The Impact of a Third Party America´s Two Party Political System

The Impact of a Third Party America´s Two Party Political System

For hundreds of years, the two party system has dominated the American culture, but many people are confused by what a two party system actually means. Although a two party system is defined as two parties that are bigger than the rest, third parties have greatly impacted elections for over a hundred years. Minor parties still continuously voice their opinions in issues, causing other candidates of either major party to adopt their philosophies. Furthermore, some parties, such as the Reform have actually been successful in obtaining a position, such as governor. Finally, third party candidates have actually taken away votes from a number of nominees over the years.

Third parties have become a necessity in this modern age with their ability to promote their beliefs onto other parties who advocate those policies in later elections. Therefore, it is obvious that the viewpoints of the Democratic and Republican parties have been affected by minor parties. Throughout American history, minor parties have adjusted and formed new parties concerning the issues, so the two major parties must switch their position as the issues change, allowing for the acceptance of many third party ideas.

For example, the Socialist Party is supposed to be responsible for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, which greatly helped many Americans. This shows that many Presidents reflect on the ideas of other parties and adopt them during their tenure in office. In addition to the New Deal, minor parties Eugene Debs, who ran four times fighting for the factory workers, and Ross Perot, who endeavored to eradicate the national debt, both inspired Presidents to accept their policies. Warren G. Harding approved the ideas of Eugene Debs while Clinton actually turned the national debt into a surplus before leaving office. Factional parties, such as the Bull Moose Party have also influenced the major parties to change their views. The Bull Moose Party called for more attention to not only business regulations but also party reform. Theodore Roosevelt was nominated for President and the Republican Party was forced to make a strong reform in their usual policy. These various examples, throughout the years, prove how strong the minor parties were in impacting the presidential elections through other part...

... middle of paper ...

...ile Lincoln received about 1.85 million of the popular vote. This shows how a split only causes losses while sticking together allows for victory according to statistics. Lincoln won only approximately 40 percent of the popular vote but still won presidency. Obviously, third parties have changed many presidential elections in our nation’s history.

Third parties have shown their mark on presidential elections throughout the United States’ history. Whether it was through other candidates adopting their policies, with their local success, or with their impact on elections, third party candidates have caused major change on various presidential elections. Minor parties will continue to impact other candidates and the rest of the country into adopting their views on certain issues. According to Nader, “The only difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocities with which their knees hit the floor when corporations knock on their door.” Obviously third party candidates will continue to run and impact elections for years to come.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2004/politics101/politics101_thirdparties.html

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h832.html