Libertarians, Socialists, and Other Third Parties by Bridey Heing

Author:Bridey Heing
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC
Published: 2021-08-12T00:00:00+00:00

United States politics is often characterized as a “two-party” system. For much of its history, these two dominant parties have been the Republican and Democratic party, with the Whigs, Federalists, and Democratic-Republicans dominating portions of its earlier years. Nonetheless, third-party and Independent candidates have also at times fared well as well. This is evidenced by the ten men listed below, who each snagged significant numbers of popular votes, and some from the Electoral College as well, in their respective bids for the White House and US Presidency.

10. William Wirt, Anti-Masonic, 1832 (7 Electoral Votes)

In the 1820s, an Anti-Masonic Movement flourished in the United States, fueled by public suspicion in regards to the existence of a secret and powerful fraternal order, namely the Free Masons. The movement was triggered with the mysterious disappearance of William Morgan, who was believed to have been murdered by the Masons for breaking his vow of secrecy and preparing a book. The book supposedly revealed many of the close-kept secrets of the Masonic order. During this time, the Anti-Masonic Party became an influential political party, and were the first American third party to hold a national nominating convention. There, William Wirt was nominated as the Anti-Masonic Presidential candidate for the 1932 US Presidential Election. Though Wirt only won 7 electoral votes in the state of Vermont, and his party fell into decline shortly thereafter, his minor victory is still recorded as one of the most successful US third party ventures in the history of the country’s Presidential elections.

9. Millard Fillmore, American, 1856 (8 Electoral Votes)

Millard Fillmore was the 13th US President, and the one who served office between 1850 and 1853. He was also the last US President not to be affiliated with either the Democrats or the Republicans. In 1856, former President Fillmore, then affiliated with the American Party, was nominated as a Presidential candidate for the Presidential elections in 1856. The other two candidates, James Buchanan and John C. Frémont, represented the Democrats and Republicans, respectively. While slavery was an omnipotent issue discussed in the election campaigns of 1856, the American Party decided to largely ignore this issue and instead focus on antiimmigration and anti-Catholic policies. Fillmore also focused on the point that the American Party was the only “national party” in the true sense, as the Republicans were fanatically in favor of the North’s interests and the Democrats leaned towards those of the South. However, in the end, Buchanan defeated both Fillmore and Frémont to become the 15th President of the United States. Only 8 electoral votes were won by Fillmore, which was still a significant number when considering the historical stance of third parties in the Presidential elections of the country.

8. John Floyd, Nullifier, 1832 (11 Electoral Votes)

The Nullifier Party, a short lived national political party based in South Carolina, was founded in 1828 by John C. Calhoun. It was so named as its members felt that constituent US states should have the right to “null and void” certain Federal legislation. This ranged from slavery laws to the imposition of tariffs and embargoes.

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