American Party (1969)

Not to be confused with American Independent Party.

For the mid-19th-century American Party (or Native American Party), see Know Nothing.

The American Party of the United States is a conservative political party in the United States. The party adheres to its Permanent Principles, which were established in 1969.

American Party of the United States
Chairman	Bruce Williams
Founded	February 1, 1969
Split from	American Independent Party
Headquarters	Utah
Ideology	Paleoconservatism Nativism
Political position	Right-wing
Politics of United States Political parties Elections

The party began as part of the American Independent Party, supporters of George Wallace's 1968 campaign for the presidency, and was the formal name of the party on the ballot in Tennessee. In 1969, the AIP became the American Party at a convention attended by representatives from 37 states. Following the 1972 election, the American Party formally split from the American Independent Party. Both parties have nominated candidates for the presidency and other offices, although the AIP has in more recent years considered itself a California affiliate of the Constitution Party. In New York, the American Party ran a state ticket in 1974 under the name of Courage Party, because a state law there prohibits the use of the word "American" on the ballot. The American Party won its strongest finish in the 1972 presidential election; nominee John G. Schmitz carried 1,090,673 votes (3rd place).

In 1990 some former members of the American party founded the Christian Party.

The American Party has failed to achieve ballot status in any state since 1996. The party's website disappeared sometime in 2008. In 2010 the Ohio party endorsed several Libertarian Party candidates.

The party had a Florida affiliate, the American Party of Florida, that appeared to carry on operations into June 2011, but became defunct after that and no longer is listed as a political party in Florida.

In 2015, the party created a new website; a Twitter account and Facebook page were also created. The American Party is now formally known as the "American Party of the United States", and disclaims any association with the "American Party of South Carolina", the "Independent American Party", or the "American Party of America".

Presidential and vice-presidential candidates

Electoral History of the American Party

American Party National Campaigns
Year	Convention Site & City	Dates	Presidential nominee	Vice-Pres. nominee	Votes
1968			George C. Wallace (Alabama)	Curtis LeMay (Ohio)	9,901,151
1972	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky	August 3–5, 1972	U.S. Rep. John G. Schmitz (California)	Thomas J. Anderson (Tennessee)	1,090,673
1976	Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah	June 16–20, 1976	Thomas J. Anderson (Tennessee)	Rufus E. Shackleford (Florida)	160,773
1980	Pasadena, California	December 8–9, 1979	Percy L. Greaves, Jr. (New York)	Frank L. Varnum (California)	6,648
	Anti-Greaves ticket in Kansas		Frank W. Shelton (Kansas)	George E. Jackson	1,555
	Unpledged Anti-Greaves Presidential Electors in Minnesota		No nominee	No nominee	6,136
1984	Charlotte, North Carolina	December 1–3, 1983	Delmar Dennis (Tennessee)	Traves Brownlee (Delaware)	13,161
1988	Salt Lake City, Utah	June 1987	Delmar Dennis (Tennessee)	Earl Jeppson	3,475
1992	Pensacola, Florida	June 1992	Robert J. Smith (Utah)	Doris Feimer (North Dakota)	292
1996	Wichita, Kansas	March 1996	Diane Beall Templin (California)	Gary Van Horn (Utah)	1,847
2000	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	March 30–31, 2000	Don Rogers (California)	Al Moore (Virginia)	0
2004	Bob Carpenter Center Newark, Delaware	July 11–12, 2003	Robert N. Boyd (Indiana) (withdrew)	Walton C. Thompson (withdrew)	0
	Kenner, Louisiana	January 10, 2004	Diane Beall Templin (California)	Al Moore (Virginia)	0
2008	Jacaranda Hotel, Avon Park, Florida	March 7–8, 2008	Diane Beall Templin (California)	Linda Patterson (Indiana)	0
2016	Kansas City, Missouri	May 6–7, 2016	Tom Hoefling (Iowa)	Steve Schulin (South Carolina)

Sources for table:

• Ohio Elects the President (2000), pp. 143–174.
• American Party history at OurCampaigns.com
• James T. Havel, U.S. Presidential Candidates and the Elections, vol. 2
• American Party website http://www.americanpartyofus.com/

References

• Dennis, Delmar "The American Party" Contra Mundum Volume 4 (Summer 1992), pages 46–47.
• The American Party of the United States. americanpartyofus.com/
• A brief history can be found on ourcampaigns.com

External links

• Parties at politics.com
• americanpartyofus.com on archive.org
• ourcampaigns.com
• Utah County American Party Collection; MSS 1708; 20th Century Western & Mormon Manuscripts; L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University