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The '''Union Party''' was a radical, left-wing populist political party in the U.S. which briefly existed in the mid-1930s and sought a formidable third-party revolt against President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com>May 9, 2018. [https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/union-party Union Party]. ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved November 28, 2022.</ref> Its party leadership and base largely supported Roosevelt previously in 1932 though broke with him out of the perception that his policies were insufficient, seeking stronger government action against the [[Great Depression]].

The '''Union Party''' was a radical, [[left-wing]] [[populist]] political party in the U.S. which briefly existed in the mid-1930s and sought a formidable third-party revolt against President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com>May 9, 2018. [https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/united-states-and-canada/us-history/union-party Union Party]. ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved November 28, 2022.</ref> Its party leadership and base largely supported Roosevelt previously in 1932 though broke with him out of the perception that his policies were insufficient, seeking stronger government action against the [[Great Depression]].

The party was established partly out of the political remnants and legacy of [[Huey Long]], a ruthless demagogue whose tirades and rabble-rousing amidst the Great Depression pushed the [[New Deal]] increasingly towards the left and were privately met with the fear of Roosevelt himself. [[Charles Coughlin]], Gerald L. K. Smith, and Francis Townsend, who led the Union Party, advocated radical economic initiatives paralleling the Share Our Wealth program spearheaded by Long. After its candidate, old-school progressive Republican William Lemke, failed to garner a substantial percentage of the vote on the national level in 1936, the party's leadership was fractured by internal strife and it soon disbanded. However, the careers of its leaders continued separately, most notably manifested in the public antisemitic bigotry for Smith and Coughlin.

The party was established partly out of the political remnants and legacy of [[Huey Long]], a ruthless demagogue whose tirades and rabble-rousing amidst the Great Depression pushed the [[New Deal]] increasingly towards the left and were privately met with the fear of Roosevelt himself. [[Charles Coughlin]], Gerald L. K. Smith, and Francis Townsend, who led the Union Party, advocated radical economic initiatives paralleling the Share Our Wealth program spearheaded by Long. After its candidate, old-school progressive Republican William Lemke, failed to garner a substantial percentage of the vote on the national level in 1936, the party's leadership was fractured by internal strife and it soon disbanded. However, the careers of its leaders continued separately, most notably manifested in the public antisemitic bigotry for Smith and Coughlin.