"The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear, and get a record of successful experiences behind you." -William Jennings Bryan The Memoirs of William Jennings Bryan (1925) consists of quotations from Bryan's speeches and correspondence interspersed with commentary written by his wife after his death. It is a document that explains Bryan's complex belief system, a system that balanced a strong belief in God with a belief in the goodness of the American people and made him one of the most important contributors to progressive politics in the history of the United States.