Published at Third Party Watch:

Throughout the 187 year history of third party politics in the United States many parties have risen and fallen and throughout the twentieth century there were numerous examples of third parties collapsing due to the cult of personality formed around a member of the party.

In 1912 former President Theodore Roosevelt nearly retook the White House under the banner of the Progressive “Bull Moose” Party after a four year hiatus. He received almost thirty percent of the vote and in the only instance of such happening forced one of the major party candidates in third place. Four years later in 1916 the party was dead. Roosevelt refused to accept the nomination a second time as he believed it would only hand the election to the Democrats, Hiram Johnson, their former vice presidential nominee, declined all interest, any attempt to select a different presidential candidate was shot down and John Parker, their 1916 vice presidential nominee, endorsed Republican nominee Charles Hughes for the Presidency.

See the full story here. Democracy Chronicles has put together a brief review of the majority of America’s third parties in a handy overview where the parties are separated into categories. Links to their websites and party platforms are included too. See the overview of all American political parties at Democracy Chronicles Third Party Central.