National Democratic Party

In 1896, conservative Democrats bolted the part and formed a splinter party known as the National Democratic Party, or NDP.

They produced a “campaign handbook” outlining their political principles, and they focused on real issues and constitutional restraint.

How refreshing.

They also nominated a truly “national” ticket for the time by selecting John Palmer for President and Simon Buckner for Vice-President. Palmer was a Union veteran, Buckner a Confederate.

Both men blasted the two major parties. This was long before George Wallace said there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between the Republicans and the Democrats.

It has been that way for a long time.

The NDP mostly focused on monetary policy by insisting on a gold standard.

Buckner’s speech at the convention is interesting. His son attended the convention. Gen. Simon Buckner, Jr. was later killed in action in 1944 in the Pacific theater, the highest ranking U.S soldier killed in action during World War II.

I wanted to present this speech to my audience because I think it’s important to understand primary documents. They are the key to studying history. All the historiography in the world can’t replace them.

This is precisely how I formatted my recent series at McClanahan Academy, The Originalist Papers.

If you like Episode 438 of The Brion McClanahan Show, you’ll love The Originalist Papers.