 Republican Party candidate William McKinley wished to remain on the gold standard, unlike his opponent, Bryan.Many bankers and businessmen were disturbed by Bryan's silver rhetoric, and McKinley was able to win the election.McKinley kept the United States on the gold standard by signing the Gold Standard Act in 1900, lessening the strength of both the bimetallism movement and public fears about the Gold Standard by his successful navigation out of the Panic of 1896, as the economy recovered by 1900.