Third parties have been around since the early 1800s but what is a third party? A third party is any party other than Democrats and Republicans. For example, the Libertarian Party or the Green Party are third parties.Third parties have never won an election because of the set two-party system in America. Third parties in different countries get way more attention than they do here in America. Besides this two-party system, third parties have many other barriers from keeping them in getting their foot in the door of the white house. Why are these barriers set when there might be some possible advantages of letting a third party candidate be president? Third parties bring attention to topics that some politicians might want to sweep under the …show more content…
rug. Although, just like a Democrat or Republican, they have their disadvantages too. Third parties don’t get much attention but maybe they should start. Once again, a third party is all and any political party other than two major ones. There are many third parties, they are more popular in other countries but they just seem to not get enough attention here in America. One third party that might be more popular than others is the Libertarian Party. They believe in having liberty, thus the name. Also, they believe in being independent and self-ownership of businesses. They think the government's only role in this nation should be to protect and thats it. Another third party to exemplify what one is, is the Green Party. They believe in peace, absolutely no violence, ecological movement and social justice for all. They also emphasize environmental rights. These are just two of the many different types of third parties. Although some of these third parties are great, not one third party has ever won an election due to these barriers. America is a two-party system, these two parties include the Republicans and the Democrats.
No other party has won an election due to this system. Third parties can’t run good campaigns because they have access to fewer resources unlike the dominant two parties. The candidates that usually run for Republican or Democrats usually have money to run a good campaign. Also, they have supporters that help them financially because they’re more popular with the public. They get these supporters from their attention from the press. The candidates that run for third parties usually are just people who are not as rich as the major two parties. So, in turn, they don’t have the money to run a campaign as good as others (Rosenstone, 1984). Also, they don’t get the needed press from magazines such as the New York Times (Conroy, 2013). Without this attention from press, they can’t get a lot of big time supporters. According to Rosenstone (1984), Sometimes third parties even drop out because they get discouraged. People who are apart of these third parties usually don’t waste their time voting for them because they believe they’re not going to win. Third parties have to work much harder to get anywhere in an election if they even want to get on the …show more content…
ballot. Although, third parties have never made it into office, they have a few major advantages.
Third parties have raised awareness for issues that the major parties have failed to bring attention to. For example, Prohibition was brought up by the Prohibition Party. Their whole goal was to prohibit the distribution and consumption of alcohol. They went to the convention in Chicago and had 20 delegates present. At first they didn’t have enough support but soon they got support on their main goal from small towns and churches. The 18th Amendment didn’t last for long but the third party got their issue noticed (The Prohibition Party, 2015). Another successful third party was the Reform Party, they nominated Ross Perot for candidate to run for president. This billionaire raised awareness for the issue of the federal budget deficit. He wanted to work on getting it reduced if he got into office. Although, this did not happen people were now worried about lowering the federal budget deficit. Bill Clinton got into office and he started addressing the federal budget deficit (Nwazota, 2004). Third parties may not have ever got into office but the do have influence on the nation’s
policies. In conclusion, Third Parties may not have ever got into office although they are essential to American Politics. Without third parties our federal budget deficit may have never been brought to attention. Prohibition Amendment may have still been in place. Third Parties brings notice to issues that the main parties may have wanted to push on the back burner. Third parties simply can not get into office because of America’s two party system. Also, third parties can’t get the needed attention from press in order to get big time donations for a more influential campaign. To most, third parties are essential to politics, regardless of the fact that they have never held a place in office.
At first, the original parties were focusing on their international relations. The main issues that the first parties encountered were based around were topics such as trade, the military, and national debt. The Federalists wanted the government to regulate trade and spend more money on the military, where the Democratic-Republicans wanted just the opposite. Once the second generation of political parties developed, a lot of those issues were for the most part already resolved. Time was still spent on trade and developing the economy, but there were so many more issues that revolved around problems in the nation. The new issues were topics such as universal suffrage, slavery (civil rights), and territorial expansion. For example, the Whigs opposed slavery where the Democratic Party accepted it. The parties changed into dealing with topics like these because the nation was developing and changing. Once the first parties were able to establish the foundation of the nation, the second generation began to deal with all of these new issues that come hand and hand with a developed
A political party is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy and programs. George Washington warned the nation against creating political parties in his famous “Farewell Address”. He feared political parties would divide the country and weaken support of the Constitution (Doc 4). The first major political parties, the Federalists and the Republicans, were created during the term of President George Washington. Despite President Washington’s warning, the rise of the two political parties, in the years after his term was inevitable. The Federalists were in favor of a strong central government, while the anti-federalists opposed most their ideas. Over time, the gradual development of political parties resulted in the Democrat and Republican parties we have today. The Whiskey Rebellion and different views between the Federalists and Antifederalists were a couple of the main causes that led to the rise of political parties in the 1790’s.
Libertarians often called out the unethical and untrustworthy practices of the government. Most people who supports the Green Party are environmental conscious. The Green Parties supporters are for equality amongst all citizens and non-violence social reform. Both these parties called for a change from the unjust government practices, the representatives tap into the building frustration of its communities. Often casting blame onto the society that governs them. Although very few, we win office. They do caused a big impact on who could win office. Many voters vote for these representatives simply because they are tired with the current state of the nation.
In recent history no 3rd party candidates have come anywhere close to getting a substantial number of votes in the presidential elections. The last time a minor party was able to win a presidential election, was with Abraham Lincoln, in 1860. He was not truly campaigning under a minor party either; the Republican Party which he ran for had recently gained control of the congress and was becoming well established in the federal government. This is a key issue that 3rd parties must understand before they consider putting up a candidate for president.
It appears that political parties can't win per professional commentators and the general public. It is possible that they're in charge of causing divisions in society by being too partisan or they don't stand for anything since they represent too many diverse interests. These contradicting criticisms of parties are not new. Some of the Founders of the United States famously saw political parties as a source of intolerant spirit, which is a view that has continued in contemporary circumstances. At the same time, we frequently criticize parties for lacking any coherent political program. The long list of issue positions delivered by party committees is the outcome supposedly caused by the needs for parties to unite enough interests in order
In the 1790s, soon after the ratification of the Constitution, political parties were nonexistent in the USA because President Washington feared they would drive the country apart. However, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, with their rivalling mental models, could not help but spark the division of the United States into the Democratic-Republican and Federalist parties. These parties, the Democratic-Republican wanting a small, local government system and the Federalist wanting a strong, powerful government system, turned citizens against one another and eventually led to the inimical Democratic and Republican parties of today. Hence, the formation of the original political parties in the United States is very significant. Political
There have been many different parties on the surface since the beginning of the American political system. They all have different thoughts, policies, and motivations. Each party has their own agenda; some have made significant contributions and others have not. The first split, and beginning of the party system, came with the variation between the Federalists and the Democratic Republicans. These two parties were extremely different in thought, strategies, and status of people involved, such as their leaders and beliefs on how to run the government.
During the late 19th and early 20th century both the Populist Party and Progressive movement wanted to preserve some things, while also addressing the need for reform. Although many of the ideas and goals of these “Third parties” were initially not legislated and considered far-fetched, many of these ideas later became fundamental laws throughout American history.
The two party system has encouraged the idea that voting for anyone who is not ‘blue’ or ‘red’ is a wasted vote. This can be seen in the lack of votes that 3rd party candidates are getting, for example in 2012 between the three third party candidates there was a total of 1,570,767 votes.(IVN) This could be because only a little more than half of the voting age population actually voted. (GMU) Or it could be to the lack of media coverage that they get. Third party candidates, or any candidate for that matter need to get at least 5% of the vote in a general election to get equal ballot access and federal funding like the two big parties. Another reason this idea of a wasted vote comes through is because no one knows what these other parties stand for they just hear what people on CNN, MSNBC, or Fox News say about them. For instance the libertarian party has been deemed nothing more than a bunch of pot smoking hippies just because they want to legalize marijuana. The big media outlets don’t look at the party as a whole and find one unpopular opinion they have and bash it into the skulls of their viewers as the truth.
In the presidential elections of 1980 and 1992, in both cases, the third party received a good amount of popular vote (Doc B). This should mean that they should receive electoral votes. But that’s not the case. This shows a dominance of our 2-party system. Even bet...
In the United States there are only two main political parties to choose from. The two main parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. There are also many other political parties to choose from which are called third parties. Third parties may include political parties such as the Socialist Equality Party and the Peace and Equality party. People can choose to be a part of any party they want but most go with the common two main parties the Democrats and Republicans. Democrats and Republicans have many similarities and differences. These mainly occur in international, social, economic, and domestic issues.
Britain's and this becomes particularly important when looking at the years after 1979. If you look at the period between 1945-79, it seems fairly clear that a two party system exists. However, successive Conservative victories between 1979-97 make this proposition seem less credible. Another flaw in the two party concept arises when parties which have not had a sufficient majority to have any real parliamentary power have been assisted by a smaller third party in order to remain in government. Whilst falling short of becoming true coalitions, these alliances have taken place down the ... ...
Political parties have been around since almost the beginning of this great country. Although George Washington strongly opposed political parties, and also warned the nation to stay away from forming political parties, the first political parties were formed right under his own nose. In George Washington’s cabinet was where the first parties started. The cause of these parties was simply differences in views. The thought of leaders of these two completely different parties was Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. Jefferson started what then was known of as Republican or the Anti-Federalist. On the other hand Hamilton started what was known of as the Federalist Party. Both of these parties formed in the seventeen hundreds. These two parties have evolved into today being known as the Democratic, and the Republican parties. On the contrary one of the largest third party groups, the tea party was formed just recently in the year two thousand and nine. All three of these political parties effect our government today.
The era of the third party system 1856-1896, coalitions revolved around ethno cultural identifications rooted in the Civil War, according to Horger. Republicans established themselves as the “party of Lincoln” among African-American voters, and competed for white voters in parts of the region that had opposed secession and resented the pre-war power of the large planters (Horger, Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: America's Love Affair with the Two-Party System). Democrats responded with beliefs in of white supremacy and, particularly in areas with substantial black populations, voter intimidation and manipulation. The third party system in the South was defined by the Republican attempt to enfranchise, and the Democratic attempt to suppress, African-American
1. There are several advantages to proprietary products over open source products: better quality control issues in creating products; a firmer control over the licensing, either the technology the product is based on or what material (music in this case) can be used with the proprietary device; the potential to build brand loyalty (for example Sony memory cards only work in their products, if you’ve already bought these cards you could be more likely to purchase additional Sony products in the future); pricing – companies could possibly charge a premium price for their proprietary products as there could be few to no competitors in a specific market space; vertical markets (if Sony is providing the device, memory card and music the majority of revenues are staying in-house); and proprietary products could potentially create barriers to entry.