Yesteryears:Nov 7, 1995 Vol 5 No 21

o/ol 5, :J\[o. 21 'Tuesday, :J\[ovember 7, 1995 Section of 'The Safem 9{,ews bird art1• s h v ch 11 m They've been around for years; 1868 exception with 2 candidates By Alvin Rosenfeld -,, encompass as many people Smithsonian News as possible" and therefore to "straddle as many viewpoints HEN HE ROSE TO as possible," thus occasionally accept the presidential giving a third force the nomination, the delegates chance to unite around a exploded with excitement, neglected cause. yelling, stamping their feEft, Most of the candidates dar waving red bandanas. When ing to fight the big two have he tried to silence them, they been relative unknowns repre broke into enthusiastic song: senting truly minor organiza "Thou wilt not cower in the tions and, as far as the vot dust, Roosevelt, 0 Roosevelt! ing public was concerned, Thy gleaming sword shall obscure ideas. Who, for never rust, Roosevelt, 0 example, can identify Lenora Roosevelt!" . B. Fulani, Warren Griffin, When, after 52 minutes William Marra, Ed Winn, Lar they calmed down, Theodore ry Holmes, Ron Paul or Willa "Teddy" Roosevelt, Rough Kenoyer? It happens that Rider, war hero, ex-president, they were presidential candi conservationist, trustbuster dates in 1988, along with Senator Robert F. Lafollette of Wisconsin is and explorer answered their men named Bush and Duka shown in this 1925 photo with his grandson call, drawing his message kis and 10 others. In addition and namesake. 'Fighting Bob' ran for presi from the Biblical prophecy of to the perennial Libertarians dent on the Progressive ticket in 1924. The Eugene Victor Debs, the Socialist Party candi the approaching final battle and Socialists, they ran on voters decided to 'Keep Cool with Coolidge.' date in 1912, garnered nearly 1 million votes between the forces of good tickets with such names as Smithsonian News Service photos courtesy of out of some 15 million case, cutting into trad and evil, shouting, "We stand New Alliance, American Inde the Library of Congress and National Portrait itional voting patterns. Woodrow Wilson won at Armageddon, and we pendent, Peace and Freedom, Gallery the election that year. battle for the Lord." Grassroots and Workers Thus, at the convention of League. the tight 1844 election the newly formed Progressive The Vegetarian Party, the changed the electoral college Party in Chicago in August Land Reform Party, the balance and deprived the 1912, began perhaps the most Church of God Bible party, brilliant Henry Clay, the vet passionate third party chal the single tax party and poor eran Whig politician and lenge to the two party sys man's party have all offered statesman from Kentucky, of tem in American history. caruiidates for the highest the top prize. Several third Third parties in the pres office in the land. Third party party candidates have won idential steeplechase have candidates have preached millions of votes. been around for 160 years. everything from public own Some of the historic causes The last time the voters had ership of railroads to racial that spurred the development a choice of only two candi hatred. of important third parties dates for president was back But every now and again would baffle and even offend in 1868 in the aftermath of - in roughly one out of six today's voters. In 1832, the the Civil War. presidential elections - a founders of the very first Keith Melder, curator of new party springs up with a third party, fixated on the political history at the Smith candidate or a mission pow idea that secret societies were William Wirt was the first. sonian's National Museum of erful enough to strike a publ undemocratic and dangerous, presidential candidate of the American History in ic chord and, at least for a frankly called themselves the Anti-Masonic Party, the Washington D.C. and author time, seems to threaten the Anti-Masons. nation's first third party. The of a book, "Hail to the Can venerable two party system. In contrast, the American Anti-Masons opposed secret didate" by Smithsonian Insti Although- no third party has Party, the next major challen societies. Wirt won 7.9 per tute Press, points out that ever taken the White House, ger in 1856, developed out of cent of the popular vote in In 1948, former Vice Presi historically, a vigorous third Teddy Roosevelt's campaign a secret society and its mem the 1832 election. dent Henry A. Wallace ran as bers were called Know- the Progressive Party candi party is born when the two changed the balance of power immigrants, and they adopted main parties choose to ignore Nothings because of their date against Harry Truman. for eight yec.rs. a platform demanding no less a budding, but potentially Glen Taylor, a singing cow Three former presidents alleged refusal to talk about than· 21 years of residence for volatile, issue. boy and Democratic senator have tried comebacks on the society. But they made no naturalization. The two major parties, he third party tickets. A few secret of their alarm over a from Idaho, was Wallace's explains, naturally seek tci thousand third party votes in flood of Irish and German See Election, page 8 running mate. Associated Press en soup if you've got a touch of alienation. T A TIME WHEN LOVE Moving through the exhibi letters are exchanged by tion one begins to recognize computer and laser, an exhibi individual authors - from the tion of historical manuscripts meticulous script and elegant, can be an almost jarring remin flowery prose of Thomas Jeffer der that even the most public son to the sloppy penmanship of documents were once and heartfelt poetry of Ralph handwritten. Wal do Emerson. "From Jackson to Lincoln: One gets the sense of Jeffer Democracy and Dissent," at the son the neatly combed aristo Pierpont Morgan Library in crat arguing for the common New York City until January 7, farmer. Emerson comes across explores life in America from as a disheveled, absent-minded 1820 to 1860. This period began professor, more interested in Youngsters in the fourth grade at Reilly School in Salem, taught by Florence Miller, are (row with the nation's founders intuition and ethics than in rea one, from left) John McQuiston, ?, Melba Dole Gray, Margaret Simon Fried, Kathryn Giffin passing the reins to a new gen son and politics, as he Layden, Meta McCave, Louise Theiss Thompson, Margaret Whitacre, Martha Bender, Mae eration and ended with the denounces the materialism of Kircher Hart, Nanee Gibbs Bennett; (row two, left) Olga Zatko Panuska, Anna Belle Cain, country on the verge of civil the new industrial age. Esther Fish, Betty Fifer Calvin, Irene Baltorinic, Jane Woods Patterson, John Panuska, Walter war. The most memorable docu Abblett, Wayne Boone,?, Stephen Andrews; (row three, left) John Alesie, Carroll Beck, Dean The exhibition is indeed an ment in the exhibition may Glass, George Gibson, Robert Schwartz, Rhodes, Merle Needham, Cleve Icenhour, ?, ?, ?, interesting history lesson, but well be a poem, "Two - were George Fish. Kathryn Layden the original manuscripts, print immortal - /twice ... ", unmis ed books, letters, drawings and takably Emily Dickinson. tic approach. The ad, which depicts coffins glass' case, the publisher appa engravings on display are also The poet's idiosyncratic use But discovering intriguing with skulls and crossbones, rently thought it necessary to visually as moving as good art. of punctuation, so jolting on a details can be far more interest accuses Jackson of executing six explain that white abolitionists Examining John Marshall's printed page, seems intuitive ing than reviewing major polit young soldiers for minor had not revised or embellished handwritten decision in the when written in her own hand. ical debates that test how much offenses while he was an Army Douglass' story, as they did U.S. Supreme Court's 1824 case The dashes and hurried you remember from American general during the Creek War many slave narratives of that of "Osborn et al versus the scribble on the small, torn sheet history class. of 1813-1814. earlier period. Bank of the United States" of paper give the appearance of Curious about the nation's somehow links us with the The exhibition invites other a casual note taped on the founders' "original intent"? comparisons to current times. nation's first chief justice, the kitchen door. Inspect the words and phrases Arbaugh-Pearce high court and even the A first edition of Frederick We begin reading quickly Marshall crossed out. Douglass' autobiography country. and innocently, stumbling into And one can't help but proudly proclaims, "Written by Perhaps this cozy feeling of Dickinson's brilliance and orig notice, for example, that in 1831 Himself." connection comes from our inality. The effect is disarming. U.S. President Andrew Jackson expecting anything penned in It would take hours to read Not by the usual ghostwriter, longhand to have been written signed his name without a title, we'd think today. But in Dou- everything on display in the RAY J. GREENISEN 332-4401 for our personal benefit. Or exhibition, which examines stamp or return address across OWNER perhaps it's because we have to literary issues and presidential the top of a plain envelope he bend down only inches away elections as well as debates was mailing to a man in Knox PERSONAL RECORDS from the original manuscript to over a national bank, slavery, ville, Tenn. The envelope was & PLANNING BOOK decipher the words. states' rights, the temperance stamped "FREE" in red ink Whatever the case, a glimpse movement and other issues of and evidently reached its Because you:r last wishes of authenticity is like hot chick- the time.

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