It’s time, once again, to turn back the calendar and review the news from The Baldwin Times of yesteryear.

This week in 1896, the upcoming election seemed to have the full attention of the nation. North Baldwin County appeared to be no different, as the Victorian publication’s front page focused on the then recent Democratic convention in Chicago.

According to the article, the four-day meeting concluded with the selection of William J. Bryan of Nebraska as the party’s presidential candidate.

“The fourth day’s session of the Democratic National Convention opened in torrid heat, untempered by any of the cooling breezes which had hitherto favored the gatherings,” the article reported.

It seemed Bryan’s nomination didn’t come unanimously. Instead, agreement of each state’s representatives was found after not one, two or even three votes. It took the 1896 party four times to settle on the Nebraskan as its contender for the presidential office.

However, once a decision was made, it seems Bryan had the full support of his fellow Democrats.

“We have chosen a splendid leader, beautiful as Appollo, intellectual beyond comparison, a great orator, a great scholar,” the Gilded-era party released in a statement, “but above all, there is a beating in his breast, a heart that throbs in constant sympathy with the great masses of the people and instinct with the highest sentiment of patriotism.”

Although Bryan’s fellow Democrats expressed enthusiasm, it seems he took the nomination in stride.

“He was not at all excited over the information,” the front-page article stated, “and after responding pleasantly to congratulations, he proceeded to the barber shop to get shaved.”

Bryan actually appears to have been pretty unenthused about the nomination.

“I desire to announce that if elected, I shall, under no circumstances, be a candidate for re-elected,” he said in a published statement.

That’s pretty surprising, when Bryan’s passion for the rights of the working man and of bimetallism seemed to have won him the Democratic appointment, in the first place.

“You shall not press down upon the brows of labor this crown of thorns,” he said in an 1896 campaign speech. “You shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of gold.”

The Times pointed out that at age 36, Bryan was then “the youngest man ever nominated for presidency.”

Bryan would go on to lose against Republican William McKinley. However, serving under President Woodrow Wilson in 1915, he went on to become the 41st U.S. secretary of state.

Political fervor appears to have been felt at the state and local levels, as well. This is evidenced in an article reporting a then recent campaign trip to Tensaw and Stockton by then state Congressman J.F. Stallings.

“Mr. Stallings is one of the best campaign speakers in Alabama and is doing good work for the cause of Democracy,” Times founder Abner J. Smith wrote.

That’s it for this edition. Check back next week for more news from The Baldwin Times of yesteryear.