Selling McKinley in 1896

Historians frequently point to 1896 as being the first “modern” election.

Setting the Stage

By 1896, the country was poised for a new century. Huge changes had occurred since the Civil War some 35 years earlier. Railroads crossed the entire country in days, not weeks. Most people lived less than 100 miles from a station. Electric light was now two decades old, and entire cities had been electrified, paving the way not only for light, but for the power to run all sorts of electric-based appliances – from industrial machinery to waffle irons.

The telegraph, was practically “old technology.” From communicating from town to town, it now connected the USA to Europe and beyond. In minutes. The telephone, first introduced at the country’s Philadelphia Centennial in 1876, was now commonplace in every village. The phonograph brought culture into living rooms. The approaching horseless carriages and even flying machines were no…