A Look at Third Party Politics
The Greens are progressive. Ecology is only one part of their platform. They also believe in racial diversity, a living wage, and laws and policies expressed in a humanitarian manner, locally, nationally, and globally.
Libertarians believe that citizens should have complete control over their actions as long as their actions do not interfere with the actions of others. In other words, you have your rights as long as they don’t interfere with other people’s rights.
Greens are what the Democrats think they are and Libertarians are what the Republicans aspire to be.
However, these are not the only third parties. Third Parties have been around since the founding of the United States.
The Constitution makes no mention of political parties. This was a smart move; it would be anti-Constitutional to show any preference to any political party.
The first two political parties were the Federalists and the Democrat-Republicans. The Federalists believed in a strong central government and the Democrat-Republicans believed in strong states’ rights.
Issues, disagreements, and beliefs are the reasons for the major political parties and the third parties. Some past third parties include: Anti-Masonic Party, Free Soil Party, Union Party (merged with another third party – the Republicans), Whigs, the Know-Nothing Party (also known as the American Party), Dixiecrats (also known as the States’ Rights Democrats), the Progressive Party, and the Bull Moose Party.
What did these third parties believe in? What were their causes and goals?
The first third party was the Anti-Masonic party (1831). They were also the first third party to hold a national convention.
They didn’t like the secrecy of the Masons. They believed this group to be un-American.
William Wirt (Anti-Masonic) ran against Andrew Jackson in the 1832 election. He didn’t win but he carried Vermont. This election featured 3 candidates: Andrew Jackson (Democrat), Henry Clay (National Republican), and William Wirt (Anti-Masonic).
Abraham Lincoln (originally a member of the Whig Party) won the presidency as a Republican; a third party that was against slavery in the territories but upheld slavery in the South. Lincoln was also a member of the Union Party whose goal was “the Constitution as it is and the Union as it is”. Members of the Whig Party and the Know-Nothing Party formed this party.
This election featured 4 candidates: Abraham Lincoln (Republican), Stephen Douglas (Democrat), John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), and John Bell (Constitutional Unionist). Lincoln won and Douglas came in last behind the Southern Democrat and Constitutional Unionist candidates.
The Free Soil Party (1846-1854) as the name suggests, was anti-slavery. They opposed the expansion of slavery into the new states (the western territories), as they became part of the Union.
Martin Van Buren, our eighth president, a Democrat, served one term from 1836-1840. He ran as a Free Soil candidate in the 1848 presidential election and lost.
This election featured 3 candidates: Zachary Taylor (Whig), Martin Van Buren (Free Soil), and Lewis Cass (Democrat). Taylor won the election with Van Buren finishing second.
The Know-Nothing Party (also known as the American Party) was popular during the 1850s. They believed in setting limits to immigration and naturalized citizenship. They received their moniker by adhering to a simple rule – if people asked them about the party, they were told to say that they know nothing.
The party dissolved in 1856. The pro-slavery members joined the Democrats and the anti-slavery members joined the Republicans.
The Whig Party was formed in opposition to President Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson was very popular, had a strong personality, and was not afraid to use it.
His opponents interpreted his strong personality negatively and saw him as a king. They also believed in a strong national bank; Jackson didn’t believe in a central bank. He favored state banks.
Andrew Jackson was a popular and strong candidate. His presidency was the beginning of the modern Democrat Party.
The Whig Party dissolved over the issue of slavery. The Northern Whigs (anti-slavery) joined the Republicans and the Know-Nothing Party and the Southern Whigs (pro-slavery) joined the Democrats.
The Republican Party incorporated a variety of different political parties. These parties included: the Free Soil Party, some of the Know-Nothing Party, and some of the Whigs (the Northern Whigs).
Theodore Roosevelt served 2 terms as president from 1901-1908. In 1912, he accepted the nomination of the Bull Moose Party. This party believed in progressive politics. The party consisted of a group of liberal Republicans who were against the conservative policies of the Republican president William Taft.
The 1912 election was a 4-person race. It included the Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, the Republican, William Taft, the Bull Moose, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Socialist, Eugene Debs.
Roosevelt lost, but received 25% of the vote. Woodrow Wilson won the election with Roosevelt finishing second.
Strom Thurmond ran as a Dixiecrat (also known as the States’ Rights Democrats) in the 1948 presidential election. The Dixiecrats were an extremely conservative faction of the Democrat Party. They opposed the Democrats’ civil rights program.
The 1948 election featured 4 candidates: Harry Truman (Democrat), Thomas Dewey (Republican), Strom Thurmond (Dixiecrat), and Henry Wallace (Progressive Party). Truman won the election but Strom Thurmond received over 1 million votes, carried 4 states, and won 39 electoral votes.
Third parties are essential ingredients for our political process. They draw attention to issues and causes that the major parties ignore. They invigorate and introduce people to the political process. They are a perfect example of free speech.
Many citizens join third parties because they believe both the Democrats and the Republicans don’t represent them. If it weren’t for third parties, they wouldn’t be part of the political process.
Third parties also spotlight the question – Can a two party system represent the interests of all Americans? If 51% vote for one party and 49% for the other party, did the majority really win?
Most countries have a parliamentary form of government. Parliaments have many parties representing both diverse and minority points of view. While there will be no parliament in the United States, maybe there needs to be more parties to represent the diversity of the United States.
History is like fashion; it repeats itself. Political dissent is not new. Third parties are not new. As long as we have one, we will have the other.
