SOURCE: “William Jennings Bryan and the Social Gospel,” in The Journal of American History, Vol. LIII, No. 1, June, 1966, pp. 41-60.

In the following essay, Smith examines Bryan's religious conservatism and his ideas about the proper application of Christian beliefs to social concerns.

One of the important leaders of the Progressive era who until recently has fared rather poorly at the hands of historians is William Jennings Bryan. Most of the writing about him, including the biographical, has been unsatisfactory. An occasional scholarly article has been the exception. In the last few years, however, the story is different, and one can expect a new Bryan image to appear as a result of scholarly work recently produced or now in process.¹ One area in which the present writer feels more work needs to be done concerns Bryan's contribution as an advocate of the social gospel or, as Bryan called it...