Bryan chastised evolution for teaching children that humans were but one of 35,000 types of mammals and bemoaned the notion that human beings were descended "Not even from American monkeys, but from old world monkeys".
He wasn't always like that. In the 1890s and 1900s he was a dominant force in American politics, representing labor and progressive interests. He was the guy who did the "cross of gold" speech about how the gold standard required the sacrifice of the American working class to function. He ended up being Woodrow Wilson's secretary of state and was instrumental in getting America out of the Philippines.
He lost his marbles sometime in the 1920s and became like a travelling Biblical literalist. Some historians think he became cynical in his elderly years and only cared about stirring controversy to make money
This guy was almost president
What a deeply unserious person.
He wasn't always like that. In the 1890s and 1900s he was a dominant force in American politics, representing labor and progressive interests. He was the guy who did the "cross of gold" speech about how the gold standard required the sacrifice of the American working class to function. He ended up being Woodrow Wilson's secretary of state and was instrumental in getting America out of the Philippines.
He lost his marbles sometime in the 1920s and became like a travelling Biblical literalist. Some historians think he became cynical in his elderly years and only cared about stirring controversy to make money