Political Party Platforms of the past

Source

If you are a type of person, such as me, who finds political history very interesting then you should love this. Not only does it include the platforms of the two major parties but it also includes the platforms of some other political parties throughout our history. When reading the party platforms of a hundred years ago then compare it to today the results are quite intriguing to say the least.

I had to chuckle to myself, the first platform I read was the Democratic one of 1840 and it's one that would have the Tea Party running for the hills since it out Tea Party's them.
It is also one that addresses many of America's problems today. Plus ca change c'est la meme chose.

I also find it interesting how parties used to run multiple candidates with different platforms within the party. Times have certainly changed.

reply to post by kro32


Politics were overwhelmingly regional so in order to field the best candidate for a specific seat you needed to field one which addressed the issues most important to their location. Today that is definitely not the case as they demand you toe the party line. In 1896 a Republican from Vermont and from North Dakota would have two different agendas but were united under the same tent. The parties built themselves around culture (without specifically addressing cultural issues) and economics.