The Socialist Party in TexasSince 1860, there have been two dominant parties in the United States: t
The Socialist Party in TexasSince 1860, there have been two dominant parties in the United States: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. In the South, one party rule was the state of affairs for about 100 years. However, while there was one party domination, third parties, such as the Populist Party and the Progressive Party, would arise to challenge the status quo. The Socialist Party was one of those parties arising in Texas. The first Texas socialist party was formed in 1898 in Fannin County, benefitting from the Greenbackers, Farmers’ Alliance, and Populist who had come before and whose members began to join this nascent party (Wilkison, p. 174). The first statewide socialist candidate appeared on the ballot in 1900. The initial candidates did not fare well; however, by 1904, the socialist candidate received 2,847 votes (1.02 percent). From 1904 to 1910, the socialist vote total increased by 309%.The Socialist Party reached its zenith in 1912, increasing its vote total by 117 percent from 1910 and outperforming the Republican Party - receiving 25,270 votes statewide (8.4 percent). Despite a sleight decline in 1914, the party again outperformed the Republicans, and actually saw increases in its percentages in some counties (receiving over 30 percent in 7 counties in 1914 compared to 0 in 1912).After 1914, the party began a precipitous decline. By 1916, the Socialist Party’s vote total dropped by 42 percent to 14,580 (4 percent) then dropped by 89 percent in 1918 to 1,660 (0.94 percent). The Socialist Party had grown in response to rural Texans rejection of the changing economy, and their decline began when Democratic politicians, like Jim Ferguson, appealed to the rural poor with policies such as rent control. The Socialist anti-war position also made them vulnerable, and they were victims of government repression (Wilkison, pp. 201-205). Sources and Related Reading:Yeomen Sharecroppers and Socialists by Kyle G. WilkisonThe Texas Almanac’s Political History of Texas by Mike Kingston, Sam Attlesey & Mary G. Crawford -- source link
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