William Jennings Bryan was born in Salem, Illinois, in 1860. He graduated at the top of his class in 1883 from Illinois College and earned a law degree from Union College of Law in Chicago two years later. In 1890 he won a surprising victory in a congressional election and became the first Democratic congressional representative in Nebraska history. He served two terms in the House of Representatives by exploiting an alliance with Nebraska Populists and many of their proposals, including tariff reform, a graduated income tax, and, eventually, free silver. His 1892 speech on the tariff in the House of Representatives is an early, though excellent, example of his rhetorical attempt to appeal to rural voters and common folk in economic distress. In 1894 he campaigned actively for the U.S. Senate, but the members of the Republican-dominated Nebraska state legislature chose a candidate from their own ranks despite Bryan’s obvious popularity. Not surprisingly, he remained an impassioned supporter of direct election of U.S. senators until the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment made it the law.