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Quiz about American Third Party Presidential Candidates
Quiz about American Third Party Presidential Candidates

American Third Party Presidential Candidates Quiz


Third parties have played an important, though often overlooked, role in U.S. politics. Here are some of the highlights down through the years, starting with the formation of the first third party in 1831 and continuing through the 2000 election.

A multiple-choice quiz by chessart. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
chessart
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
17,289
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
8 / 15
Plays
2053
Last 3 plays: Guest 71 (7/15), emmal2000uk (1/15), 1nn1 (13/15).
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Question 1 of 15
1. Which party is the granddaddy of all third parties, having fielded a candidate for President in every election since its formation in 1869? Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. Which party held the first national political convention? Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. Besides Teddy Roosevelt and Millard Fillmore (who as ex-Presidents can be considered special cases), which third party candidate polled the highest percentage of the national popular vote? Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. Which party finished fourth in both 1992 and 1996 after the Republican, Democratic, and Ross Perot's Independent or Reform party? Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. Eugene V. Debs ran for President 5 times as the candidate of which party? Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. In 1893, Debs founded the nation's largest labor union, by organizing the workers in which industry? Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. Where was Debs when he ran for President for the last time in 1920? Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. Who won 5 States as the Populist Party candidate in 1892? Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. Who ran as the Free Soil candidate in 1848? Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. There have been 45 elections since the popular vote was first tabulated in 1824. In how many of those 45 elections did the presence of third-party candidates prevent the top candidate from receiving at least 50 percent of the vote? Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. Teddy Roosevelt's Progressive Party was known by what nickname during the 1912 campaign? Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. Which State did Robert M. Lafollette win when he ran as the Progressive Party candidate in 1924? Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. How many States did Strom Thurmond win as the States Rights Party candidate in 1948? Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. How many States did George Wallace win in 1968? Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. Ralph Nader was the candidate in 2000 of which party? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which party is the granddaddy of all third parties, having fielded a candidate for President in every election since its formation in 1869?

Answer: Prohibition Party

Its best showing was the 2.5 percent it received in 1892. In recent years its vote totals have been miniscule.
2. Which party held the first national political convention?

Answer: Anti-Mason

Masonry suffered a setback with the mysterious disappearance of William Morgan in 1826, as he was on the verge of exposing the organization's secrets. The Anti-Mason Party was then formed as the first third party in New York in 1828. The party met in Baltimore on September 26, 1831, thereby becoming the first party to hold a nominating convention and the first to announce a platform.

It received Vermont's 7 electoral votes in 1832, but it declined after the 1836 election and was eventually absorbed into the Whig Party.
3. Besides Teddy Roosevelt and Millard Fillmore (who as ex-Presidents can be considered special cases), which third party candidate polled the highest percentage of the national popular vote?

Answer: Ross Perot in 1992

Perot's 19 percent vote in 1992, is the best showing ever by a third-party candidate who is not himself an ex-President. However, Perot won no States, and only finished second in two States, nosing out Bush in Maine by 316 votes, and beating Clinton in Utah by about 20,000 votes.
4. Which party finished fourth in both 1992 and 1996 after the Republican, Democratic, and Ross Perot's Independent or Reform party?

Answer: Libertarian Party

The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971 in Colorado and has fielded candidates since 1972, and by 1980 it was on the ballot in all 50 states.
5. Eugene V. Debs ran for President 5 times as the candidate of which party?

Answer: Socialist

Debs was the Socialist Party candidate in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920. His highest vote total was in 1920, when he received 919,801 votes despite spending the campaign in prison.
6. In 1893, Debs founded the nation's largest labor union, by organizing the workers in which industry?

Answer: railroad

His American Railway Union was the country's largest union at the time. However, it was destroyed in the violent Pullman strike of 1894, and Debs himself was jailed for six months for contempt of a court injunction during the strike. Debs became a socialist during his stay in jail.
7. Where was Debs when he ran for President for the last time in 1920?

Answer: in prison

Debs was convicted in 1918 for violation of the Espionage Act for his opposition to U.S. involvment in World War I, and was sentenced to ten years in prison. He ran for President in 1920 while an inmate at the Atlanta penitentiary, and polled 3.5 percent of the vote. To his credit, the winner of that 1920 election, Warren G. Harding, commuted Debs' sentence in 1921, and invited Debs to the White House.
8. Who won 5 States as the Populist Party candidate in 1892?

Answer: James B. Weaver

The Populist Party advocated free silver and other measures to help farmers. Weaver polled over a million votes and won the rural States of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, and North Dakota. In 1896, the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan, who espoused populist ideas, so the Populist Party supported Bryan in lieu of nominating their own candidate. Outgoing Democrat President Grover Cleveland, on the other hand, repudiated the Democratic platform and supported the Republican William McKinley.

The 1896 realignment shows how a third party can have an important influence on American politics, even if it doesn't win an election.
9. Who ran as the Free Soil candidate in 1848?

Answer: Martin Van Buren

The Free Soil Party was organized at a convention of anti-slavery forces meeting in Buffalo in 1848, as a reaction to the failure of Congress to pass the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery in the territory acquired as a result of the Mexican War. Ex-President Van Buren was chosen as the 1848 Free Soil nominee, and polled just over 10% of the vote.

The party was absorbed into the new Republican Party in 1854.
10. There have been 45 elections since the popular vote was first tabulated in 1824. In how many of those 45 elections did the presence of third-party candidates prevent the top candidate from receiving at least 50 percent of the vote?

Answer: 18

1824, 1844, 1848, 1856, 1860, 1876-1892, 1912, 1916, 1948, 1960, 1968, 1992, 1996, and 2000.
11. Teddy Roosevelt's Progressive Party was known by what nickname during the 1912 campaign?

Answer: Bull Moose

Denied the Republican nomination because of Taft's control of the party machinery, Teddy ran as a third-party candidate and beat Taft, but could not beat the Democrat Woodrow Wilson. The irony of that whole 1912 scenario is that the unfair convention rules in question were actually put into place by Roosevelt himself in 1908, to ensure the selection of his hand-picked successor Taft!
12. Which State did Robert M. Lafollette win when he ran as the Progressive Party candidate in 1924?

Answer: Wisconsin

LaFollette was a powerful force in Wisconsin politics from his first elective office in 1880, to his death in 1925. He was a 3-term Governor and 4-term United States Senator. In 1924, he ran for President as a Progressive, after the major parties both nominated conservatives.

He polled a respectable 17 percent of the vote, winning his home state of Wisconsin. After his death, the following year, his sons Robert and Philip carried on his work, with Robert serving 21 years in the Senate, and Philip serving 3 terms as Governor.

In 1957, the Senate voted LaFollette one of the 5 outstanding Senators of all time.
13. How many States did Strom Thurmond win as the States Rights Party candidate in 1948?

Answer: 4

Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. The other third party candidate, the Progressive Henry Wallace, won no states although he received about the same number of popular votes as Thurmond, just over 2 per cent each. Thurmond's support was concentrated in the South, where his racist message played well in that era.
14. How many States did George Wallace win in 1968?

Answer: 5

Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Georgia. Wallace ran an energetic and populist-sounding campaign, and received about 10 million votes out of a total of about 73 million votes cast in that pivotal election.
15. Ralph Nader was the candidate in 2000 of which party?

Answer: Green Party

John Hagelin was the Natural Law Party candidate, Howard Phillips the Constitution Party candidate, and Harry Browne the Libertarian Party candidate. Many Democrats feel that Nader's presence cost Al Gore the election.
Source: Author chessart

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor thejazzkickazz before going online.
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