{"record":{"affiliations":[{"polityId":"polity-3fcc9adb88012825729f2b2c","sourceIds":["growth-person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-secretary-bryan-william-jennings"]}],"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":[],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-431d8ac45f/","countrySlug":null,"countrySlugs":["germany","united-kingdom"],"entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-431d8ac45f/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["William Jennings Bryan served as Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1915. A Nebraska congressman and three-time Democratic presidential nominee, he had built a national following through advocacy of free silver, an income tax, and the direct election of senators. His appointment brought one of the party’s most prominent popular leaders into Wilson’s cabinet.","Bryan negotiated agreements with thirty countries that required a period of investigation before the parties resorted to war. His belief that time and arbitration could prevent conflict coexisted with an assertive American position in Central America. The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty, negotiated in 1914, secured an option for an American canal through Nicaragua and rights for naval facilities, extending American strategic claims in the region.","The First World War exposed a fundamental disagreement with Wilson over neutral rights. After a German submarine sank the Lusitania in May 1915, Wilson demanded protection for American travelers on the high seas. Bryan believed Americans should avoid belligerent ships and war zones, and he wanted comparable pressure on Britain over its interference with neutral commerce. Fearing that another protest to Germany would move the United States toward war, he resigned in June 1915. He continued speaking and writing after leaving office and later participated in the Scopes trial. His resignation made the tension between pacifist commitments and the defense of neutral rights unusually visible within an American cabinet."],"id":"global:person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9","identifiers":{},"identityScope":"global","legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-431d8ac45f2813ef0ff1.html","name":"William Jennings Bryan","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["growth-person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-secretary-bryan-william-jennings"],["growth-person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-secretary-bryan-william-jennings"],["growth-person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-secretary-bryan-william-jennings"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-431d8ac45f2813ef0ff1.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-11-04","revision":"4aa39326196f7128","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-11-04","date":"","id":"growth-person-3e6bf46bc23792ab5a7572d9-secretary-bryan-william-jennings","locator":"Introduction, Rise to Prominence, Influence on American Diplomacy, and service chronology","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian","title":"Biographies of the Secretaries of State: William Jennings Bryan","type":"institutional","url":"https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/bryan-william-jennings"}],"topics":[]},"schemaVersion":1}