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 area'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 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. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

in 1884, as did the Greenback Party, which ultimately supplanted the organization.

Organizational history

The first organized Anti-Monopoly Party was founded in

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 1874 by former congressman

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

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

, 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 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 York. 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, 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 or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

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

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

governor Benjamin Butler was nominated to run as the party's candidate for president in the 1884 election; he was similarly nominated by the Greenback Party. Both parties nominated Absolom M. West of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, running local candidates until 1886. The People's Party's Omaha Platform contained many planks of the Anti-Monopoly platform. Subsequently, the Progressive movement saw the enactment of many political

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

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 is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and one member to the U.S. Senate: * Newton 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, representative from Indiana's 13th congressional district. Served in the 48th United States Congress from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885.

References

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