Challenge: End the Dems and Reps as major parties.

Progressives attach onto a Proportional representation system for reform. Socialists recognize that first past the post only puts the two parties; both dominated by bourgeoisie, into power. Progressives on both sides manage to get major electoral reform through congress and third parties who get 10 percent of the votes get 10 percent of the Congress and since they have their foot in the door they begin a multi party system.

Not sure how to get that reform ball rolling with a POD though. Its a bit difficult.
 
Progressives attach onto a Proportional representation system for reform. Socialists recognize that first past the post only puts the two parties; both dominated by bourgeoisie, into power. Progressives on both sides manage to get major electoral reform through congress and third parties who get 10 percent of the votes get 10 percent of the Congress and since they have their foot in the door they begin a multi party system.

Not sure how to get that reform ball rolling with a POD though. Its a bit difficult.

Very difficult as you would have to change the constitution in such a way that representatives don't represent districts or states but the entire country. Right now Alaska has the same representation in the US Senate as California. Getting rid of that means the people of Alaska have to go along with having less say in the government. Not exactly easy.
 
Very difficult as you would have to change the constitution in such a way that representatives don't represent districts or states but the entire country. Right now Alaska has the same representation in the US Senate as California. Getting rid of that means the people of Alaska have to go along with having less say in the government. Not exactly easy.

Well we would start with the house of representatives. That'd would be proportional while the senate would be popularly elected on a first past the post. We would just need a stronger drive towards centralization.


OR we could get big states to get their state legislatures to do a proportional representation thing.
 
This is your challenge.

End the Democratic AND Republican parties, with a Point of Divergence after the American Civil War.

This is the Official backstory for the AA game:

-Andrew Johnson makes no attempt to turn the "Union" party into a permanent brand; instead he's openly a democrat at a time when he's about to get himself impeached. The Republicans get renamed as the "Eagle" party.

With the Republicans renamed, I opted for a three man 1932 race between FDR, John Nance Garner and Herbert Hoover. Taking the name of Fighting Bob La Follette and his own uncle Teddy Roosevelt's parties, FDR runs as a member of the Freedom Party with Vice President Huey Long.

The AATL isn't really a serious TL (it's more narrative convenience) so all of this has minimal impact up until the game years (2008+) thanks to an anti-Butterfly effect.

=============================================

More seriously, I think a major shot for this would be 1896. The Democrats don't run William Jennings Bryan--they instead split the vote with McKinley. The Populists Sweep into the South and the Midwest, and into the White House. With the Populists as one of the major political parties, the Democrats and Republicans merge the remnants of their parties into a unified opposition--and both parties are now gone.
 
Canada 1993

It might have happened before 1900. It might have happened after 1900. It might happen in future history.

With unchanged majoritarian electoral system.

Canada always has had majoritarian elections. And duly had 2 party system for over a century after 1867, Tories alway being one major party.

At 1988 election, Tories had got 43 % votes, and 169 out of 295 seats.

In 1993, Tories had, guess how many seats?

2.

There still were loyal Tory voters. 16 % of votes. They well outnumbered Bloc Quebecois with just 13,5 % of votes.

Yet Bloc Quebecois got 54 seats, against the 2 of Tories.

What happened?

The remaining loyal Tory voters were scattered around constituencies, and only 2 constituencies got plurality. Whereas Block Quebecois voters were regionally concentrated.

What happened is that the Mulroney national grand coalition imploded. Tory voters in West went to Reform, Tory voters to English East to Liberals, Tory voters in Quebec to Bloc Quebecois.

It was the voters who defected, not the politicians - the politicians ran as Tories, and were thrown out of power.

Now suppose it happens in USA - a national, grand coalition major party implodes through the voters defecting to several regional based third parties, and leaving politicians out of power.

The ruling party, at say 60% seats, is wiped out and only wins 3 seats in Representatives and 0 in Senate, and 0 electors. Let us suppose that the election also creates no majority at all, because while the opposition does pick up some defectors, they only rise from 40% to 45%.

On 6th of January, the Congress meets. House is 45% old opposition, under 1 % old majority, 54% several third parties.
Senate has only had 1/3 elections, so it is 40 seats the old lost majority, 42 seats the old minority, 18 seats third parties.

And as per assumption, neither president nor vice president was elected in College, because though the old minority got most College votes, it was just short of half, and the rest was split between third parties.

Senate must choose between old opposition candidate and the strongest of new third party candidates. House has 3 candidates - old opposition candidate, and 2 third party ones. And let´s assume old opposition has no majority of states either.

What next?

When could this have happened, or happen in future?
 
I THINK someone here has a timeline that does that. The Progressives pull the 'progressive' element from both majors, which results in a Conservative party pulling the others, leaving shell Democrats and Republicans.

I THINK the PoD was post civil war, and I THINK that after the dust settled, the P's and C's had displaced the D's and R's.

Was it 'Gilded Age'?

Edit: No, The Rise of Progressivism alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=173197 or www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=173197
 
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I don't think that we need an AT for this, I think that we are watching the republican party self destruct.
 
If Republicans had been able and willing to ensure voting rights for former slaves it would have been hard for Democrats to win nationally (they would certainly have lost South Carolina and Mississippi and coalitions might have defeted them in varous other 'solid south' states.

Demorats might have declined if it became clear they could not win,

At some stage there would be a challenge to or a split in the Republcian party
 
I have an idea: the Liberal Republican Party selects a better Presidential candidate in 1872, such as Charles Francis Adams -- whoever they pick doesn't necessarily have to win, but they can act as the Fremont to their 1876 nominee's Lincoln. The rise of the Liberal Republican Party causes the Democrats to go the way of the Know-Nothings: already reduced to endorsing another party's ticket in the presidential election, they dwindle to a regional Southern party and eventually fade away. Meanwhile, the 1874 Congressional landslide that in OTL went to the Democrats instead goes to the Liberal Republicans -- after which they change their name simply to the Liberal Party. A Liberal (possibly a defecting Tilden?) wins the presidency in 1876.

The Liberal Party is specifically a party of economic liberals (i.e. "pro-business", like OTL's Bourbon Democrats and the OTL wing of Republicans like McKinley) -- they can range from socially liberal to conservative. The diehard social liberals generally stay with the Republicans, however... although the Republican Party remains generally ineffectual on civil rights and unable to get anything done any time they are in power. Additionally, the Republicans do not have a coherent economic policy either and basically come off as wishy-washy and disorganised -- so their popularity drops.

In the 1890s, the Republicans are displaced by the rise of the Populist Party, which emerges on the political scene with a purpose and a strong supporter base out West and among the working class. In the end most Republican politicians end up either defecting to the Populists or (in the case of some centrists) crossing over to the Liberals. Thus by the beginning of the 20th Century there are two new major parties: the Populist Party on the left, and the Liberal Party on the right.
 
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