Third Parties

Third Parties in the US

Third parties have a long history in the United States, spanning from the 1820s to the present. The first national third party was the Anti-Masonic Party, founded in 1826 in New York. By 1931 it had managed to select a candidate to represent it in the presidential election. After the Anti-Masonic Party, many more third parties were established, such as the Free-Soil Party, which focused on abolition, and the Constitutional Union Party, which was formed to advocate for slavery.

One of the most successful parties, if not the most successful third party, appeared in the 1850s. That party was the Republican Party. It was formed to take a stance against slavery and was widely accepted in the North and joined by a few democrats and people from the Whig Party (the major party before the Republican Party). By 1960, its presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, had won the presidency. Ever since then, the Republican Party became and continues to be a major party in American politics.

Challenges to Third Parties in the US

Third parties in the United States face several challenges. One of the greatest of them is the voting system implemented during elections.

Winner-Take-All System

The US has a winner-take-all voting system. In other words, a single-member district system. In this system, representatives are elected by dividing jurisdiction into sections, and whichever candidate wins the most votes in that section wins it all. This makes it almost impossible for any third party to win any election because they can never garner enough votes to make a difference.

One of the biggest challenges for third parties is the restrictions on having ballot access. Republicans and Democrats automatically get added to the ballot. On the other hand, third parties need to get past the restrictive ballot laws in existence. For example, they must gather signatures (the amount varies from state to state) to be able to appear on the ballot. Also, election campaigns are extremely expensive, and third parties often don't have the necessary financial resources to compete with the two major parties.

Culture Bias

Americans tend to vote for Republicans and Democrats because they are the most prominent and familiar parties. Additionally, many Americans tend to view voting for a third party as throwing away their vote because third parties never win.

Figure 2. Ross Perot with Armed Forces, USASOC News Service, CC-BY-2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Role of Third Parties

Despite their lack of electoral success compared to the two major parties, third parties can and do affect American politics in several ways.

Introduction of New Ideas

Major parties adopt many new ideas coming from third parties that are popular. For example, the National Labor Reform Party, founded in 1872, supported an eight-hour workday. By June 1978, the eight-hour workday was implemented. Another example came during the presidential race of 1992 when Ross Perot ran as an independent. Perot advocated for the balancing of the budget and reducing the deficit. He received 19% of the vote, an amazing accomplishment for a third-party candidate. Due to the number of votes he received, his platform could not be ignored, and Bill Clinton, the winner of the race, submitted a plan to reduce the country's deficit.

Sometimes third-party candidates play the role of spoilers.

One such instance occurred in the 2000 presidential election. Ralph Nader, a Green Party candidate, became a spoiler by garnering votes at the expense of the Democratic Party, whose candidate was Al Gore. Had Nader and the Green Party not received so many votes, the votes would have very likely gone to Al Gore, and Republican George W. Bush would not have won the elections.

Types of Third Parties

There have been many third parties throughout the United States history. However, the following are the most prominent in the 20th century.

Figure 3. Democrats vs Republicans vs Third Party, StudySmarter Originals

Influence of Third Parties

Many third parties have a lasting impact on politics because of the ideas they bring to the table. If there is enough demand, the Democrat or Republican parties will adopt policies that a third party may be advocating for to ensure they get more votes. The following are some examples of some parties whose policies have made a difference in US politics.

Anti-Masonic Party

As stated earlier, the Anti-Masonic Party was the first third party, and they were the party to come up with holding conventions to nominate presidents.

The Populist Party

By the 1880s, the Populist Party was established and called for shorter working hours, a graduated income tax, a secret ballot, the creation of an initiative, and a referendum, which were adopted by the Democratic Party and are still used in American governance today. The Populist Party is also behind the Interstate Commerce Act, which regulated railroads, and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which reduced the power of monopolies.

Other Parties

The Workingmen's Party was founded in 1828 and advocated for free public education. The Union Labor Party supported placing limits on the number of lands individuals and companies could purchase. The Equal Rights Party nominated the first woman presidential candidate garnering 4,149 votes at a point in time when women could not vote.