Hello all, and happy Election Season! 2024 is shapeing up to be one of the most dramatic and consequential year for national elections around the world. In the US many voters have expressed a desire for more options than the two main political parties, and they might be told that "this is how its always been". In this episode, we work to undo that myth and examine the long history of "third parties" in this country and hear about the most successful.

Shownotes:

• Episode Art: 1912 Progressive Party Campaign Button; Anonymous/Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
• https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/parliamentaryauthority/revolution/overview/whigstories/
• Political Platforms: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/app-categories/elections-and-transitions/party-platforms
• https://news.gallup.com/poll/651278/support-third-political-party-dips.aspx
• https://www.state.gov/briefings-foreign-press-centers/elections-2024/third-parties-in-elections
• Former and Current Third Party Legislators:
• https://www.senate.gov/senators/SenatorsRepresentingThirdorMinorParties.htm
• https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/
• https://ballotpedia.org/Current_independent_and_minor_party_federal_and_state_officeholders
• Political Platforms for Minor Parties:
• https://www.lp.org/platform/
• https://www.gp.org/platform
• https://constitutionparty.com/principles/platform/
• https://www.prohibitionparty.org/platform
• https://www.solidarity-party.org/platform
• https://pslweb.org/program/
• Wizard of Oz Analysis: https://americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/populism-and-world-oz
• Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/mountaineer/through-the-clouds
• https://www.archives.gov/files/legislative/resources/ebooks/two-party-system.pdf
• https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/full-text
• John C. Calhoun Picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/John_C_Calhoun_by_Mathew_Brady%2C_1849.jpg