The Election of 1900

President McKinley was easily renominated at the Republican Convention, in Philadelphia, in June 1900. The primary issue at the convention was who would be the vice presidential candidate. Despite his reluctance to give up the governorship of New York, Theodore Roosevelt accepted the VP nomination. At the Democratic convention, William Jennings Bryan was nominated again as well. The primary issue at the Democratic convention was whether to maintain support for the silver plank. Many Democrats thought that with the return of prosperity the Silver Standard was no longer necessary.

The campaign itself was mainly a replay of the race in 1896. Bryan campaigned rigorously, and McKinley did not venture from the White House. The issue of currency and silver was no longer relevant. Instead, the campaign focused on whether the United States should give independence to the territories received in its war with Spain. Bryan called for immediate independence. Roosevelt, who did most of the campaigning, claimed the United States had a duty to civilize those lands first.