Quote:
Originally posted by Corbin Dallas:
Also, you poli-sci majors will be able to correct me on this probably, but haven't we had one 3rd party president, Teddy Roosevelt? Also, of course, Washington didn't have a party affiliation, I don't think.
|
Somewhat correct. Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican when he assumed the presidency upon the death of president McKinley. He made a public statement that he would only seek two terms in office. he later regretted this statement. he was a Republican president both terms, but after he left office, decided to run in 1912 on the Republican ticket. the nomination went to someone else, so he formed his own party, the Bull-Moose Party (a progressive/grange type party; populist-based) and effectively split the republican vote and getting Woodrow Wilson elected as the Democrat.
Washington was not affilliated with a party, however there were factions at the time, to which the other founding fathers belonged to, namely the federalists, and those opposed to the federalists (states rights), which then became the Whigs and Democrat-Republicans (one party), the Democrats emerged, and the republicans emerged onto the national scene about 1856 or so.
I tried to be brief. It's not exact, but close. Feel free to correct me if I am in error on dates or anything.