Political Party Timeline 1750-2000
1750-1775- The first two political factions of America were the Loyalists and the Patriots, nicknamed "Tories" and "Whigs". Many of the colonists belonged to neither side. The Patriots were made up of ragtag militia units who traveled about the country espousing the Revolutionary cause. The Loyalists numbered about 16 percent of the American people and were made up mostly of aristocrats and older conservatives. Other members included the king's officers and the Anglican clergy. New York City, Charleston, Quaker, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey proved to be Loyalist strongholds, while Patriots abounded in New England and other Presbyterian and Congregationalist areas. At war's end, about 80,000 Loyalists fled and had their property confiscated. About 50,000 Loyalists in total served the British side.
1763- The London government issued the Proclamation of 1763, which forbade colonial settlement west of the Appalachians. This instigated discontent amongst the Americans for the first time against their British masters. They flagrantly disregarded the rule by continuing to expand westward, which represented the first instance of colonial opposition to British rule.
1764-1767- Britain passed a series of tariffs- the Sugar Act, Quartering Act, Stamp Act, Declaratory Act, and the Townshend Acts- in an attempt to relieve debts from the French and Indian War. Each successive act was met with opposition by the colonialists. The acts served to increase tension between Americans and Britons.
1774- The British Parliament passed the "Intolerable Acts", which set the American Revolution in motion.
1787- United States Constitution is drafted in Philadelphia, and makes no mention of political parties.
1790- Worried that political factions will turn into political parties, George Washington says "Let me warn you, in the most solemn manner, against the baneful effects of the spirit of party."
1800- [John Marshall as Chief Justice] John Marshall is appointed Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and he stays in this position until 1855. He was a strong Federalist who continued to enforce Hamiltonian policies of government.
1800- [Election of 1800] In this election, John Adams (Federalist) vs Thomas Jefferson (Democratic- Republican). Thomas Jefferson wins the election. This marked a change in the political party history. The Federalist party began to decline, while Jefferson's new Democratic Republican party, which would eventually become the modern Democratic party, began to gain support. Jefferson's party represented rural interests and was especially strong in the South. It became the dominant party until the Civil War, winning twelve of the next sixteen elections. As the Federalist party withered away, the Democratic Republicans were the only major national party until the 1830s. After the election of 1800, the Democratic-Republican party was almost entirely dominant and elections were less divisive.
1801- [Marbury vs Madison] John Adams, president just before Jefferson's victory in 1800, appointed 58 members of his own party to fill government jobs created by Congress before he was to step down as president, in an attempt to sustain some Federalist power in the government. Adams' Secretary of State, John Marshall, failed to deliver 17 of the appointing documents, and thought his successor would finish the job. But when Jefferson, a Democrat-Republican, became president, he told his new secretary of state, James Madison, not to deliver some of the papers, and those individuals without papers could not take office. William Marbury, one of the "midnight judges" that was appointed by Adams who did not receive papers, sued Madison and demanded the Supreme Court of the United States to issue a court order requiring that Madison deliver his papers. The Supreme Court decided against Madison.
1803- [Louisiana Purchase] On April 30, Thomas Jefferson approves the purchase of the territory stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains for approximately $15 million. The Louisiana Purchase was done without congressional approval, but was later approved. Many federalists made objections against this purchase, arguing that the Constitution made no provision for the purchase and assimilation of foreign territory. On the other hand, Democratic-Republicans hailed Jefferson for this "victory", which virtually doubled the size of the American nation and secured a major outlet for American trade to world markets by way of the Mississippi River and New Orleans.
1804- [Hamilton-Burr duel] Alexander Hamilton, the nation's first secretary of the Treasury, was the chief author of the Federalist papers advocating a strong central government. Burr represented the old Republican Party, later becoming the Vice President to Thomas Jefferson in 1800. The antagonism between the two came to a head in 1804 when Hamilton thwarted Burr's attempt to gain renomination for Vice President as well as his bid to win the governorship of New York. Burr challenged his long time rival to a duel, and Hamilton accepted the invitation. Alexander Hamilton was killed.
1804- [Election of 1804] President Jefferson, the current president, easily defeated Pickney and his dying Federalist party. The Federalists were discredited by racial elements of their party. Their campaigning lacked momentum and were only fairly successful in Connecticut, Delaware, and Maryland.
1805- [Impeachment of Justice Samuel Chase] President Thomas Jefferson, leader of the Republicans, disliked the idea of judges being appointed for life. He feared that under such a system, the judiciary might become too powerful. And when Samuel Chase expressed Federalist opinions from the bench. Jefferson encouraged the House of Representatives to impeach him. Chase's lawyer, Luther Martin, presented a complete defense of his client, and in the end, Chase was acquitted.
1807- [Embargo Act] In a desperate attempt to avert war, the United States imposed an embargo on foreign trade. Jefferson believed that economic coercion would convince Britain and France to respect America's neutral rights. To enforce the embargo, Jefferson took steps that infringed on his most cherished principles: individual liberties and opposition to a strong central government. He mobilized the army and navy to enforce the blockade, and declared the Lake Champlain region of New York, along the Canadian border, in a state of insurrection. The Embargo was a costly failure and the Democratic=Republican party was smeared with its failure.
1808- [Election of 1808] Madison, a Democratic-Republican, was Jefferson's hand picked successor. The only issue Pickney of the Federalists could use against the Republicans was the unpopularity of the Embargo Act. The act had failed and was causing significant hardship to the economy, especially that of the Northeast. It helped revitalize the Federalist party but it was not a strong enough issue to overcome the popularity of the Republicans.
1812- [Election of 1812-War of 1812] James Madison is the current president of the United States during the War of 1812. The American Army experience large upsets in the earlier states of the war, and provided the Federalists with a lot of ammunition to use against the Democratic-Republicans at the election of 1812. However, during the election, the masses supported the present president during a time of war, thinking it would be best, and Madison was reelected.
1814- [Hartford Convention] The convention takes place from December 15, 1814, to January 5, 1815. Demanded financial assistance from Washington to compensate for lost trade and proposed constitutional amendments requiring a two-thirds vote in Congress before an embargo could be imposed, new states admitted, or war declared. Sought to abolish the three-fifths clause, limits presidents to a single term, and prohibit the election of two successive presidents from the same state. Death knoll of the Federalist party.
1816- [Election of 1816] Federalists nominate last Presidential candidate who is crushed by the Republican Monroe. This victory marks the beginning of the Era of Good Feelings, which would last until 1824 - a one-party Republican administration under Monroe.
1819- [McCullough v. Maryland] Chief Justice Marshall extends the implied powers doctrine to protect BUS branch from Maryland taxes. This showed Marshall's ideals of loose interpretation of power when regarding fiscal matters.
1824- [Gibbons v. Ogden] Marshall establishes broad interpretation of Interstate Commerce clause by denying the right of New York to give the monopoly for steamboat travel to Ogden (Fulton/Livingston company). It establishes that within its sphere, Congress is supreme over state governments.
1824- [Election of 1824] Henry Clay, William Crawford, Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams all run for the presidency on the Democratic-Republican Party. The election campaign was mostly personal and regional, with no very significant issues separating the candidates. The election showed the one-party administration dominated the Era of Good Feelings.
1825- [Corrupt Deal] Quincy Adams wins the Presidency when the House of Representatives votes him in. This "Corrupt Deal" splits the Republicans into two camps: the National Republicans, led by Adams, and the Democratic- Republicans, led by Jackson.
1828- [Election of 1828] Jackson defeats Adams for the Presidency. He later introduces the spoils system. Democrats dominate the Presidential administration and the importance of party loyalty becomes established.
1832- [Election of 1832] National nominating conventions named presidential candidates for the first time. Jackson ran on the Democrat ticket and Henry Clay on the National Republican ticket. The Anti-Masons and the National Republicans adopted formal party platforms, publicizing their position on contemporary issues, which eventually became a campaign tradition. By now, the Federalist Party has withered away. The Democrats follow President Andrew Jackson, and the Whigs rally behind Senator Henry Clay. Jackson is re-elected, with William Wirth, the anti-Masonic candidate, capturing 8 percent of the vote.
1832- [Anti-Masonic Party] The Anti-Masonic Party emerges as the first third party of the United States. They opposed the influence and fearsome secrecy of the Masonic order. They were supported by Protestant groups.
1834- [Whig Party] The Whig Party emerges as a coalition of anti-Jackson statesmen. First became recognized when Clay, Webster, and Calhoun united to pass a measure demanding censure for Jackson's siphoning of federal funds from the Bank of United States. The group included southern states' righters, supporters of Clays' American System, and the Protestants of the Anti-Masonic party.
1836- [Election of 1836] The Whig Party formed out of the National Republican Party, the leaders of which were John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay. They were nationalists, supported internal improvements and moral reforms, and desired gradual westward expansion in congruence with economic growth and modernization. The Whigs were based in New England and New York, mostly made up of Northern middle-class people, market-oriented farmers, and native-born skilled workers. In 1836, the Whigs factioned off, but generally united against Jackson's policies of the last eight years. They especially disliked Martin Van Buren, Jackson's hand-chosen successor.
1836- [Democrats: Martin Van Buren] The Democrats were the successors of Jeffersonian democracy. They avored localism and freedom from modern institutions such as banks, factories, and reform movements. They had a commitment to states' rights, a limited government, and an agrarian deal. They believed in westward expansion by the acquisition of new territories. They were made up of Northern artisans who felt threatened by industry; farmers hurt by tariffs; immigrants who desired to keep their own traditions; and Southerners and Westerners in favor or land acquisition. In 1836 they threw their support behind Andrew Jackson's successor Martin Van Buren.
1839- [Liberty Party] James C. Birney: The Liberty Party was the political outgrowth of the growing anti-slavery movement. It was born when the movement factionalized into conservative and radical parts. The radicals followed William Lloyd Garrison, who demanded the immediate ending of slavery, denounced the U.S. Constitution, and allowed female activists into the movement. The conservatives formed the Liberty Party and sought to end slavery gradually through traditional, political channels.
1840- [Election of 1840] Whigs: William Henry Harrison: In 1840 the Whig Party ran a "Log Cabin and Hard Cider" campaign in which they presented their presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison, a Virginia aristocrat, as a simple man and hero of the people. The Whigs believed in a "loose construction" of the Constitution which included supporting big government with a national bank and the congressional regulation of the expansion of slavery. Democrats: Martin Van Buren: The Democrats upheld a platform which endorsed "strict construction " of the Constitution in 1840. They opposed the government's interference with the spread of slavery, the existence of a national bank, and the federal funding of internal improvements.
1841- [Election of 1840] William Henry Harrison won the Presidency for the Whigs and died shortly thereafter. During the election, neither party took a clear political stance, but instead worked on promoting the image of their candidate. Harrison was portrayed as a humble logger, which won him the common man's vote. John Tyler succeeded Harrison. The Whigs established a highly nationalistic platform and tried to run through their policies through the executive, but Tyler, a Democrat at heart, stopped their plans for a new National Bank of America and increased tariffs.
1844- [Election of 1844] The Democrats under James K. Polk and the Whigs under Henry Clay fought for the Presidency. The biggest issue of the election concerned the annexation of Texas. The Democrats took a strongly pro-expansionist platform, while Clay straddled between the two sides on the issue. As a result, Polk won. Tyler interpreted the Democrat victory as a "mandate" to annex Texas and did so three days before leaving office. Polk's presidential agenda included: lower tariff rates, the restoration of the independent treasury, the acquisition of California, and the settlement of the Oregon dispute. Polk eventually succeeded on all four fronts.
1848- [Free-Soil Party] The Free Soil party was organized by northern antislaveryites who advocated the Wilmot Proviso and opposed the expansion of slavery. They also supported internal improvements and free government homesteads. Their supporters included Democrats, northerners, and "conscience Whigs." They nominated Van Buren for the presidency. Their antislavery stance came not from morality but the economic effects of the institution on the North's wage workers.
1848- [Election of 1848] The Democrats nominated General Lewis Cass for the presidency, who was known for his pro-popular sovereignty policy. The Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor and dodged the political issues of the day, preferring to extol the virtues of their candidate. Both sides generally preferred to ignore the slavery issue. Taylor prevailed over Cass, largely due to Van Buren's splitting the vote in New York.
1849- [Order of the Star-Spangled Banner] It is established, which later develops into the Know-Nothing party. The party was composed of nativists who battled foreign immigration.
1852- [Election of 1852] Winfield Scott was nominated for the Whigs. Whigs were dedicated to the enforcement of the provisions of the Compromise of 1850, which included the admission of California as a free state and a stricter fugitive slave law. They condemned further agitation of the slavery issue and saw the Compromise of 1850 as the solution. Yet they did not come out as vehemently as pro-slavery, and some Southern Whigs deserted the party to join the Democrats. John P. Hale was nominated for the Free Soil Party. Free soilers were the only political group to officially denounce the Compromise of 1850. They demanded the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law and opposed the further admission of slave slates. Democrats nominated Franklin Pierce. Democrats supported the provisions of the Compromise of 1850 and united along pro-slavery lines.
1854- Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowing those two new states to decide the slavery question for themselves. The slavery debate is ratched up even further.
1854- In the North, anti-slavery activists from all parties begin meeting. The Republican Party is born in Ripon, Wisconsin, on March 20th, following a meeting of Whigs, Free Soilers, and Democrats.
1856- At their first national convention., the new Republican Party nominates Colonel John C. Fremont, a popular California Senator, to be their first presidential candidate. Fremont comes in second in a three-way race. In the space of just two years, the Republicans have replaced a major party, the Whigs. The American Party nominates Millard Fillmore. The unprecedented rate of immigration at mid-century, particularly from Catholic Ireland, caused many nativists to fear foreign invasion. They organized into a secret order known as the "Know-Nothings" or the "Order of the Star Spangled Banner" and then politicized themselves in 1856 as the American Party. It was made up of mostly ex-Whigs who were anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant, and desired to lengthen the period, allow only citizens to vote, and only native-born citizens to hold office. Democrats nominated James Buchanan. They again united along a proslavery platform, endorsing states' rights, the Fugitive Slave Law, and popular sovereignty in the territories.
1860- [Election of 1860] Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln. The Republican Party absorbed anti-slavery Whigs and most Know-Nothings. It became more moderate in its stance on the exclusion of slavery and denounced John Brown's raid. The platform endorsed a protective tariff, the Homestead Act, and internal improvements. The Constitutional Union Party nominates John Bell. The party was the anti-extremist party, absorbing Southern Whigs who didn't want to vote Democratic and Northern Whigs who felt the Republicans were too radical. They united in order to block a Republican victory. Democrats nominate Stephen Douglas and John C. Breckinridge. The party split completely along sectional lines. Southern Democrats walked out of the Democratic National Convention, which nominated Douglas on a popular sovereignty platform, to name their own candidate, Breckenridge, on a slave code ticket.
1864- [Election of 1864] In early 1864 Lincoln felt he has unlikely to win reelection, the war had not yet been decided. Despite this fact, the Republicans unanimously re-nominated Lincoln. The Democrats nominate General McClellan. The platform of the Democratic party called for a cease-fire. Between the Democratic convention and the election, there were spectacular Union victories- including Sherman's capture of Atlanta. McClellan repudiated the Democratic platform, but Lincoln won overwhelmingly.
1865- [Lincoln's Assassination] Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilks Booth and is replaced by Andrew Johnson.
1865- [Johnson's Announcement] President Johnson deeply disturbs the congressional Republicans when he announces that the recently rebellious states had satisfied his conditions and that in his view the Union was now restored.
1872- A powerful wave of disgust with Grantism was beginning to build up throughout the nation, even before some of the worst scandals had been exposed. Reform-minded citizens banded together to form the Liberal Republican Party.
1874- Republican hard-money policy had a political backlash, it helped elect a Democratic House of Representatives.
1878- Spawned the Greenback Labor Party which polled over a million votes and elected fourteen members of Congress.
1880- The Republican party sought a new standard-bearer and finally settled on a "dark-horse" candidate, James A. Garfield, form the electoral powerful state of Ohio.
1884- For the election of 1885, the Republicans nominated James G. Blaine as their presidential candidate. Reform-minded Republicans disliked the dishonest Blaine and turned to the Democratic side. Those reforming Republicans were dubbed "Mugwamps". Democrats nominated Grover Cleveland as their presidential candidate.
1885- [Election of 1885] Grover Cleveland wins the presidential election over James G. Blaine. (First Democratic win in 24 years)
1887- [Cleveland goes against his Republicans] Cleveland vetoed a bill that would provide seeds for drought-ravaged farmers. Stays loyal to Democrats rather than reform-minded Republicans who supported him. Cleveland fights for a lower tariff that will favor the Democrats.
1888- [Election of 1888] The election was divided over the issue of tariffs. Democrats reluctantly nominated Grover Cleveland again. Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison. Benjamin Harrison wins the election for the Republicans. Republican Thomas B. Reed became the new speaker of the House and controlled it with an iron fist and have congress become the first year to appropriate a billion dollars.
1890- [Congressional Elections] The congressional elections caused Republicans to lose their majority in Congress mostly due to their favor of high tariffs. Members of the Farmers' Alliance became part of Congress.
1892- [Populist Party] The Populist party of the "People's Party", was formed. Rooted from the Farmers alliance and frustrated farmers in the West and South. Populist Platform:
- Inflation through free and unlimited coinage of silver at the rate of sixteen ounces of silver to one ounce of gold
- Graduated income tax
- Government ownership of railroads, telephone, telegraph
- Direct election of US senators, and a one-term limit for Presidents
- Adoption of the initiative and referendum to allow citizens to shape legislation more directly
-Shorter workday and immigration restrictions
The Popular Party was one of the few third parties to ever break into the electoral column.
1895- [Cleveland's Loan] Cleveland turned to the big businesses for a loan to help out the government.
1896- [Election of 1896] Election had William Jennings Bryan of the Populist Party versus William McKinley of the Republican Party. Populists favored a silver based economy, while Republicans wanted a gold-based economy. Conflict arose over the interests of the Agrarian Populists and the Big Businesses-favoring Republicans. McKinley won the Presidency in the election of 1896
1900- [Election of 1900] Republicans nominated McKinley for the presidency again. William Jennings Bryan represented the Populist Party again. McKinley defeated Bryan and took the presidency.
1901- [McKinley's End] McKinley was murdered, and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt became president. Roosevelt practiced the "Big Stick" policy, and exercised imperialism. Republican Roosevelt places much more power into the hand of the President himself in the executive branch. Progressive Robert La Follette elected governor of Wisconsin.
1902- [Progressive Party] Progressives wanted to use state power to curb trusts and stem the socialist threat by generally improving the common person's conditions of life and labor. Progressives emerged among both major political parties.
1904- President Roosevelt becomes an unlikely champion for the Progressives, taking on the great monopolies, regulating the railroads, and establishing safety standards for food, drugs and the workplace.
1908- [Election of 1908] President Roosevelt supported William Howard Taft as his successor to the presidency. Taft defeated Bryan of the Populists. Eugene V. Debs of the Socialist Party accumulated a surprising 420, 793 votes.
1912- [Election of 1912] Taft wins the Republican presidential nomination over Theodore Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson was the Democratic nominee for the presidency. The Democratic platform called for stronger antitrust legislation, banking reform, and tariff reductions. A third party arose in this election called the Progressive Republican Party. Former president Theodore Roosevelt headed the new third party. Woodrow Wilson won the election for the Democrats.
1916- [Election of 1916] Woodrow wins his second presidential election and is re-elected as President. Republicans nominated Charles Hughes, and the Progressives re-nominated Roosevelt.
1918- [Fourteen Points] Wilson makes his Fourteen Points speech to represent American platform regarding world conflicts.
1920- [Election of 1920] Republicans nominate Warren G. Harding. Democrats nominate James M. Cox. Harding becomes President. Eugene V. Debs accumulated 919,799 votes for the Socialist Party despite the fact that he was in jail. This was the largest number for the Socialist Party.
1932- Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins the White House, riding a Democratic coalition that dominates politics for 16 years.
1936- [Election of 1936] The Democratic convention in Philadelphia overwhelmingly re-nominated Roosevelt. The convention eliminated the rule that required 2/3 of the delegates to vote for the nomination of a Presidential candidate, thus, simplifying the future selection of Presidential candidates. The Republicans meeting in Cleveland nominated Alf Landon of Kansas. Landon attacked the administration of the New Deal, while supporting its goals. Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory.
1940- [Election of 1940] Franklin D. Roosevelt breaks the two-term tradition with a victory over Republican Wendell L. Wilkie. Wilkie was a political novice who rocketed to the presidential nomination at the Philadelphia convention largely due to his magnetic personality. The Republican platform condemned FDR's alleged dictatorship, his aid-to-Britain policies, and the extravagances and inefficiencies of the New Deal. Roosevelt decided to run because of the gravity of the crisis at hand. Both candidates agreed to stay out of the war and strengthen the nation's defenses. Roosevelt won by an electoral count of 449 to 82 largely because the American public felt that an experienced leader was needed in such a time of war. The Democratic majorities in Congress remained about the same.
1944- [Election of 1944] The Republicans nominate Thomas E. Dewey, the liberal governor of New York. John W. Bricker was selected for the vice presidency due to his strong isolationist stance. The Republican platform called for an unstinted prosecution of the war and for the creation of a new international organization to maintain peace. The Democrats perfunctorily nominated FDR and Harry S. Truman over current VP Henry A. Wallace. Dewey announced that it was time for change from New Dealism, but the voters stuck with the experienced FDR, who won largely due to the support of the CIO
1946- [Congressional Elections] The Republicans win control of Congress in the congressional elections and re-nominate Thomas E. Dewey. The Democrats nominated Truman, which split the Democratic party. Southern "Dixiecrats" nominated J. Strom Thurmond on a States' Rights ticket. The newly formed Progressive Party - composed of New Dealers, pacifists, liberals, and communist-fronters - nominated Henry A. Wallace. Wallace took a pro-Soviet stance. Truman fought for a program of civil rights, improved labor benefits, and health insurance, which eventually won him the support of farmers, workers, blacks, and the election. In his inaugural speech, Truman called for "Point Four", which called for U.S. financial and technical aid to underdeveloped lands to help them help themselves and kill communism at the root. Furthermore, the Democrats took back Congress.
1947- [Loyalty Program] Truman launches a massive "loyalty" program. The Loyalty Review Board investigated more than 3 million federal employees and ninety supposedly disloyal organization. 3,000 employees either resigned or were dismissed. The first victim of the late 1940's Communist red hunt.
1947- [Taft-Hartley Act] The Republican triumph over the Democrats with the Taft-Hartley Act, which outlawed the closed shop, made unions liable for damages that resulted from jurisdictional disputes among themselves, and required union leaders to take a noncommunist oath.
1952- [Election of 1952] The Democratic Party was in an unfavorable situation with the deadlock in Korea, and President Truman's decision to fire General MacArthur. For the new Presidential Election they elected Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson. The Republicans chose General Dwight D. Eisenhower with vice president Richard Nixon. This election was the beginning of false political advertising as well. Eisenhower spoke to a nonexistent audience in a cleverly broadcasted political advertisement.
1956- [Election of 1956] In the Presidential Election of 1956, Republicans chose President Eisenhower as their candidate, while Democrats once again chose Adlai Stevenson as their candidate. Although President Eisenhower won the election, he failed to win for his party either house of Congress- the first time since Zachary Taylor's election in 1848. Louisiana went Republican for the first time since 1876.
1960- For the election of 1960, the Republicans chose Vice President Richard Nixon as their presidential candidate. The Democrats chose a young senator named John F. Kennedy as their candidate. Kennedy won the election by a narrow difference Democrats swept both houses of congress by wide margins.
1965- Johnson involves U.S. troops in Vietnam, which splits the Democratic Party between pro-war "hawks" and antiwar "doves".
1968- [Democrats' Long Primary] -Eugene McCarthy, who opposed war with Vietnam, almost ousted present president Johnson in the New Hampshire primary, convincing Johnson not to run in the 1968 election. - Vice President Humphrey battled against Robert Kennedy for the Democratic nominational seat, with Kennedy clearly holding the early lead. -Kennedy is assassinated, and Humphrey takes the nomination on the first ballot in Chicago.
1972- [Democrats] Senator George McGovern promised to pull the American troops out of Vietnam in ninety days, but he alienated the working class with his appeal to racial minorities, feminists, leftists, and youth.
[Republican] -Richard Nixon enters the Republican convention as the front runner and wins the nomination on the first ballot. - Nixon goes on to win the election of 1968 over Humphrey and American Independent Party candidate George Wallace. -Nixon emphasized that he had wound down the war from 540,000 to 30,000 and promised that peace was at hand. He won the election in a landslide, but the Democrats took over the House and Senate. -Watergate scandal breaks loose, revealing the corruption of the Nixon administration.
1976-[Election of 1976] Republicans nominate Gerald R. Ford who supports an increase in defense spending, retention of the Panama canal, and opposition to busing and abortion. The Democrats nominate Jimmy Carter who is almost totally unknown, he ran against memory of Nixon and Watergate. He was untainted by ties with a corrupt and cynical Washington.
1978- Presidential retreat at Camp David organized by Carter and included President Ahwar Sadat of Egypt and Prime minister Menchem Begin of Israel. An accord was signed to relinquish hostilities and border disputes from the 1967 war.
1979- Carter proposed two treaties giving complete ownership of the Panama Canal back to the Panamanians by the year 2000. Carter resumed full diplomatic relations with China in early 1979 after 30 years of interruption.
1980- [Election of 1980] Jimmy Carter-Democratic
- supported the Equal Rights Amendment&
- supported S.A.L.T. II
- called for a national health insurancce program
Ronald W. Reagan-Republican
- opposed the Equal Rights Amendment
John B. Anderson-Independent
The twin issues of the American Hostages in Iran and what the Republicans called the misery index (inflation plus unemployment) ended Carter's chance of being re-elected
In reaction to the Republican nomination of conservative Ronald Reagan, liberal Republican John Anderson forms the National Unity Party. He captures 6.6 percent of the popular vote. Ronald Reagan wins with 50.7 percent, while incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter is left with 41 percent.
1984- [Election of 1984]
Ronald Reagan-Republican
Walter F. Mondale-Democratic
- attacked the Republicans for budget ddeficits
- called for more tariff protection.
Geraldine Ferraro is the first woman vice-presidential candidate of a major political party.
1988- [Election of 1988]
George Bush- Republican, Michael Dukakis- Democratic
- used Iran- Contra Scandal to denounce Republicans during previous presidency; "twin tower" of deficits with the federal budge and internation trade continued to mount- paced the way for opening Democratic opportunities.
1992- [Election of 1992]
George Bush- Republican- Commander-in chief presiding over the most decisive American military victory since World War II, the Gulf War; campaign was hobbled by troubled economy; Cold War worked against the Republicans
William Clinton- Democratic- was governor of Arkansas; his image of youth helped him out
H. Ross Perot- Independent- a self made billionaire, ran a one-issue campaign- deficit reduction
1992- A new third party movement emerges, this time from the center. Opinion polls show voters disgusted with Washington politics, alienated from the major parties and anxious about an economy going from local to global. Billionaire H. Ross Perot enters the presidential race and out-spends the major party candidates. He is also the first third-party candidate to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the major party candidates in nationally televised debates. Perot garners 19 percent of the popular vote, making him the most successful independent candidate since Theodore Roosevelt. Democrat Bill Clinton wins with 43 percent, defeating Perot and the incumbent, Republican George Bush, who captures 37 percent.
1994- Perot's platform finds its way into the mainstream political dialogue, as evidenced by the Republicans' Contract with America, which calls for term limits, campaign finance reform, lobbying reform, and a balanced budget.
1996- [Election of 1996]
William Clinton- Democratic- labeled the Republicans as the party of extremists
Robert Dole- Republican- too old
H. Ross Perot- Reform
1996- Ross Perot runs again for president, now with a new political party - his organization "United We Stand" is now called the Reform Party, and is entitled to $29 million in federal matching funds. But his support drops to 8 percent.
1998- The Reform Party wins a major victory when former
pro-wrestler and actor Jesse Ventura is elected governor of Minnesota - the
Reform Party's first statewide victory.
2000- [Election of 2000]
George W. Bush- Republican; Al Gore- Democratic; Ralph Nader- Green
2000- Ventura leaves the fractious Reform Party after it appears that it will nominate former Republican Pat Buchanan for president. But at the August Reform Party convention, supporters of John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party challenge Buchanan's nomination; court battles are likely. Meanwhile, the Green Party nominates longtime consumer advocate Ralph Nader for President.