The Parties
The first Republican party was formed in 1854, in Ripon, Wisconsin. Their first meeting was on June 6, 1854 on the matter of abolishing slavery. Their first nominating convention was held on June 17, 1856 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where they "[announced] the birth of the political party as a unified political force." They got their name from a writer in the newspaper named Horace Greenly. Their major beliefs that were a reason in why they formed was first the abolishment of slavery, free speech, and women's suffrage. Abraham Lincoln is what first established the Republican party as a major party in the U.S. The famous logo of the Republican elephant came from a news article that depicted a Democrat "jack-ass" trying to scare a Republican elephant and the image became their logo.
Paul Ryan is a potential Republican presidential candidate for the 2016 elections. He was born on January 29th, 1970 in Janesville, Wisconsin. He went to college at Miami University and graduated in 1982 with a double major in political science and economics. Jack Kemp, who used to be a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development, was Ryan's mentor. Which helped him work his way up the political chain. He was the highest GOP Congressional legislator for the U.S. economy and also ran alongside Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.
The Democratic party is one of the oldest political parties in the United States. In their early days they were supporters of slavery and were opposed to civil rights reforms to stay in the southern voters good graces. As time went on they changed their views completely, to support organized labor, civil rights of minorities, and progressive reform. They are big believers in government intervention of the economy. Thomas Nast was the cartoonist that created the donkey logo that has been seen as their logo, but has not been officially accepted by the party. The party has been traced back as far as 1792, and is also one of the oldest political parties in the world. They officially named themselves the Democratic Party in 1844, before that they had a couple different names, like the Democratic-Republican Party.
Hillary Clinton is an upcoming 2016 presidential candidate. She was born on October 26th, 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She is the former First Lady of the U.S., when her husband Bill Clinton was president from 1993 to 2001. After that she became a U.S. senator for 8 years. In 2007 she was going to run for president but conceded her nomination when it became obvious that Obama was going to win. Once Obama became the President of the United States he made Clinton the Secretary of State. She went to Wellesley College and graduated in 1969, then she went off to Yale Law School, where she met her husband Bill Clinton. She graduated in 1973 with honors. Clinton has held many political jobs throughout her life.
The Green Party was formed in 1996 after the elections. The Party's focus is to have "a viable political alternative in the United States." They value keeping the environment protected and helping with human rights and social justice. They promote many values including ecological wisdom, non-violence, decentralization, feminism and gender equality, respect for diversity, and personal and global responsibility. The Green Party first came to the U.S. in 1984 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The first state to accept a recognized ballot line for the Green Party was Alaska in1990. There was a split in the party in 1991, where the Green Committees of Correspondence changed into The Greens/ Green Party USA. The official name for the Green Party was determined in 1996, which is the Association of state Green Parties(ASGP). Latter they filed for national party status in August of 2001. The meaning of the Green Party logo is to represent their organization's purpose. An earth flower shows peace and harmony in the world.
Bruce Delgado is a Green Party candidate that holds office as mayor in Marina, California. He was born in 1961 in Glendora, California. He has lived in Marina since 1996. Delgado has been mayor of Marina for many years, before that he served on the Marina City Council for 4 years, from 200 to 2004. He went to college at Humboldt State University and graduated in 1990 with a B.S. in wildlife management. Delgado is the embodiment of a Green Party candidate.
The Libertarian Party was formed in 1971 on December 11th, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They believe in free market economy, civil liberties and personal freedom, and non-intervention. The Libertarian Party became the third largest party in the U.S. in 1996. They believe in "sole domination over[your] own [life]". Their philosophy is economic freedom, and self freedom. They believe in being independent individuals in control of their own lives. The first Libertarian National Convention was held in 1972. They don't believe in getting into "foreign entanglements". They want the governments power to be limited through the constitution. Lady liberty is the mascot for the Libertarian party and it represents their cause and hunger for personal liberty.
The Libertarian candidate Ron Paul was born on August 20th, 1935 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from college in 1957 and moved to Durham, North Carolina to attend Duke University School of Medicine. He graduated with his degree in medicine in 1961. He became a doctor in the U.S. Air Force in 1963, then moved on as a doctor in the U.S. Air National Guard in 1965. In 1978 Paul was elected into the House of Representatives and was re-elected twice. He became the presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party in 1988, coming in third place. Paul became a member of the House of Representatives again in 1996 and has been in the position ever since being elected.
The Constitution Party is exactly what it sounds like, a party that is for limiting the governments power through the constitution. The party was recognized in 1996 by the FEC as a national party. They believe that the Democrats and Republicans ignore the limitations on government that are in the constitutions. The party was formed in 1992 as the U.S. Taxpayers Party. Howard Phillips was the founder of the Constitution Party. It renamed itself to the Constitution Party in 1999. They don't believe in dealing with foreign affairs and would like to abolish any and all things dealing with other countries. Their logo is mainly the name of the party but can also be seen with an eagle which represents the nation as a whole and is very patriotic.
Howard Phillips is the founder of the Constitution Party. He was born in 1941 in Boston, Massachusetts. He attended college at Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard in 1962. He was the Director of the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity in the Executive Office of the President. He ran for president in 1992, 1996, 2000.