Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/76

52 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS turned to his old home at Canton. Already throughout the country had begun a movement in his favor that proved most irresistible in every popular convention. State after state and district after district declared for him, until, when at length the national convention assembled, he was the choice of more than two thirds of the delegates for presi dent. In the republican national convention held in St. Louis in June, 1896, he was nominated on the first ballot, receiving 661% out of 922 votes, and in the ensuing election he received a popular vote of 7,104,779, a plurality of 601,854 over his principal opponent, William J. Bryan. In the electoral col lege McKinley received 271 votes, against 176 for Bryan. The prominent issues in the canvass were the questions of free coinage of silver and restora tion of the protective tariff system. Early in the contest he announced his determination not to en gage in the speaking campaign. Realizing that they could not induce him to set out on what he thought an undignified vote-seeking tour of the country, the people immediately began to flock by the thousand to Canton, and here from his door step he welcomed and spoke to them. In this man ner more than 300 speeches were made from June 19 to November 2, 1896, to more than 750,000 strangers from all parts of the country. Nothing like it was ever before known in the United States. Besides the pilgrimages to Canton already men-