# Canonical recap data for 1896 United States Presidential Election (1896)
# Source: https://recap.at/1896/us-election-1896
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: us-election-1896
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1896/us-election-1896"
title: 1896 United States Presidential Election
subtitle: McKinley's 1896 victory over Populist William Jennings Bryan cemented Republican control and the gold standard, ending the Gilded Age's most ideologically charged electoral contest.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1896-11-03
datePrecision: day
year: 1896
decade: 1890
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican nominee, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee. The 1896 campaign, which took place during an economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, was a politica
summaryLong: Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican nominee, defeated former Representative William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee. The 1896 campaign, which took place during an economic depression known as the Panic of 1893, was a political realignment that ended the old Third Party System and began the Fourth Party System.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/ElectoralCollege1896.svg/1280px-ElectoralCollege1896.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "1896 United States presidential election"
importance: 70
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_United_States_presidential_election"
  title: 1896 United States presidential election
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- election
metaDescription: Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 1896. Former Governor William McKinley, the Republican nominee, defeated former Representat
wikidataQid: Q699201
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260704035236/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_United_States_presidential_election"
  capturedAt: 2026-07-04
  label: 1896 United States presidential election
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_United_States_presidential_election"
