance, Muncie, IN.