. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. both roles coincide, and the President serves the best interests of his partisan followers by serving the people as a whole. William Jennings Bryan did not com- bine these features ideally; perhaps his weaknesses in the area of political organization cost him the Presi- dency. Nevertheless, he asserted personal leadership of the National Democratic Party, and he insisted that the candidate should be responsible to the electorate. In practice, the Bryan campaign technique performed both of these functions, gaining for him the position of nati
. Bulletin - United States National Museum. Science. both roles coincide, and the President serves the best interests of his partisan followers by serving the people as a whole. William Jennings Bryan did not com- bine these features ideally; perhaps his weaknesses in the area of political organization cost him the Presi- dency. Nevertheless, he asserted personal leadership of the National Democratic Party, and he insisted that the candidate should be responsible to the electorate. In practice, the Bryan campaign technique performed both of these functions, gaining for him the position of national party leader and providing a direct con- nection between the leader and the Nation as a whole. And the Presidents during the 20th century who have seemingly been most effective in the role of voice of the people have campaigned aggressively and person- ally, just as Bryan did. The fact that they went out to the people, courting public favor during their drives for the highest office, apparently created a relationship of responsibility between candidates and people which pre-Bryan candidates, for the most part, did not have. The personal campaign has become an essential ingredient of 20th-century presi- dential leadership. Thus, Bryan's campaign style has played a significant role in the development of the modern Presidency. The questions remain: were Bryan's innovations significant for the technique of presidential campaign- ing? Were the changes which he introduced of great magnitude or were they relatively minor? Was Bryan a major inventor; were his campaign techniques original or did he borrow and adapt methods de- veloped by others? These questions can never be answered absolutely, yet they are important questions for any final judgment of Bryan and his contribu- tion to .American politics and presidential campaign- ing. Bryan adopted the traditional techniques of stump speaking and local area canvassing which were common in the rural Midwest, but he added his own spec
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