Fusion Party is a name for multiple political parties in

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

history and more recently a Federal political party established in Australia. The different parties that used the name don't share any particular political positions; instead, confederations of people from disparate political backgrounds united around a common cause individual to their situation—often opposition to a common enemy—and used the name Fusion Party to reflect the aggregate nature of their new party.

City Fusion Party in New York City

The City Fusion Party in New York City was the vehicle that Republican

Fiorello La Guardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City fro ...

used to defeat the Democrats of Tammany Hall and be elected mayor of New York in 1933, and reelected in 1937 and 1941. It formed part of the New Deal coalition and worked closely with President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, who provided the federal patronage.

Fusion Party in Ohio and Indiana

The Fusion Party was the original name of the Republican Party in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. In 1854, anti-slavery parties were forming in many northern states in opposition to the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854. While many of these state parties adopted the name "Republican", the Ohio convention adopted the name "Fusionist" or "Fusion Party", which they felt more accurately described the fusion of persons from a variety of political backgrounds, including members of the

Free Soil Party The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery int ...

, the Conscience Whig Party, and the

Know-Nothing Party The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

along with members of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

who were opposed to slavery. Similarly, in Indiana, the Know-Nothings were not strong enough to run candidates on their own, and so combined with Republicans and other interest groups to run candidates on the Fusion or People's Party tickets in opposition to the

Anti-Nebraska movement The Anti-Nebraska movement was a political alignment in the United States formed in opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 and to its repeal of the Missouri Compromise provision forbidding slavery in U.S. territories north of latitude 36° ...

Fusion Party in South Dakota

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, the Fusion Party was a short-lived

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

that existed in the late 19th and early 20th century. The party was formed in 1896 from an alliance of Democrats, Free Silver Republicans, and

Populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

who were opposed to the platform of the state Republican Party. A total of 56 Fusion Party representatives were elected to the state legislature during its brief existence. In addition,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Richard F. Pettigrew Richard Franklin Pettigrew (July 23, 1848October 5, 1926) was an American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer. He represented the Dakota Territory in the U.S. Congress and, after the Dakotas were admitted as States, he was the first U.S. Senato ...

, who served from 1889–1901, was the Fusion Party candidate for Senate in 1900, having left the Republican Party to join the Silver Republicans in 1896. South Dakota Governor

Andrew E. Lee Andrew Ericson Lee (March 18, 1847 – March 19, 1934) was an American politician who served as the List of Governors of South Dakota, third Governor of South Dakota. Biography Lee was born near Bergen, Norway, Bergen in Norway and at a young ag ...

was also an elected to his second term as a Fusionist.

Fusion Party in Nevada

In the very early 20th century, a coalition of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

Democrats and Silverites called themselves the Fusion Party upon the insistence of

Francis G. Newlands Francis Griffith Newlands (August 28, 1846December 24, 1917) was a United States representative and Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party. A supporter of westward expansion, he helped pass the Newlands Reclamation Act of 19 ...

, who wanted to emphasize the need for fusion between the two groups if he wanted to hope for victory in the 1902 election. Fusion clubs were established in a number of counties throughout Nevada, and, despite a few temporary setbacks, a successful fusion of the two parties in the state did occur, and Newlands was elected Senator.

Fusion Party in Australia

Established in January 2022, the

Fusion Party Fusion Party is a name for multiple political parties in United States history and more recently a Federal political party established in Australia. The different parties that used the name don't share any particular political positions; instead ...

is an amalgamation of five political parties. The Climate Change Justice Party,

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by Political party, political parties around the world. Pirate parties support Civil and political rights, civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively Participatory democracy, partici ...

, Science Party,

Secular Party of Australia The Secular Party of Australia is a minor Australian political party, founded in January 2006 and registered as a federal political party in 2010.

, and

Vote Planet Climate Emergency Action Alliance: Vote Planet, formerly the Save Our One Planet Alliance, is an Australian political party founded in 2019. The party is an electoral alliance between the unregistered "Save the Planet" and "One Planet" parties. ...

. The merger was initiated by a change in the Australian Electrical Commission legislative change{{Cite web, last=corporateName=Australian Electoral Commission; address=10 Mort Street, first=Canberra ACT 2600; contact=13 23 26, title=FAQs: Party Registration – recent changes to the Electoral Act, url=https://www.aec.gov.au/FAQs/party-reg-changes.htm, access-date=2022-02-05, website=Australian Electoral Commission, language=en-AU to require a minimum of 1500 active members. Concerned that each of the five parties would not be able to meet the minimum criteria, they joined together under the Fusion Party.

References

External links

Fusion Party
Ohio History Central

by Steve Cobble and Sarah Siskind Political parties established in 1896 Defunct political parties in the United States Political history of the United States