Third Parties: Issues And Ideologies

The most successful party that resulted from a party split was the Progressive or ?Bull Moose? party led by former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt. The split in the party caused a three-way horse race for the White House in the Election of 1912     . Involving Progressive Roosevelt, Republican William Taft, and Democrat Woodrow Wilson. The split doomed the Republican Party and made Wilson the victor. Lastly, ideological parties have existed for many years in the Third Party System. Parties like the Communist Party, Socialist Party, Constitution Party, Libertarian Party, etc. These parties seek to change the system as a whole. Most of the ideological parties mentioned have been on the ballot for many years, but they are ineffective in the actual race. These are the four types of Third Parties that have existed in the political realm of the United States.

Third parties offer voters an alternative to the same two parties that run in the presidential election every four years, often with more concrete goals and views, yet there has never been successful third party candidate. For over one and a half centuries, the Republicans and Democrats have held a duopoly over the United States government (Diamond 2015). People have been growing more and more frustrated in their government and the two parties, so why haven’t third-party candidates gained any ground in the political sphere?

“It is a natural evolution of our mass consciousness to begin to see third parties as a viable option; it is reflected in the corrupt and broken two-party system.” Michelle Augello-Page, an author and writer, uses this quote to speak to the frustration Americans feel about the two-party political system. Since the 1850’s, the Democrats and Republicans have received the majority of the popular vote, while third party candidates struggle election after election (Schechter). The two major party candidates don’t always speak to the issues many Americans want to be addressed. Therefore, Americans must consider voting for third party candidates to ensure democracy works for everyone.

In order to avoid losing voters to third parties, the two major parties are often forced to adopt positions championed by third parties. To fully comprehend why third parties exist, it is important to first be able to identify the numerous challenges they face in order to gain any sense of credibility.

The Christian Liberty Party is a minor conservative political party in the U.S., which used to be known as the American Heritage Party (Eby). The name Christian Liberty Party The name expresses an idea, a principle for our times, that points to Christ as the source of Liberty for both men and nations (Eby). The Christian Liberty Party formed to provide an explicitly Christian perspective on politics (Eby). They help equip Christians as Statesmen, mobilize Christian Citizens, and Advance Christian Solutions (Eby). This party will benefit our society and our nation because we will have leaders who preach equality and a holy life (Eby). It would put an end to the bias and greediness of our world’s leaders today.

Third parties in the United States do not win, but they do tend to keep elections interesting. Although third parties bring in votes for themselves, most of them have extreme views on issues. These type of views cannot put a party at the top of a nation that mainly consists of moderate individuals. America has one of the most advanced democracies and as a result has developed the two party system. The reason a two party system overpowers a three-party system is because, ideally, the constitution only has two sides to it, the opposing and the supporting. While the United States has a large two party system, third parties have been around for hundreds of years, they play a large part in presidential elections, and within the national government

From the Mexican Cession to the attempt of resolving slavery in territory, Both the North and South could not come to terms on which territories get to have slavery and which ones do not.

     For hundreds of years, the two party system has dominated the American culture, but many people are confused by what a two party system actually means. Although a two party system is defined as two parties that are bigger than the rest, third parties have greatly impacted elections for over a hundred years. Minor parties still continuously voice their opinions in issues, causing other candidates of either major party to adopt their philosophies. Furthermore, some parties, such as the Reform have actually been successful in obtaining a position, such as governor. Finally, third party candidates have actually taken away votes from a number of nominees over the years.

The Third Party System was a Democratic Party that was not able to maintain the alliance that was formed with the southern and western farmers once slavery became the main problem in America. The Third Party was created after a sectional dispute that was about slavery that led to the collapse of the Second Party System back in the 1850s. The Third Party divided into two with the Democrats in the South being proslavery and the Democrats in the North being antislavery. In 1860 the party selected two different presidents that represented each of the two divisions and they also found themselves having disagreements on slavery. After the death of Webster and Clay, there was a lack of leadership that was having a big impact. The Republicans, on the

Because both the Democratic and Republican parties were equally as strong as each other they tended to focus more on the rivalry between each other and who was in control, so they did not focus on other important issues. Because of this third parties were able to form around specific issues and groups (Goldfield, The American Journey, vol. 2, 454).

To give some background. The Prohibition Party is the oldest existing third party in the United

The Western Independence Party made it very evident that they believed Eastern Canada was draining and stealing our resources and profits. This particular party disagrees with the concept of equalization payments. When “disunited states of Canada” was filmed in 2013, the economy was booming in Alberta. As a result of this economic growth, some Albertans felt that the equalization payments were stealing from our province and giving it to the East. A question I would ask them would be their point of view on equalization payments now that we are in an economic crisis as it was in 2013.

America is vastly known as a country boundlessly pursuing equality in all facets of life. In this seemingly endless quest for equal opportunity, there has been one lurking negation; our election system. The addition to equal representation in public funding and on the ballot will create variability and allow Americans to entrust their vote in a political format that more closely aligns with democratic philosophy. Therefore, a shift away from a bipartisan, a two party, dominated election system would not only be a healthy change for American electoral satisfaction, but for the future of third party politics. Unfortunately affluence and inherent wealth have played a large role in this divide between a true democratic election and our present biased, broken, and benyne system.

The parties formed after the Constitution was adopted as the need to systematically search for and encourage popular support became apparent. The structure of a party allows a group of like-minded politicians to mold popular support in the favor of the candidate of their choice where alone they could only accomplish the creation of multiple less organized and therefore less politically potent factions. The nature of the political system already in place gave no value to coming in second or third in elections at any level of government, leading to the natural growth of two strong parties who battle for supremacy at every election (July 22). The winner takes all, and the opposition spends their time getting ready to try again as they wait for their next chance. Once the two parties, Democrat and Republican, were firmly settled in to the system they affected legislation to give themselves automatic ballot access and state funding, making election that much harder for other parties and thereby ensuring that it remained a two party system (July 22).

goals. Most of the parties are created to correct social problems. Some of them form around