Gold Democrats and The Decline of Classical Liberalism, 1896-1900

Classical liberal ideas were conspicuously absent from federal elections for many decades after the short-lived National Democratic Party (1896-1900), a last-ditch effort to build a consensus for free trade and limited government. The story of the NDP (or Gold Democrats, as they are also known) sheds light on the fall of classical liberalism and the subsequent rise of modern liberalism.