Forgotten Third Parties - the Prohibitionists

When most of us think of Prohibition, we think of a relic of days gone by, a failed experiment of the 1920's that led to the growth of speakeasies, bootlegging and organized crime that was ultimately repealed. Yet one of the leading figures of the Prohibition movement, the Prohibition Party founded in 1869, is still with us even today.

During its heyday at the end of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th centuries, the Prohibition Party managed to have some successes in the political world. They were quite successful at the local level, one year electing over 200 people to county office within a single county: Venango County, Pennsylvania. The first woman ever to be elected mayor in the United States, Susanna M. Salter of Argonia, Kansas, was a Prohibition Party Member.

At the state and federal level they also had successes. Governor Sidney Catts of Florida, elected in 1916 won on the Prohibition Party ticket. The party also managed to send two men to the United States House of Representatives: Kittel Halvorson of Minnesota in 1890 and Charles Randall of California in 1914, 1916 and 1918. Their most successful presidential candidate was John C. Wooley, who received almost 300,000 votes in 1900.

With the passage of the 18^th Amendment in 1918, outlawing the production, sale, transportation, import and export of alcohol, the fire quickly died out of the Prohibition Party. After all, their primary goal had become successful: Prohibition was reality in the United States. When Prohibition was repealed some 14 years later the movement had fallen from favor; never again would the Prohibition Party see the sorts of successes they had at the height of their popularity.

So where does the Prohibition Party stand today? Currently there is only one Prohibition Party member elected to any political office anywhere in the country: Jim Hedges, the Tax Assessor for Thompson Township in Fulton County, Pennsylvania. He first won office in 2001 and was re-elected in 2005. When he received his first victory in 2001 he was the first Prohibition Party candidate to win an election since 1959.

In terms of platform, the Prohibition Party is as one would suspect rather conservative. They still support prohibition of alcohol, along with strengthening laws against tobacco, gambling, illegal drugs, pornography and other vices. They are pro-life and favor amending the Constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman. They are also very strong on monetary policy: they wish to do away with the Federal Reserve and the printing of paper money and wish to see a return to the gold standard.

During the most recent presidential election of 2004, the Prohibition Party split into two factions. The first faction favored the candidacy of Earl F. Dodge and Howard Lydick for president, the second favored the candidacy of Gene Amondson and Leroy Pletten. Both factions laid claim to hosting the "official" Prohibition Party ticket. The Amondson/Pletten ticket did far better in the general election than the Dodge/Lydick ticket; 1,896 votes compared to 140. It is unknown as of yet who the Prohibition Party will nominate in the 2008 election.

To most of us, the Prohibition Party remains a relic of the past, hardly relevant to our modern world. Despite almost a century of continuing decline and failure to make any sort of impact, though, the Prohibition Party remains an active (if small and ineffectual) force in American politics, and have garnered the unique distinction of being the oldest still active third party in the United States.