A General Timeline of some of the historical and current Third Parties in the United States

Just some of the logos of some of the third parties currently in the United States

•  Anti-Masonic Party: This party was founded in 1828 and dissolved around ten years later in 1838. They ran a candidate in the 1832 U.S. Presidential Election, it was former United States Attorney General William Wirt who manged to win the state of Vermont and get seven electoral votes, as well as this he got around about 7.8% of the popular vote.
 

• Free-Soil Party: This party was founded in 1848 and dissolved in 1854. This party ran two candidates, the first was former President Martin Van Buren (1837-1841), despite being a former President he did not win any electoral votes and only 10% of the popular vote. Their second candidate who they ran in the 1852 Presidential Election was John P. Hale who again won no electoral votes and only 4.9% of the popular vote.

•   Know Nothing/American Party: This party was founded around about 1845 and dissolved in 1860. Their candidate who they ran in the 1856 Presidential Election was former President Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) who won the state of Maryland getting eight electoral votes. He managed to get 21.5% of the popular vote which for a third party in the United States is pretty good.

• Constitutional Union Party: This party was founded in 1859 and dissolved around 1865. The only candidate they ever ran in an election was John Bell in the 1860 Presidential Election, in this election Bell won the states of Virginia, Kentucky and his home state of Tennessee giving him 39 electoral votes and 12.6% of the popular vote. What I find interesting about this election is that John Bell came third (this was because of the split in the Democratic Party) behind Abraham Lincoln of Republican party who got 180 electoral votes and John C. Breckinridge of the Southern Democrats who got 72 electoral votes. Below John Bell in terms of the number of electoral votes was Stephen A. Douglas of the Democratic party who got 12 electoral votes.

• Populist Party: This party was founded in 1891 and dissolved around seventeen years later in 1908. Their candidate in the 1892 Presidential Election was James B. Weaver who won the states of Kansas, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and won some electoral votes in the states of North Dakota and Oregon, he also won 8.5% of the popular vote.

• Progressive Party: This party was founded in 1912 by former President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) and dissolved in 1916. Their candidate in the 1912 Presidential Election was the party founder himself Theodore Roosevelt who won the states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington and won a majority of the electoral votes in the state of California. This gave him eighty eight electoral votes and 27.4% of the popular vote.

•  Progressive Party (1924): This party was founded in 1924 and dissolved around 1946. Their candidate in this election was Robert M. La Follette Sr who only won the state of Wisconsin where he was from. This gave him thirteen electoral votes and 16.6% of the popular vote.

• States Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats): This party was founded in 1948 and dissolved in that same year. Their candidate in the 1948 Presidential Election was Strom Thurmond who won the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and one electoral vote in the state of Tennessee. This gave him thirty nine electoral votes, he also got 2.4% of the popular vote.

• American Independent Party: This party was founded in 1967 and has not been dissolved as of August 2014. Their most successful candidate was George Wallace who in the 1968 Presidential Election won the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and one electoral vote in North Carolina. This gave him forty six electoral votes as well as 13.5% of the popular vote.

• Reform Party:  This party was founded in 1995 by Texas billionaire Ross Perot who had run in the 1992 Presidential Election as an independent and got 18.9% of the popular vote. In the 1996 Presidential Election as the Reform Party candidate he did not win any electoral votes and only 8.4% of the popular vote.

• Green Party of the United States: This party was founded in 1991 and has contested every presidential election since 1996. Their most successful candidate was Ralph Nader who in the 2000 Presidential election got 2.74% of the popular vote.

• Libertarian Party: This  was founded in 1971 and is currently the largest third party in the United States. It has contested every Presidential Election since 1972 with their most successful candidate being Ed Clark in 1980 where he got 1.06% of the popular vote.

• Justice Party: This party was founded in 2011. Their only Presidential candidate so far has been former Mayor of Salt Lake City Utah Rocky Anderson who in the 2012 Presidential Election got 0.03% of the popular vote.

•  Constitution Party: This party was originally founded as the U.S. Tax Payers' party in 1992 but changed its name to its current one in 1999. This party has contested every Presidential Election since 1992 with its most successful Presidential candidate being Howard Phillips who in the 1996 Presidential Election got 0.19% of the popular vote.