Greens/Green Party USA - History

History

Although, as of 2004, the Green Party of the United States has for several years been a much larger and more visible national-level and state-based party organization and has been recognized since 2001 by the Federal Election Commission as a national committee of a political party, the smaller Greens/Green Party USA (a name adopted in 1991) claims to be the successor to the original American Green organization founded in 1984, previously called the Green Committees of Correspondence (CoCs) 1984 - 1991. When the CoCs split, the G/GPUSA became the rump organization of earlier American Green political efforts.

At various times, a "Green Clearinghouse" has been the central administrative office of G/GPUS. The Clearinghouse has operated from various locations, including (originally) Kansas City, Missouri; Blodgett Mills, New York; Lawrence, Massachusetts; and Chicago, Illinois. Sometime after 1991, legal documents were filed under Missouri law to form the Greens/Green Party USA as a 527 group. Despite the development of a national-level organization, the G/GPUSA has 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 was inimical to the organic and democratic nature of autonomous Green locals. The model in the early days was based on the bioregion 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.

The newer organization, Green Party of the United States, was originally organized as an informal project called the Association of Autonomous State Green Parties (ASGP) between 1992 and 2001. The idea of a national organization of state-based parties was carried by a small group of organizers who also recruited Ralph Nader for the 1996 presidential campaign, beginning in 1995. The ASGP led to a national party now called Green Party of the United States (GPUS), a name the party adopted in 2001. Early organizational meetings of the ASGP created the Heartland Declaration. The first ASGP meeting was held in Boston, Massachusetts, in either 1991 or 1992. Other meetings were held in Middleburg, Virginia (shortly after the 1996 election); other early ASGP meetings were held in Portland, Oregon (1997), and in Topsham, Maine (1997).

In 2005, The Greens/Green Party USA lost its political party status (this had been established on the basis of one candidacy in New York State and an inaccurate FEC filing) with the Federal Election Commission. It had reported no income or expenditures for some time. Because an FEC committee exists to regulate expenditures on political activity, there was no need for the committee any more. The G/GPUSA now exists as a political organization, not a political party.