The reasons for the emergence of popularity for the Third Party led by George Wallace in the 1968

American Election, the impact and aims of the party on the election and the reasons for their demise While the United States presidential elections are often the most important political events in United States history, since the re-establishment of the two-party system to involve Republican and Democrats, one thing has been consistent the newly elected president has been a part of the two major parties, with rarely any contest from a third party During the !"#$ %merican election, it seemed as this could change &he Southern 'andidate from %labama, (eorge Wallace, for a short section during the !"#$ election seemed as if he could turn the tide, gathering a consistent !)* of the votes!, and at his height +!* &he circumstances of the !"#,s including the introduction of the !"#- 'ivil Rights %ct and increasing protests about topics such as .ietnam led to a vast amount of voters unsatisfied with either political party &he method on how (eorge Wallace managed to gather this support can be split into three separate sections &he pree/isting situation of the !"#,s leading to the popularity of his campaign, how Wallace used his rhetoric alongside the situation to gain prominence during the !"#$ elections, and how this impacted the Democratic and Republican candidates in order to achieve his aims While Wallace eventually failed in his gambit during the !"#$ elections, the e/istence of such power and popularity e/isting within a two-party system shows how Wallace could use circumstances to his advantage, showing that he was 0uite possibly the most important Southern politician throughout this decade &he situation during the late !"#,s had e/acerbated beyond control &he unhappiness of various social classes were a direct response to decisions made by the government over the decade 1ne of the most important changes made during the decade was the re-establishment of the Democratic South Until !"#$, Southern Democrats had always been content with voting with their historical party who had fought against 2incoln during the 'ivil War, however, the increasing liberalisation of the party during the !"#,s tended to create some discontent Starting early in !"#! with the election of 3ohn 4 5ennedy to the 6residency, the Democratic 6arty began ta7ing a positive opinion of the 'ivil Rights 8ovement, advocating e0uality within the United States for peoples of all colours &he movement achieved its pea7 during !"#- when the 'ivil Rights %ct and the .oting Rights %ct were passed &he 'ivil Rights %ct guaranteed to 9provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education to establish a 'ommission on :0ual :mployment 1pportunity9+ alongside other promises to secure e0uality for %frican-%mericans across the United States ;owever, this was not deemed as positive across the United States &he South who had supported the introduction of 3im 'row laws segregating the blac7 community began to act out against the Democratic 6arty &his is first shown during the !"#- 6residential election when for the first time, the Southern States voted en masse to side with the Republican 'andidate, <arry (oldwater, who supported the removal of the 'ivil Rights %ct = :0ually, on a local level, the (16 began developing a Southern base as Republicans were gaining more support on a local level across the Southern States 4or e/ample, in 17lahoma during !"#+, Republican candidate, ;enry <ellmon, was elected the first Republican governor of 17lahoma >n !"##, Republican Dewey <arlett succeeded him - &he change in voting patterns, brea7ing the 9Solid South9 leading to Southern voters voting for a candidate of the party of %braham 2incoln is drastically important >t showed how frustrated the historically Democratic States had become with Democratic 6residents such as 5ennedy and 3ohnson who considered 'ivil
! + = &he %merican 6residency 6roject, ?(allup 6oll %ccuracy Record@ available from www presidency ucsb eduAdataApreferences phpB accessed at !st 8ay +,!= 'ivil Rights %ct C!"#-D >ntroduction, available from httpEAAwww ourdocuments govAdoc phpF flashGtrueHdocG"IHpageGtranscriptB accessed +"th %pril, +,!= &he %merican 6residency 6roject ?:lection of !"#-@ available from httpEAAwww presidency ucsb eduAshowelection phpFyearG!"#-B accessed at +)rd %pril +,!= 'harles S <ulloc7 and 8ar7 3 RoJell The !e" Politics of the #ld $outh% An &ntroduction to $outhern Politics C6lymouth, +,!,D p ++#

Rights so important that if they did not support it 9then we will have failed as a people and as a nation 9) >t showed that the usually Democratic voters of the South were willing to e/pand their voting patterns beyond consistently voting for the Democratic candidate 1n top of this, disgruntled Southern Democrats were not the only ones dismayed with the situation &he !"#,s was a decade host to many protests and riots <y !"#), over si/ty percent of the United States viewed the war as a mista7e# and wanted it to end, though often differing in opinion on whether to end it by withdrawing or ta7ing a stronger stance ;owever, what was clear was that those who too7 their view to the e/treme were causing disturbances 6rotests bro7e out across the country, most famously during the Democratic 6arty 'onference during !"#$ as %nti-War groups spo7e out against the war in .ietnam Riots and protests such as these led to e/treme responses throughout the era as conservative politicians attempted to restore order &his led inevitably to hostile responses between 2iberals shunning conservatives in the government, and conservatives desiring a politician who can deal with the supposed mayhem across the nation &his general dissatisfaction within the deep south with governmental proceedings could not go on without some noticeable side effects 1ne such side-effect was the growth in prominence of one such politician, (eorge Wallace While Wallace would not get a true support base for president until his !"#$ campaign, it could be said that he was gaining popularity as the segregationist candidate since before his inauguration as governor of %labama ;e certainly did not deny the accusation at this point, stating during his inaugural address of !"#= 9> draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny %nd > say, Segregation nowK Segregation tomorrowK Segregation foreverK9I >n fact, the sudden increase of voters dissatisfied with both parties allowed him to stage his political coup from very early on >n !"#+, Wallace gave what was essentially the first speech of the campaign of !"#$, outlining his core beliefs that he would reassert during the elections 'riticising the government for conceding to 9a mob of communists and a bunch of advocates of <lac7 6ower9,$ he condemned the recent behavior as unconstitutional and urged the people of %labama to spea7 out 1ver the course of the ne/t few years as the governor of %labama, he gave various speeches 9cynically strengthening his home base for his !"#$ campaign for the presidency9 " >n !"#I, William Shearer created the %merican >ndependent 6arty with the sole intent of furthering public awareness during the upcoming elections !, ;owever, this tended to introduce some problems 8any States had re0uirements for third parties, including volunteer time to be put on the ballot and in 'alifornia9s case, one percent of the voting population as party members >t soon became clear that Wallace would become a serious candidate as he successfully gathered enough support to fulfill the legal re0uirement and much more !! :0ually, as Wallace announced that he was running for the 6residency in !"#$, he began wor7 on attracting the votes that were lost over the liberal si/ties &wo of the major percentage of the votes lost were from those he sympathiJed with conservatives and segregationists While running for president, he changed his campaign slogan of 9Stand up for %labama9 to 9Stand up for %merica9, urging the advancements of States9 Rights criticising the 9bureaucrats and theoreticians in Washington9 !+ While he would rarely openly
) 2yndon 3ohnson, ?%nd We Shall 1vercome@ !"# available from httpEAAhistorymatters gmu eduAdA#==#AB accessed at +$th %pril, +,!= # Witt7opf, :ugene and 3ames 8c'ormic7, ?&he 'old War 'onsensusE Did it :/istF@ Palgra'e (acmillan )ournals .ol ++, Lo -, Summer, !"", p #=# I (eorge Wallace, ?>naugural %ddress of (overnor (eorge Wallace@, (ontgomery, Alabama, !-th 3anuary, !"#=B available from httpEAAdigital archives alabama govAcdmAsingleitemAcollectionAvoicesAidA+")+ArecA)B accessed +"th %pril, +,!= $ Dan & 'arter, The Politics of *age% George Wallace, the #rigins of the !e" +onser'atism and the Transformation of American Politics CLew Mor7, !"")D p +$$ " Ray 3en7ins Alabama )ournal, Lovember Ith, !"## !, 3udy 'arlson, George + Wallace and the Politics of Po"erlessness% The Wallace +ampaigns, 196,-19.6 CLew 3ersey, !"$!D p I!! Dan & 'arter, The Politics of *age p =,I !+ (eorge Wallace, 9Stand up for %merica9, (ontgomery, Alabama, !"#$B available from httpEAAdigital archives alabama govAcdmAsingleitemAcollectionAvoicesAidA)=#,ArecA)B accessed +#th %pril, +,!=

advocate racism and segregation during the campaign, over the course of the year he began spea7ing out against the laws introduced in previous years, mostly because of the 'ivil Rights movement >n one of his speeches of the presidential campaign in !"#$, he made it 0uite clear that he was against the the changes introduced within the 'ivil Rights %ct of !"#-, condemning the federal government for introducing a law which 9says your grandmother can be put in jail without a trial by jury because she refused to sell or lease a house to someone 9!= ;owever, while the media did not feel that Wallace was a serious candidate with a shot of winning, they were practically forced to give him limelight considering the support he had gathered &hroughout the summer of !"#$ during his first major campaign tour, he gathered groups of up to ),,,,,, including +,,,,, within 8adison S0uare (arden the largest indoor political rally since Roosevelt in the !"=,s !;owever, not all gatherings tended to be good, with some resulting in overly-7een demonstrators acting out in riots against nearby blac7 populations 2oo7ing bac7 on it, Wallace commented that the mayhem was out of his control, and that the violence during what the rallies are 9what the news media tell about9, that it was 9not what > said 9!) ;owever, despite the future comments of Wallace claiming he 9broad support in %labama of all races9,!# his campaign encouraging the dismantlement of the 'ivil Rights %ct of !"#- and the removal of laws which cause 9infringement upon the property right system9!I would be the main aspect of his campaign for !"#$ 1n top of this, dissatisfied Southern Democrats were not the only ones who floc7ed to Wallace during the !"#$ election Wallace also carried the vote of those who rejected the chaos of the liberal si/ties Wallace placed law and order high upon his agenda, advocating a return to the conservative values &his is mostly in relation to the increasing protests involving the major issues of the !"#,s When the population of the United States were 0uestioned about the major issue facing %merica during the !"#$ election, the majority were concerned on the topic of .ietnam Since !"#-, those who believe the United States should pull out doubled from $* up to +,* while those who believe the United States should stand strong stayed at a steady =#*!$ Wallace was willing to ta7e a hard stance on the order issue, siding with the higher percentage 4amously, he commented at a speech in &ennessee that the protesters were in the wrong and that 9if you elect me the 6resident, and > go to 'alifornia or come to &ennessee, and if a group of anarchists lay down in front of my automobile, it9s gonna be the last one they ever gonna want to lay down in front ofK9!" 1n top of his statements against the protesters, he became the voice of the average citiJen, spea7ing as a father, and that 9the time will come that he Nhis sonO will have to see the service in the armed forces of our country ;owever, > pray that by the time he is that old that the war in .ietnam is over and that he, along with those his age will never have to serve in any conflict involving-our nation 9+, &o further his endorsement of supporting the war until it is finished, Wallace chose the retired %ir 4orce (eneral, 'urtis 2e8ay as his running mate +! 2e8ay was famed for his opinion on victory by any means and encouraged the possible use of nuclear weapons While this led Wallace to be seen as the candidate of victory in .ietnam, it did lead to some problems &his led other candidates, li7e ;umphrey, to view Wallace and 2e8ay as the 2e8ay 4iasco++ due to his comments on willingness to use nuclear weapons :0ually, while Wallace tried to 7eep 2e8ay out of the limelight, he was occasionally 0uestioned
!= 8artha ;aun, A $tudy in /emagoguery% A +ritical Analysis of the spea0ing of George +orley Wallace in the 1968 Presidential +ampaign CUrbana, !"I!D p !+!- Robert (iles and Robert W Snyder 1968% 1ear of (edia /ecision CLew <runswic7, !"""D p =$ !) 4rancisco 6aniJJa, Populism And the (irror of /emocracy C2ondon, +,,)D p !## !# 8artha ;aun, A $tudy in /emagoguery p !+) !I (eorge Wallace, 2ear me #ut CLew Mor7, !"#$D p !I-!$ !$ 6hilip : 'onverse, Warren : 8iller, 3errold ( Rus7 and %rthur ' Wolfe ?'ontinuity and 'hange in %merican 6oliticsE 6arties and >ssues in the !"#$ :lection@ American Political $cience Association .ol #=, Lo, -, Dec , !"#" p !,$# !" 3udy 'arlson George + Wallace and the Politics of Po"erlessness p !+" +, 2awrence D 4adely George Wallace% Agitator *hetorician% A *hetorical +riticism of George +orley Wallace3s 1968 Presidential +ampaign C6ittsburg, !"I-D p =" +! 2loyd Rohler George Wallace4 +onser'ati'e Populist CWestport, +,,-D p )# ++ Donald 3 (reen Third Party (atters% Politics, Presidents, and Third Parties in American 2istory CSanta <arbara, +,!, p $)

about his choice of running mate When this occurred, Wallace was not afraid to support his choice, claiming that 2e8ay was a great choice for vice-president, that 9some of the papers who wrote how great he was now say that if he was a great man the day before he announced as .ice 6resident on our tic7ed nothing happened to ma7e him any less the greater because he is running on a tic7et supported by the grass roots people of the United States9+= Lonetheless, Wallace9s controversial support of 2e8ay, despite the criticism, showed that Wallace was willing to go to support his stance on law and order and strengthening their military abroad despite setbac7s, showing strength to the 'onservative voters >n many ways, (eorge Wallace managed to become a very possible candidate for success 4rom very early on, he managed to split the Democrat and Republican vote by providing a candidate for those against the increasing liberalisation of the Democratic party, but still unwilling to vote for the conservative Republicans and by providing strong conservative policies +- 4amously, he criticised his opponents by stating 9Mou can ta7e all the Democratic candidates for 6resident and all the Republican candidates for 6resident 6ut them in a sac7 and sha7e them up &a7e the first one that falls out, grab him by the nape of the nec7, and put him right bac7 in the sac7 <ecause there is not a dime9s worth of difference in any of them 9+) :0ually, this was not a once off occurrence &hroughout the campaign, Wallace was generating an attractive platform for a variety of voters swayed away from other parties During %ugust9s !"#$ Democratic 6arty 'onference, riots bro7e out when students gathered to protest a variety of issues from involvement of the .ietnam War to the assassination of 8artin 2uther 5ing %s the media reported the vicious suppressing of the protests so close to the main conference of Democrats stating they are the path to %merica9s salvation, the effect was clear %fter the 'onvention, while the Republicans led in the polls, Wallace9s support increased from !# to +! percent :0ually, his advisors believed that he had a strong chance to win seventeen southern states +# %t this stage, both Republicans and Democrats feared the effect that (eorge Wallace was starting to have on the polls During Li/on9s tour of the United States, he warned 'onservatives who had been attracted by Wallace of splitting the vote +I ;umphrey claimed that Li/on and Wallace were wor7ing together to guarantee a conservative victory by splitting the party +$ >n fact, it seemed that these accusations were correct as splitting the vote was e/actly what Wallace was aiming to do Within the United States constitution, in the event that no candidate receives the majority of votes in the :lectoral college, then the ;ouse of Representatives elect the president +" While for a brief moment during September, it seemed possible for Wallace to win the election with his campaign, he made it 0uite clear early in the year that it was not his aim >n !"#$, he stated that if he were to throw the election in the ;ouse, he would be able to bargain for concessions in the ;ouse of Representatives =, %fter all, while the Democrats controlled the ;ouse of Representatives with twenty-si/ delegations compared to the Republican9s nineteen, Wallace theorised that since managed to split the support of the Democratic party during the campaign, some southern delegations would side with him and thus would be able to trade the presidency to Li/on ;owever, despite Wallace9s belief in this method of victory, it failed to gather any success &he final results of the !"#$ election were clear Despite beliefs that Wallace would split the conservative vote, most of the support came from Democratic states While Wallace won ten millions votes carrying five Southern States, the vast majority of electoral votes at =,! against !"! went towards Li/on, the Republican candidate Despite his original plan failing,
+= 2awrence D 4adely, George Wallace% Agitator *hetorician4 A *hetorical +riticism of George +orley Wallace3s 1968 Presidential +ampaign p =+" +- %rthur 6aulson *ealignment and Party *e'i'al% 5nderstanding American Electoral Politics at the Turn of the T"enty-6irst +entury CWestport, +,,,D p !) +) (eorge Wallace, $tand 5p 6or America p +!+ +# 3udy 'arlson George + Wallace and the Politics of Po"erlessness p I" +I Dan & 'arter 6rom George Wallace to !e"t Gingrich C2ouisiana, +,,#D p =+$ 3udy 'arlson George + Wallace and the Politics of Po"erlessness p $! +" 5 $ +onstitution %rt >>, Sec ! =, 3udy 'arlson George + Wallace and the Politics of Po"erlessness p $,

Wallace managed to achieve -) :lectorate college votes,=! the first third party candidate in si/ty years to be granted a vote in the electorate college %fter his loss, it was clear that Wallace would use his popularity to attempt to run for the !"I+ election ;owever, this popularity could not last forever Wallace would continue his segregationist policies for after the election, running for governor in !"I, with what former president, 3immy 'arter, would comment on as 9the most racist campaigns in modern Southern policy9=+ featuring ads re0uesting the State to 9Wa7e up %labama9 because 9<lac7s vow to ta7e over %labama9 ;owever, when running for the Democratic candidate during the !"I+ presidential election, Wallace announced that he was always a moderate on racial issues and would no longer support the segregation policies he was once famed for == While this showed that he was willing to change policies based on the opinions of the voters, he was still seen as the segregationist candidate %side from a swift -+* victory in the 4lorida primaries for the Democratic candidacy and similar victories elsewhere, he would never achieve mainstream acceptance with the majority of Democratic voters and after an assassination attempt placed him in hospital, his campaign was put to an end and he would never regain the popularity of the !"#$ presidential election &han7s to the increasing issues present during the liberal si/ties which polarised the population of the United States, Wallace was able to gather 0uite a large support group during his campaign in the !"#$ 6residential election With the introduction of the 'ivil Rights %ct !"#- which led many Southern Democrats dismayed with the Democratic 6arty and the continuing protests throughout the !"#,s because of various foreign and social issues, worrying 'onservative voters, there was plenty of voters unhappy to side with either major political party Wallace managed to correctly judge what the United States population deemed important during the time, and adapt his own beliefs to allow him to become the most influential third party candidate in over a half-century 4or e/ample, the campaign rhetoric introduced during this time, such as the promise of the revo7ing the !"#- 'ivil Rights %ct, dismissing the idea of it as 9ludicrous and asinine9,=- or his ability to be perceived as the choice conservatives needed in order to introduce law and order to those protesting and end with war in order to bring the servicemen home allowed him to be seen as a strong, everyday wor7ing man candidate :0ually, while it is true that while it is true that he lost in his goals to influence the election enough to gain compensations for his beliefs, Wallace showed that it was possible to influence the elections in some way by swaying five Democratic states to vote for the &hird 6arty, allowing the more conservative Republican, Li/on, to gain victory While finding it difficult to replicate the popularity shown during the !"#$ election due to his past actions as a segregationist alongside the introduction of alternative conservative politicians, it is true that Wallace is one of the most important politicians during this period, disrupting the two party system which had long dominated United States politics

=! &he %merican 6residency 6roject ?:lection of !"#$@ available from httpEAAwww presidency ucsb eduAshowelection phpFyearG!"#$B accessed at +=rd %pril +,!= =+ Dan & 'arter 6rom George Wallace to !e"t Gingrich p -#--$ == 4rancisco 6aniJJa, Populism And the (irror of /emocracy p !#=- 8arshall 4rady, Wallace C'leveland, !"#$D p !!=

7ibliography %rthur 6aulson, *ealignment and Party *e'i'al% 5nderstanding American Electoral Politics at the Turn of the T"enty-6irst +entury CWestport, +,,,D 'ivil Rights %ct C!"#-D >ntroduction, available from httpEAAwww ourdocuments govAdoc phpF flashGtrueHdocG"IHpageGtranscriptB accessed +"th %pril, +,!= 'harles S <ulloc7 and 8ar7 3 RoJell The !e" Politics of the #ld $outh% An &ntroduction to $outhern Politics C6lymouth, +,!,D Dan & 'arter 6rom George Wallace to !e"t Gingrich C2ouisiana, +,,#D Dan & 'arter, The Politics of *age% George Wallace, the #rigins of the !e" +onser'atism and the Transformation of American Politics CLew Mor7, !"")D Donald 3 (reen Third Party (atters% Politics, Presidents, and Third Parties in American 2istory CSanta <arbara, +,!, 4rancisco 6aniJJa, Populism And the (irror of /emocracy C2ondon, +,,)D (eorge Wallace, 2ear me #ut CLew Mor7, !"#$D (eorge Wallace, ?>naugural %ddress of (overnor (eorge Wallace@, (ontgomery, Alabama, !-th 3anuary, !"#=B available from httpEAAdigital archives alabama govAcdmAsingleitemAcollectionAvoicesAidA+")+ArecA)B accessed +"th %pril, +,!= (eorge Wallace, 9Stand up for %merica9, (ontgomery, Alabama, !"#$B available from httpEAAdigital archives alabama govAcdmAsingleitemAcollectionAvoicesAidA)=#,ArecA)B accessed +#th %pril, +,!= 3udy 'arlson George + Wallace and the Politics of Po"erlessness% The Wallace +ampaigns, 196,-19.6 CLew 3ersey, !"$!D 6hilip : 'onverse, Warren : 8iller, 3errold ( Rus7 and %rthur ' Wolfe ?'ontinuity and 'hange in %merican 6oliticsE 6arties and >ssues in the !"#$ :lection@ American Political $cience Association .ol #=, Lo, -, Dec , !"#" 2awrence D 4adely George Wallace% Agitator *hetorician% A *hetorical +riticism of George +orley Wallace3s 1968 Presidential +ampaign C6ittsburg, !"I-D 2loyd Rohler George Wallace4 +onser'ati'e Populist CWestport, +,,-D 2yndon 3ohnson, ?%nd We Shall 1vercome@ !"# available from httpEAAhistorymatters gmu eduAdA#==#AB accessed at +$th %pril, +,!= 8arshall 4rady, Wallace C'leveland, !"#$D 8artha ;aun A $tudy in /emagoguery% A +ritical Analysis of the spea0ing of George +orley Wallace in the 1968 Presidential +ampaign CUrbana, !"I!D 6hilip : 'onverse, Warren : 8iller, 3errold ( Rus7 and %rthur ' Wolfe ?'ontinuity and 'hange in %merican 6oliticsE 6arties and >ssues in the !"#$ :lection@ American Political $cience

Association .ol #=, Lo, -, Dec , !"#" Ray 3en7ins %labama 3ournal, Lovember Ith, !"## Robert (iles and Robert W Snyder 1968% 1ear of (edia /ecision CLew <runswic7, !"""D &he %merican 6residency 6roject ?:lection of !"#-@ available from httpEAAwww presidency ucsb eduAshowelection phpFyearG!"#-B accessed at +)rd %pril +,!= &he %merican 6residency 6roject ?:lection of !"#$@ available from httpEAAwww presidency ucsb eduAshowelection phpFyearG!"#$B accessed at +=rd %pril +,!= &he %merican 6residency 6roject, ?(allup 6oll %ccuracy Record@ available from www presidency ucsb eduAdataApreferences phpB accessed at !st 8ay +,!= Witt0opf, Eugene and )ames (c+ormic0, 8The +old War +onsensus% /id it E9ist:; Palgra'e (acmillan )ournals .ol ++, Lo -, Summer, !"",