Others: Third-Party Politics From the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party [Hardcover]

Darcy G. Richardson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0595663974 | ISBN-13: 978-0595663972 | Publication Date: April 15, 2004

This lively and lucidly written history examines the crucial role third parties have played in shaping our nation's destiny, beginning with the Anti-Masonic Party in the 1820s and concluding with the spectacular rise and disappointing collapse of the Greenback-Labor movement in the mid-1880s--a short-lived entity that gave birth to the dramatic Populist movement of the following decade.

In this sweeping historical chronicle, a marvelous mix of history and biography, the author explains in vivid detail how two antebellum third-party movements--the Free Soil and Know-Nothing parties--provided the spark for the phoenix-like ascendancy of the antislavery Republican Party in the 1850s, culminating in Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency in 1860.

This copiously rich and brisk narrative also describes how the Know-Nothing Party--the most powerful third-party movement in American history--was ultimately ripped asunder over the issue of slavery.

In the first of a riveting and powerful four-volume series on independent and third-party politics in U.S. history, Darcy Richardson also examines the remarkable and fascinating men and women who took part in those political movements outside the traditional "two-party system" and the extraordinary contributions they made in shaping the course of America's destiny.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Darcy G. Richardson, a freelance writer, is the author of A Nation Divided: The 1968 Presidential Campaign. Long active in third-party politics, he was the Consumer Party candidate for Pennsylvania Auditor General in 1980 and for the U.S. Senate eight years later. He now resides and works in Jacksonville, Florida. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 684 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse.com (April 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595663974
• ISBN-13: 978-0595663972
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,684,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Historical Perspective on Third Parties, November 7, 2005

By 

Santiago (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Others: Third-Party Politics From the Nation's Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party (Hardcover)

As I find myself more and more dissatisfied with the two major political parties, I found myself increasingly interested and drawn to the unrepresented and often unheard voices of the political arena: the third parties of American politics.

It was from my own research (and my own curiosity) that led me to this book: Others by Darcy Richardson. The book is part of a planned four-volume series that looks at the role of third parties in American history. Richardson's research is outstanding and very detailed. He not only provides biographical thumbnail sketches of persons of interest to breathe life into these forgotten heroes of elections past, but illustrates how some of the early third-party movements routinely fielded tickets headed by men of stature and substance, including ex-governors, congressmen, diplomats, and even former Presidents (i.e., Free Soiler Martin Van Buren in 1848 and the Know-Nothing Party's Millard Fillmore in 1856). In this first volume, he thoroughly re-examines these parties and key players from our country's beginning to the mid 1880s, culminating in the demise of the Greenback-Labor Party.

Where I had already thought that I knew quite a bit about the early American parties (the Federalists, Democratic-Republicans, the Whigs, the Know Nothings, the Free Soilers), Richardson not only expands my existing knowledge but also introduces the forgotten parties of the earlier periods, including the Anti-Masonic Party (anti-secret society), the Liberty Party (anti-slavery), and the Prohibitionists (teetotalers). He clearly has his hand on the political pulse of early America and writes in a guiding narrative that leaves the impression that he himself was there at these pivotal points in American history; at the early political conventions with all their intrigue and deal making; reporting the newspaper headlines and pamphlets of the period; the behind-the-scenes politicking between the candidates, the party bosses and assorted movers-and-shakers. Unlike some in academia, Richardson makes no attempt to force his own interpretation of events on the reader, but merely reminds his audience of the impact third parties had on the nation's political development.

All in all, Richardson has written a wonderful book that is insightful, informative and a terrific read. He brings to light the lives and dreams of so many forward-thinking Americans who, for the most part, have been overlooked by other historians. I look forward to his subsequent volumes so that I can expand my knowledge on the third parties of the 20th century. I can see where this book will be a reference for anyone looking to examine the role third party politics have played, especially during some of the more volatile periods in our nation's history.