PROMINENT THIRD PARTY MOVEMENTS AND THEIR IMPACT ON AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

Ronald Feinman

DESCRIPTION: This series will promote appreciation and understanding of the impact of prominent third-party movements on American presidential history. We will examine the third-party movements that won electoral votes in presidential elections, won a notable amount of popular votes based on percentage, or had a prominent public figure running on its party line for the presidency. The parties covered will include two from the 19th century, two from the early 20th century, and five from the postwar years through the end of the 20th century. The personalities covered will include two former Presidents of the United States (Martin Van Buren and Theodore Roosevelt); a prominent three-time presidential nominee (William Jennings Bryan); two prominent progressive Republicans (Robert La Follette, Sr. and Henry A. Wallace); two prominent Southern segregationist governors (Strom Thurmond and George Wallace); and two more-contemporary third-party or independent campaigners (John Anderson and Ross Perot). The end of the last lecture will also refer to the presidential election of 2000, in which Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan had a dramatic effect on the election results in Florida, tipping the election to George W. Bush over Al Gore, despite Gore’s national popular vote lead. Each lecture will be followed by discussion and a Q-and-A period.

FOUR LECTURES:

1. The Free Soil Party (1848) and the Populist Party (1892,1896)
   
2. The Bull Moose Progressives (1912) and the Progressive Party (1924)
   
3. The Progressive Party (1948), States Rights Party (1948), and American Independent Party (1968)
   
4. Independent Candidacies: John Anderson (1980), Ross Perot (1992, 1996), Ralph Nader (2000), Pat Buchanan (2000)

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Dr. Ronald Feinman has been Professor of American History, Government and Politics for the past four decades, including 22 years as a Senior Professor at Broward College as well as an Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science at Florida Atlantic University (FAU). He holds a PhD from City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate School, and is the author of Twilight of Progressivism: The Western Republican Senators and the New Deal (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981) and book reviews for various scholarly journals. He blogs about politics and history at: www.theprogressiveprofessor.com. He is also a listed member of the FAU Speakers Bureau and has given lectures to many diverse groups over the past 10 years.