Today's post is sponsored by Bob Manchester, author of I-Plan: I-Man's Plan to Save America.
When people think of political parties, they often only think of Democrats and Republicans, and many people seem to think that these are the same parties that founded this nation. The truth is that political parties have come and gone throughout American history. In addition, they have undergone dramatic changes during the time of their existence. The following are a few observations about political parties.
Some major parties no longer exist
A perfect example of this is the Whig party. A major force in politics and a party that ran candidates several times for president. This party split over the issue of slavery. The abolitionists left the Whigs to form the Republican party, and then what was left, continued for a while, but as the Republican party gained strength, the Whigs were regulated to a smaller third party. They slowly merged into the Democratic Party and ceased to exist.
Some claim this could happen again
In the modern era, there are people who believe the Republican party could split in two. It is possible that one group would split off and form a new party with those left still being Republicans. Of course, which group would leave is open to debate, if this ever happened. There seems to be an established force in the party on one side, and a more populist group on the other side. The same can be said of Democrats. The progressives on the left seem to be split from the more establishment type of Democrats. It is possible over time that these progressives could form their own party or change the one that they’re in.
Third parties have always existed
You would not know it from watching television or viewing the debates, but there are several political parties that exist in the country. In fact, there have always been more than two parties throughout United States history. Many of these parties never gained traction to challenge one or both of the major two parties, but much of this has to do with their ideas being adopted by a major party. For this reason, smaller parties have always been the political parties that had the ideas. These ideas often become a reality in the future. Some of these ideas can be seen in a smaller political party’s platform.
Smaller political parties, of course, get their ideas from individuals. An example of this is Bob Manchester. You can click here to learn more.