In the 1896 election, opponents of William Jennings Bryan called him a "socialist." What exactly is "socialism"? Was Bryan, in fact, a socialist or were his opponents misusing the term? How does the labeling of Bryan a socialist compare to other efforts, some very recent, to label political opponents as "socialist"? Why is the identification of a candidate with that ideology presumed to be such a powerful criticism?

Socialism and populism were two terms used almost synonymously in the political history of the United States.

At the end of the 19th century, the United States of America underwent a profound economic, social and technological transformation. The former British colony became a global political force challenging the old powers, as demonstrated in the war against Spain in 1898. The rapid expansion of the railroad network and other industries created a wealthy class, living mostly on the East Coast, while inequalities grew. The prices of agricultural products were down, causing famine in the rural areas of the Midwest and the south of the country.

This was the moment when the People's Party (People's Party similar in ideology to European socialism), which with its different currents was also known as the Populist Party, emerged. The "populists" demanded an end to the powerful banks on Wall Street and the private monopolies. It was an essentially rural movement but one that also supported the strikes of the industrial workers and especially those of the railway workers that were brutally suppressed.

Although in the 1892 presidential elections the candidate of the populists, James B. Weaver, had won one million votes - 8.5% of the total - four years later they were seduced by William Jennings Bryan. At only 36, this lawyer took over the Democrats' candidacy, much to the dismay of the party establishment, which was wary of his populism. "Bryan was a great showman and had a control of oratory that allowed him to cast a spell on his Midwestern audience," reads the biographical note from the Library of Nebraska, his adopted state.

Populists supported Bryan in the 1896 election, convinced of his diatribes against the excesses of capitalism, although these were inspired more by the leader's religious faith than by socialist theories. Bryan soon moderated the demands and moved from contemplating nationalization of the railways to simply proposing stricter regulation of the sector. His main response to the economic crisis suffered by farmers was to call for monetary reform to increase the money in circulation and thus cause more inflation. This would raise the prices of agricultural products: a positive measure for farmers but a bad one for the urban working classes who would have to pay more for food. As a result, Bryan was defeated by Republican candidate William McKinley, who took the vote in the big cities and northern states after calling his rival a radical who would derail the economy.

The Democratic candidate, on the other hand, was successful in the Midwest and in the southern states, where only white men voted (black people and women could not exercise this right). Bryan defended racial segregation, and years later he even opposed a resolution condemning the party to the Ku Klux Klan.

Despite the defeat, in 1900 he was once again the candidate of the Democrats. Initially he had supported the US war that took Cuba and the Philippines from Spain in 1898, but shortly afterwards he adopted a markedly anti-imperialist discourse. He was defeated again, as he had been in his third and final run for the White House in 1908, when he was already more concerned with fighting the theory of evolution and defending the prohibition of alcohol.

Some historians see Bryan as the leading exponent of the populist movement of the time; others see him as a plug for the claims of the popular classes. "With Bryan, the Democratic Party adapted to the changing mood of the masses and took a stand to deflect social discontent so that it would not pose a threat to the capitalist system," Shannon Jones commented on the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Bryan eventually served as Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson, but resigned in 1915 because he opposed U. S. involvement in World War I. He got rich by charging for speeches until his death in 1925.