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The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) was a political organization formed out of the Green Committees of Correspondence in 1991 and was recognized as a national political party by the FEC from 1991 to 2005. It was based in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. '' Synthesis/Regeneration'', an affiliated journal of green social thought, was published in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
. The now predominant
Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...
split from the G/GPUSA in 2001.


History

The Greens/Green Party USA (G/GPUSA) was founded at the August 1991 Green Gathering in
Elkins, West Virginia Elkins is a city in Randolph County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. The population was 6,950 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies along the Tygart Valley River and was incorporated in 1890, taking its name fr ...
, restructuring the Green Committees of Correspondence with the idea that the Green movement and Green Party would operate as part of a single organization. A press conference was held in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, to announce the new organization, featuring Charles Betz (G/GPUSA Coordinating Committee member),
Howie Hawkins Howard Gresham Hawkins III (born December 8, 1952) is an American trade unionist and environmental activist. Co-founder of the Green Party of the United States, Hawkins was the party's presidential nominee in the 2020 presidential election. Hi ...
and Joni Whitmore (Chair, Green Party of Alaska), as well as Hilda Mason of the D.C. Statehood Party, and was featured on C-SPAN. Subsequently, legal documents were filed under
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
law to form the Greens/Green Party USA as a
527 group A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (). A 527 group is created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat ...
. It was recognized by the FEC as a national political party in 1991. Subsequent G/GPUSA Green Gatherings were held in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
( Augsburg College, July 1992);
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
(August 1993);
Boise Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...
(July 1994),
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
(
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...
, July 27–30, 1995),
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(
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, August 1996); and
Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen, Massachusetts, Methuen ...
(August 1997). At various times, a "Green Clearinghouse" was the central administrative office of G/GPUSA. The Clearinghouse has operated from various locations, including (originally)
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
; Blodgett Mills, New York; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Despite its development of a national-level organization, the G/GPUSA always emphasized that the "Green Local" is the primary organizing unit. Some members of G/GPUSA resisted efforts to organize Green parties at the state level, on the theory that state
bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...
was inimical to the organic and democratic nature of autonomous Green locals. The model in the early days was based on the
bioregion A bioregion is a geographical area, on land or at sea, defined not by administrative boundaries, but by distinct characteristics such as plant and animal species, ecological systems, soils and landforms, Human settlement, human settlements, and ...
and not state boundaries. Other Greens pointed out that, in most jurisdictions in the United States, political parties gain recognition at the state level, so without state-level organizations it would be difficult for Greens to participate in election activities. At the 2001 Congress of the G/GPUSA, held at
Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...
, on July 21, the delegates were to consider the Boston Proposal, a separation of powers agreement between it and the Association of State Green Parties (ASGP). Many of those attending were also members of the ASGP. There was an intense organizational struggle, much of which revolved around whether or not to "accredit" various delegations (and thus grant them voting privileges). The proposal failed to reach the required two-thirds majority, although over half voted to approve it (99 in favor, 81 against). The result was very controversial, and ultimately led to the exodus of many G/GPUSA activists, some of whom went on to form The Green Alliance, an organization intended to bring "movement" politics in the style of the G/GPUSA into the Green Party of the United States. In 2001, the
Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...
was founded and recognized by the FEC as a national committee, and has become a much larger and more visible than the G/GPUSA. In 2005, G/GPUSA lost its political party status at the FEC. It had reported no income or expenditures for some time. The G/GPUSA Coordinating Committee notified its members and supporters of the decision to disband the party in January 2019.


Contrast with the Green Party of the United States

The
Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...
and Greens/Green Party USA had no organizational connection but share a common and difficult history. The G/GPUSA is not an electoral party, although some of its members participate in elections. The name "G/GPUSA" is said to have reflected a compromise or a synergy between Greens who emphasized the primacy of combining non-electoral movement building with electoral campaigns, and those who sought to participate actively only in elections. It has also been characterized as a power grab when the original Committees of Correspondence split and a small group registered the name without consultation with the five existing state parties, all in the western states. The Greens/Green Party USA was an educational,
grassroots organizing A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or continent movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from volunteers at the local level to imp ...
, advocacy group based on the 10 Key Values. The journal
Synthesis/Regeneration
' published in
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, was associated with the G/GPUSA. This journal publishes articles by writers with a wide range of Green viewpoints. ''Synthesis/Regeneration'' was first published in 1991 and is produced every four months. The source of the rift between the two national Green parties was a matter of contentious debate. Some point to differences of political philosophy or views on the proper structure of the party or attitudes toward elections, while others suggest it was more about personality conflicts, turf struggles, and poor communication leading to concerns about financial and political accountability, or perhaps the 1991 name grab or the inaccurate G/GPUSA FEC filing in 1995. It is important to note that the heated debates and the fighting that was waged for several years at the national level (and among Greens within a few states, such as
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
) seemed largely irrelevant to the vast majority of grassroots Greens, who preferred to devote their energies to local organizing. In an article on the G/GPUSA's website, the organization characterized the split between itself and the
Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States (GPUS) is a federation of Green state political parties in the United States. The party promotes green politics, specifically environmentalism; nonviolence; social justice; participatory democracy; anti-war; ...
(GPUS) as akin to the fundi–realo split in the German Greens, with itself being the fundi wing and GPUS the realos.


See also

* Association of State Green Parties *
Green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
(worldwide) *
History of the Green Party of the United States The Green Party of the United States originated in 1984 when 62 people from the U.S. gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota and founded the first national Green organization - the Committees of Correspondence. The Green Party of the U.S. has gone throu ...
*
List of political parties in the United States This list of political parties in the United States, both past and present, does not include independents. Not all states allow the public to access voter registration data. Therefore, voter registration data should not be taken as the correct ...
* Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 1996 * Ralph Nader presidential campaign, 2000


References


External links


Greens/Green Party USA (archived)''Green Social Thought''Green Party Archives Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greens Green Party USA 1991 establishments in West Virginia 2019 disestablishments in the United States Defunct political parties in the United States Green Party of the United States Green political parties in the United States Howie Hawkins Political parties disestablished in 2019 Political parties established in 1991