American Independent Party

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AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY

AMERICAN INDEPENDENT PARTY, organized by George C. Wallace, governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), in support of his 1968 presidential candidacy. Wallace and his running mate, General Curtis E. LeMay, opposed racial integration, supported states' rights, and called for a dramatically intensified American bombing campaign in North Vietnam. The party was popular in the South and among working-class whites in the industrial Midwest and Northeast. Wallace won 13.5 percent of the popular vote and forty-six electoral votes, carrying Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. After Wallace decided to enter the 1972 Democratic presidential primaries rather than run again as an independent candidate, the party declined rapidly.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carter, Dan T. The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995.

Jacob E.Cooke/a. g.

See alsoStates' Rights ; Third Parties .

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American Independent Party

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American Independent Party