View source for People's Party (United States, 1971)

{{Short description|Former political party in the United States}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = People's Party
| logo             = 
| caption          = 
| colorcode        = #EE2C21
| leader           = Several
| founded          = {{start date|1971}}
| dissolved        = {{end date|1977}}
| split           = {{unbulleted list|[[Peace&nbsp;and&nbsp;Freedom&nbsp;Party]]|[[Human Rights Party (United States)|Human Rights Party]]|[[Liberty Union Party]]|Other minor parties}}
| predecesor = 
| successor = [[Citizens Party (United States)|Citizens Party]]
| ideology         = [[Democratic socialism]]<br />[[Left-wing populism]]<br />[[Progressivism in the United States|Progressivism]]<br />[[Radical feminism]]
| position         = [[Left-wing politics|Left-wing]]
| international    = 
| colors           = {{color box|#EE2C21|border=silver}} Red
| country          = the United States
}}
The '''People's Party''' was a [[political party]] in the [[United States]], founded in 1971 by various individuals and state and local political parties, including the [[Peace and Freedom Party]], Commongood People's Party, Country People's Caucus, [[Human Rights Party (United States)|Human Rights Party]], [[Liberty Union Party|Liberty Union]], New American Party, New Party (Arizona), and No Party.  The party's goal was to present a united anti-war platform for the coming election.

The People's Party fielded candidates for the presidency two times: First in the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 US presidential election]] with Dr. [[Benjamin Spock]] (an American pediatrician and author of parenting books) as their candidate; then the party contested the [[1976 United States presidential election|1976 US presidential election]], with  [[Margaret Wright (US socialist)|Margaret Wright]] as their candidate. Dr. Spock was the Party's candidate for vice president in 1976.

After the election, the party moved to become a loose [[coalition]], but was soon defunct, with most of its founding parties also dissolved.

The party's papers are now in the ''Western Historical Manuscript Collection'' of the [[University of Missouri–St. Louis]], [[St. Louis, Missouri]], having been where the party had held its conventions.

After dissolution, many members joined the [[Citizens Party (United States)|Citizens Party]].

== History ==
=== 1972 election ===
The People's Party ran Dr. [[Benjamin Spock]] for president and [[Julius Hobson]] for vice president in the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 U.S. presidential election]].  The party platform included free medical care, legalized [[abortion]], legalized [[marijuana]], a guaranteed [[minimum wage]], the withdrawal of American troops from all foreign countries,<ref name=nyt>Eric Pace. [https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0502.html "Benjamin Spock, World's Pediatrician, Dies at 94"], ''The New York Times'', March 17, 1998</ref> a guaranteed [[maximum wage]], and promoting toleration of [[homosexuality]]. Dr. Spock and the People's Party received 78,759 votes (0.10%).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1972&minper=0&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1972 Presidential General Election Results}}</ref>

In 1976, Spock was the party's vice presidential candidate.<ref name=nyt/>

=== Greer v. Spock ===
In 1972, Spock, Hobson, [[Linda Jenness]] (Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate), and Socialist Workers Party vice presidential candidate [[Andrew Pulley]] wrote to Major General Bert A. David, commanding officer of Fort Dix, asking for permission to distribute campaign literature and to hold an election-related campaign meeting. On the basis of Fort Dix regulations 210-26 and 210-27, General David refused the request. Spock, Hobson, Jenness, Pulley, and others then filed a case that ultimately made its way to the United States Supreme Court (424 U.S. 828—Greer, Commander, Fort Dix Military Reservation, et al., v. Spock et al.), which ruled against the [[plaintiffs]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/424/828/|title=Greer v. Spock, 424 U.S. 828 (1976)|website=Justia Law}}</ref>  Greer v. Spock was, according to Professor Joshua E. Kastenberg, part of the Burger Court's jurisprudence of insulating the military from non-mainstream political influences.<ref>Joshua E. Kastenberg, Shaping U.S. Military Law: Governing a Constitutional Military. (London: Ashgate Press, 2013), 135–136</ref>  As Spock and his contemporaries had been outspoken against the United States involvement in the [[Vietnam War]], there was a fear that he would influence soldiers to refuse to comply with orders to deploy into combat.{{citation needed|date=September 2019}}

=== 1976 election ===
In 1976 the People's Party ran [[Margaret Wright (American politician)|Margaret Wright]] as president and Spock this time as vice president after [[Maggie Kuhn]] declined the spot. The People's Party received 49,016 votes (0.06%).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=1976&minper=0&f=0&off=0&elect=0|title=1976 Presidential General Election Results}}</ref>

== Election results ==

=== Presidential elections ===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:100%"
! Year
! Presidential candidate
! Vice presidential candidate
! Popular votes
! %
! Electoral votes
! Result
! Ballot access
! Notes
! Ref
|-
| [[1972 United States presidential election|1972]]
| [[Benjamin Spock]]
| [[Julius Hobson]]
| 78,759
| {{Percentage bar|0.10|hex=FF0000}}
| 0
| {{no2}} Lost
| 
| 
| <ref name=HC1972>{{Cite web |title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of 1972 |publisher=[[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]] |date=April 1973 |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1972election.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=January 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101000000/http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1972election.pdf}}</ref>
|-
| [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]]
| [[Margaret Wright (American politician)|Margaret Wright]]
| [[Benjamin Spock]]
| 49,013
| {{Percentage bar|0.06|hex=FF0000}}
| 0
| {{no2}} Lost
| 
| 
| <ref name=HC1976>{{Cite web |title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of 1976 |publisher=[[Clerk of the United States House of Representatives]] |date=April 1977 |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1976election.pdf |url-status=live |archive-date=January 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070101000000/http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1976election.pdf}}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
* [[American Left]]
* [[Democratic Socialists of America]]
* [[Green Party of the United States]]
* [[History of left-wing politics in the United States]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Historical left-wing third party presidential tickets (U.S.)}}
{{United States political parties}}

[[Category:Political parties established in 1971]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct democratic socialist parties in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct social democratic parties in the United States]]
[[Category:1971 establishments in the United States]]