1776 to 2015 The Road to a One Party System Part Four

Civil War Era follows the plight of the party system with a revisted with Bidenesque touch.

There was very little in the way of third parties during the civil war. Southern Democrats, Copperheads on one side and Northern Democrats and Republicans on the other with the Greenback Party started near the end.

Bear in mind the trend from 1787 to present has always been two dominating parties with some third parties and handful of splinter parties. Political Science divides the Hamilton Jefferson or Federalist and Democratic Republican era as the first System. The Whigs and Democrats era as System two and the Democrat vs. Republican era as system three. Four is the New Deal and Five is modern era but the Democrats and Republicans have continued to be the dominating powers since prior to the Civil War.

The post civil war era saw a continuation in the Democrats and Republicans policies with little change. Democrats returned but with more seats in the House of Representatives as the 3/5ths rule was abolished by the 13th Amendment. No information on any significant change in number of representatives after the 3/5th rule was abolished and no shift in control of the House. At this time there was a continual flood of immigrants into the North from Europe which may have countered the returning Southerners. Google cannot answer the question unless I find a better way to ask. Census of 1850 1860 and 1870 show a possible increase in the south before and after the civil war of 7 or 8. The House at the time could also reapportion the number of people per Representative and increase the number of Seats this was fixed at 435 due to space considerations. Immigration and political alignment and re-alignment probably played a greater role.

1869 to present The Prohibition Party (PRO) is best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. While never one of the leading parties in the United States, it was once an important force in the Third Party System during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Declined after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. The party earned only 519 votes in the 2012 presidential election. Question? What are the chances of prohibition on alcohol or even tobacco and marijuana? Answer: None now the government has discovered the taxing potential.

Republican Mugwumps in 1884. Mugwump, politically speaking, was first a disaffected Republican, became an Independent

Republican, and ultimately moved to total independence. The definition became “a person who withdraws his support from

any group or organization; an independent; a chronic complainer who doesn’t take sides. Also termed those with their mug

on one side of the fence and their wump on the other. The name derived from an Algonquin Chief.


Bourbon Democrats promoted laissez-faire capitalism, opposition to the protectionist position of the Republicans and

fiscal discipline. They represented business interests, supporting banking and railroads but opposed to subsidies and

protection from competition. Anti-U.S. overseas expansion, for the gold standard, and opposed bimetallism and promoted

hard and sound money. Strong supporters of reform movements such as the Civil Service Reform and opponents of the

corrupt city bosses, Bourbons led the fight against the Tweed Ring. The anti-corruption theme earned the votes of
President Cleveland refused to inflate the money supply with silver (bi-metallism), alienating the agrarian populist

wing of the Democratic Party.

Aristocratic Bourbon Democrats, after reconstruction, created Jim Crow laws and segregation to keep the poor blacks and

poor whites from combining their economic influences creating the lowest wages possible for industrials to benefit

financially themselves financially.

The delegates at the 1896 Democratic National Convention quickly turned against the policies of Grover Cleveland and

those advocated by the Bourbon Democrats, favoring bimetallism as a way out of the depression.

National Democratic Party or Gold Democrats led by William Jennings Bryan opposed the Bourbon Democrats. Harnessing the

energy of an agrarian insurgency with his famous Cross of Gold speech, the congressman was soon selected to be the

Democratic nominee for President but lost.

Some of the Bourbons sat out the 1896 election or tacitly supported McKinley, the Republican nominee; others helped

create the third party ticket of the National Democratic Party most of them returned to the Democratic party by 1900 or

1904 at the latest.

Progressive Party nick named Bull Moose Party

The platform's main theme was reversing the domination of politics by business interests, which allegedly controlled the Republicans' and Democrats' parties, alike. The platform asserted that: To destroy the invisible Government, to dissolve the alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics the first task of the day.

(I listed the entire thing as it gives you a start point for some of the ideas of today. Pay attention to the ast section if your state doesn't have them.)

To that end, the platform called for

Strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions
Registration of lobbyists
Recording and publication of Congressional committee proceedings
In the social sphere the platform called for

A National Health Service to include all existing government medical agencies.
Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the disabled
Limited injunctions in strikes
A minimum wage law for women
An eight hour workday
A federal securities commission
Farm relief
Workers' compensation for work-related injuries
An inheritance tax
A Constitutional amendment to allow a Federal income tax
The political reforms proposed included

Women's suffrage
Direct election of Senators
Primary elections for state and federal nominations
The platform also urged states to adopt measures for "direct democracy", including:

The recall election (citizens may remove an elected official before the end of his term)
The referendum (citizens may decide on a law by popular vote)
The initiative (citizens may propose a law by petition and enact it by popular vote)
Judicial recall (when a court declares a law unconstitutional, the citizens may override that ruling by popular vote)
(Add in None Of The above, Write Ins, and a Yes No choice for people runing unopposed so they may not win by casting one ballot - there own. Also requirement to list political affiliation for all elected officials.)

Besides these measures, the platform called for reductions in the tariff, limitations on naval armaments by

international agreement and improvements to inland waterways.

During this part Democrats mostly pro segregation and pro Jim Crow laws and Republicans mostly anti slavery turned pro civil rights remained the two dominant main forces. Towards the end of the century the Republicans lost interest while the Democrats beefed up anti black attitudes which, even though the Republicans continued to support Civil rights up until the 60''s slowly lost them the support of african american voters. For a while they had no support from either side. -until FDR.


Next part gets's into the 20th century.