The Anti-Monopoly Party was a short-lived American

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 ...

. The party nominated Benjamin F. Butler for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in 1884, as did the

Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...

, which ultimately supplanted the organization.

Organizational history

The first organized Anti-Monopoly Party was founded in

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in 1874 by former congressman

Ignatius L. Donnelly Ignatius Loyola Donnelly (November 3, 1831 – January 1, 1901) was an American Congressman, populist writer, and fringe scientist. He is known primarily now for his fringe theories concerning Atlantis, Catastrophism (especially the idea of an a ...

. The Anti-Monopoly Party was founded as a national political party in 1884 at its convention in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, which took place on May 14, 1884. Prior to this convention, however, there were Anti-Monopoly Parties operating at the state level, notably in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The party's platform was similar to those of other parties identified as progressive. The party advocated such measures as direct election of senators, a

graduated income tax A progressive tax is a tax in which the tax rate increases as the taxable amount increases.Sommerfeld, Ray M., Silvia A. Madeo, Kenneth E. Anderson, Betty R. Jackson (1992), ''Concepts of Taxation'', Dryden Press: Fort Worth, TX The term ''progre ...

, industrial arbitration and the establishment of labor bureaus to enhance the legal rights of organized labor, and

antitrust Competition law is the field of law that promotes or seeks to maintain market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies. Competition law is implemented through public and private enforcement. It is also known as antitrust l ...

legislation, among other matters. The party also opposed the use of the

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...

and the granting of public land to railroads and other corporations. Former U.S. army general and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

governor Benjamin F. Butler was nominated to run as the party's candidate for president in the 1884 election; he was similarly nominated by the

. Both parties nominated Absolom M. West of

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

for vice president. Butler received 175,370 votes in the election. The party largely disappeared after the election, though a small fringe remained in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, running local candidates until 1886. The People's Party's

Omaha Platform The Omaha Platform was the party program adopted at the formative convention of the Populist (or People's) Party held in Omaha, Nebraska on July 4, 1892. Origin The platform preamble was written by Ignatius L. Donnelly. The Omaha platform was ...

contained many planks of the Anti-Monopoly platform. Subsequently, the

Progressive movement Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...

saw the enactment of many political

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

measures first championed by the Anti-Monopolists and Greenbackers.

Elected officials

One Anti-Monopoly party member was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and one member to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

: *

Newton Booth Newton Booth (December 30, 1825July 14, 1892) was an American entrepreneur and politician. Early life Born to Hannah (née Pitts) of North Carolina and Beebe Booth

, senator from

. Served in the 44th, 45th, and

46th United States Congress The 46th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 ...

, from 1875 to 1881. *

Benjamin F. Shively Benjamin Franklin Shively (March 20, 1857 – March 14, 1916) was an United States of America, American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Representative (1884 to 1885 and 1887 to 1893) and United States Senate, Senator (190 ...

, representative from

Indiana's 13th congressional district Indiana's 13th congressional district was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in Indiana. It was eliminated as a result of the United States Census, 1930, 1930 Census. It was last represented by Samuel B. Pette ...

. Served in the

48th United States Congress The 48th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1883, ...

from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885.

References

{{reflist Political parties established in 1884 Defunct political parties in the United States Defunct agrarian political parties 1884 establishments in the United States