On my travels this Christmas break I was able to stop by the home of William Jennings Bryan in Lincoln NB. To me Bryant is one of the most interesting political figures in our history. He ran for president on the Democratic ticket three times and lost, but even more important he was responsible for changing the course of the Democratic Party to what it is today. Before him the Democratic Party was the conservative party, but after they ran him, they began to switch, slowly, to the other direction. They still had a way to go to get to where they are today. Wilson will pull them further, then FDR and finally LBJ took the party all the way. To me Bryan stands with Hamilton and Henry Clay as the most important non-presidential figures in the first half of our history.
Historically Speaking 