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Political colour

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File:An Election III, The Polling, by William Hogarth.jpg
The Polling, by William Hogarth, depicting a 1754 election to the British parliament, includes a blue flag representing the conservative Tories and a buff flag representing the liberal Whigs

Political colours are colours used to represent a political ideology, movement or party, either officially or unofficially.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite journal</ref> They represent the intersection of colour symbolism and political symbolism. Politicians making public appearances will often identify themselves by wearing rosettes, flowers, ties or ribbons in the colour of their political party. Parties in different countries with similar ideologies sometimes use similar colours. As an example the colour red symbolises left-wing ideologies in many countries (leading to such terms as "Red Army" and "Red Scare"), while the colour blue is often used for conservatism, the colour yellow is most commonly associated with liberalism and right-libertarianism, and Green politics is named after the ideology's political colour.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref> The political associations of a given colour vary from country to country, and there are exceptions to the general trends,<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> for example red has historically been associated with Christianity, but over time gained association with leftist politics, while the United States differs from other countries in that conservatism is associated with red and liberalism with blue.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Mass media has driven a standardisation of colour by political party, to simplify messaging, while historically the colour a candidate chose to identify with could have been chosen based on other factors such as family or regional variations.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Associations of different coloursEdit

BlackEdit

File:Black Bloc Hamburg.jpg
Anarchists in Germany in black bloc
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H15390, Berlin, Kaserne der LSSAH, Vergatterung.jpg
The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) in their black uniforms.

Black is primarily associated with anarchism<ref name="Evren, 2014">Template:Cite journal</ref> (see anarchist symbolism); black is a lack of colour, and anarchism is a lack of a state. It is used in contrast of national flags, to instead represent universal anarchism.<ref name="Evren, 2014" /> Black is also used to a lesser extent to represent ideologies on the opposite end of the spectrum: fascism (see Blackshirts and Schutzstaffel/Gestapo) and jihadism (see Black Standard).<ref name=":0" />

The colours black and red have been used by anarchists since at least the late 1800s when they were used on cockades by Italian anarchists in the 1874 Bologna insurrection, and in 1877 when anarchists entered the Italian town Letino carrying red and black flags to promote the First International.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During the Spanish Civil War the CNT used a diagonally half strip of black and red, with black representing anarchism and red representing the labour movement and the worker movement. The flag was quickly adopted by other anarchists, with the second colour used to distinguish specific anarchist philosophies: anarcho pacifism with white, green anarchism with green, anarcho-syndicalism and anarcho-communism with red, mutualism with orange, and anarcho-capitalism with yellow, while black alone typically represents 'anarchism without adjectives'.

During the Golden Age of Piracy, the black flag, or Jolly Roger of pirates such as Blackbeard and Samuel Bellamy became popular symbols of piracy. The flags represented death and no quarter to those who did not surrender. The Crossed Swords Jolly Roger, falsely attributed to John Rackham, has become a popular and recognisable symbol of pirates, particularly of pirates of the Americas.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite SSRN</ref><ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The skull and bones also became a hazardous symbol to display poisons such as cyanide, Zyklon B and other toxic substances. The black flag of piracy would later influence the symbols of anarchism, such as the symbols of the Makhnovshchina and the Kronstadt rebellion. The rise of internet piracy led to the symbols of the golden age of piracy becoming widely adopted, becoming the symbols of pirate sites such as the Pirate bay. Black becoming a colour to represent pirate parties.

Black was also used by some anti-racist and Black nationalist parties, such as the Black Panther Party in the United States and the Popular Unity in Brazil.

  • Anti-clerical parties in the late 19th and early 20th centuries sometimes used the colour black in reference to the officials of the Roman Catholic Church because the cassock is usually black.<ref name=":7">Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • In Germany and Austria, black is the colour historically associated with Christian democratic parties, such as the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU) and the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP); however, this is only customary, as the official colours of the CDU are usually either one of or a mix of different shades of yellow, orange or blue, depending on the regional branch of the party, with the nationwide party also using the red, black and gold from the German flag as official colours. The CSU uses a medium dark shade of blue as their official colour, as seen in their logo. In 2017, the ÖVP changed their official colour from black to turquoise, with some regional branches switching to turquoise as well, while others continue to use black, often in a mix with another colour, such as red, yellow, green or blue.
  • In Italy, black is the colour of fascism because it was the official colour of the National Fascist Party. As a result, modern Italian parties would not use black as their political colour; however, it has been customary to use black to identify the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement.<ref name=":8">Template:Cite journal</ref>
  • In the Islamic world, black flags (often with a white shahadah) are sometimes used by jihadist groups. Black was the colour of the Abbasid caliphate. It is also commonly used by Shia Muslims, as it is also associated with mourning the death of Husayn ibn Ali.<ref name=":9">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is now known as the flag colour of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

  • In Malaysia, the People's Solidarity Secretariat (SSR), an umbrella youth organisation launched the Black Flag Movement (#BenderaHitam) in 2021 as a resistance-based protest against the then ruling Perikatan Nasional government.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) also adapted the colour black as their official colour.

  • In Russia, black was used for monarchism and nationalist movements, such as the Black Hundreds before their defeat.<ref name=":10">Template:Cite thesis</ref>
  • In India, black represents protest. In Tamil Nadu, black represents atheistic human rights rebels who follow Periyar E. V. Ramasamy.<ref name=":11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • In Brazil, the far-left, socialist and anti-racist party Popular Unity has black as its official colour.

BlueEdit

Blue is usually associated with centre-right or conservative parties,<ref name=":0" /> originating from its use by the Tories (predecessor of the Conservative Party) in the United Kingdom.<ref name=":12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Blue is used by many international organisations of centre right and conservative parties, such as the International Democrat Union, the Democrat Union of Africa, the Asia Pacific Democrat Union, the Caribbean Democrat Union (together with red), the European Democrat Union, the European People's Party, the European Conservatives and Reformists Party.

  • The field of the flag of the United Nations is light blue, chosen to represent peace and hope. It has given rise to the term "bluewashing".<ref name=":13">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> as did its predecessor party: United Australia.<ref name=":15">Template:Cite news</ref>

  • In Austria, blue is heavily associated with the right-wing populist Freedom Party and with pan-Germanism. It is the Freedom Party's official colour, and its members are generally referred to as "blues" in the media and colloquial speech.<ref name=":16">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The blue cornflower was a national symbol of Germany in the 19th century, often associated with Prussia. It later became a symbol for Pan-German nationalists in Austria, such as Georg Ritter von Schönerer's {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}. In 1930s Austria the cornflower was also worn by members of the then illegal NSDAP, as a secret symbol and identifier.<ref name=":17">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After 1945, MPs of the Freedom Party wore cornflowers on their lapels at the openings of the Austrian parliament, until they switched to the more "Austrian" Edelweiß in 2017.<ref name=":18">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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  • In South Africa, blue is usually associated with liberal political parties, the most popular being the Democratic Alliance, the largest opposition party. The colour blue was also used by the United Party, from which the Progressive Party (the most senior ancestor of the Democratic Alliance) split in 1959.<ref name=":24">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (see red states and blue states).

  • In Venezuela, blue represents the Democratic Unity Roundtable, the large multi-ideological coalition of parties in opposition, probably as a counterpart to PSUV's red.
  • In most of Latin America, blue is used as a colour of anti-feminism and, more specifically, anti-abortion. This colour was used as a response to the feminist/pro-abortion green. This originated in Argentina.<ref name=":26">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

BrownEdit

File:Bundesarchiv Bild 147-0503, Nürnberg, Horst Wessel mit SA-Sturm.jpg
The Sturmabteilung of the Nazi Party, wearing their brown uniforms.

Brown has been associated with Nazism, and in particular the Nazi Party in Germany, because of the Sturmabteilung (SA), whose members were called "brown shirts". They were modelled on Benito Mussolini's blackshirts, and the colour of their shirts was chosen because many brown uniforms intended for the colonial troops in Germany's African colonies were cheaply available after the end of World War I. In Europe and elsewhere, the colour brown is sometimes used to refer to fascists in general.<ref name=":27">Template:Cite book</ref>

Brown has also been used to refer to the general far-right rather than exclusively Nazism and/or fascism. The French political term "red–green–brown alliance" denotes an alliance between leftists (red), Islamists (green), and the far right (brown).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Just like its National Socialist context, the colour brown was chosen to refer to the far-right on account of its association with the Nazi Sturmabteilung.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> There have been slight variations of the red–green–brown alliance which have also used the colour brown to indicate the far-right. In Russia, for example, the metonym "red-brown" was coined to refer to a unification of communists (red) and the far-right (brown).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Brown is sometimes used to describe the opposite of green parties, that is to describe parties that care little about pollution.<ref name=":28">Template:Cite journal</ref>

BuffEdit

GreyEdit

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GreenEdit

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File:Grüne protests against nuclear energy.jpg
Green banner and signs at an anti-nuclear protest by the Green Party in Germany in 2008

Green is the colour for environmentalist<ref name=":33">Template:Cite book</ref> and agrarian<ref name=":37">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> parties and movements. Considered the holy colour of Islam (see green in Islam), it is used to represent Islamism, as with Hamas, Saudi Arabia and many Islamist parties.<ref name=":40">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":41">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":42">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":0" />

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Justice and Reconciliation Party<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Sandžak's Bosniaks). The Green–Left Front also uses green alongside red.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

MagentaEdit

Magenta is a colour that started being used in the 21st century to replace yellow for some liberal and centrist parties and organisations in Europe.Template:Cn It is not to be confused with the socialist or social democratic use of the colour pink.

OrangeEdit

Orange is the traditional colour of the Christian democratic political ideology and most Christian democratic political parties, which are based on Catholic social teaching and/or neo-Calvinist theology.Template:Citation needed Christian democratic political parties came to prominence in Europe and the Americas after World War II.<ref name="Witte1993">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Reuchamps2014">Template:Cite book</ref> Orange less frequently represents various kinds of populist parties. Such is the case in Austria, Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Turkey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Orange is often used to represent the mutualist current in anarchist politics, as a middle ground between pro-market currents such as anarcho-capitalism (associated with the colour yellow of liberalism) and anti-capitalist currents such as anarcho-syndicalism and anarcho-communism (associated with the colour red of communism and socialism).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • In Australia, orange is used to represent the One Nation party, a right-wing populist and national-conservative led by Pauline Hanson. It is also used to represent other populist parties, such as the Centre Alliance party.
  • In Brazil, orange is the colour of the liberal New Party and also is the colour of two parties associated with a socially conservative social democracy: Forward and Solidarity.
  • In Canada, Orange is the official colour of the social-democratic New Democratic Party. During Jack Layton's leadership green was used as their accent colour; The logo was a green maple leaf with orange "NDP" lettering. Currently light blue is used as their accent colour although it seldom appears and is not included in the logo (the current logo is an orange maple leaf with orange "NDP" lettering).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> for being likely to confuse or mislead voters by being too similar to the colour used by the country's electoral agencies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

PinkEdit

Pink is sometimes used by social democratic parties, such as in France and Portugal. The more traditional colour of social democracy is red (because social democracy is descended from the democratic socialist movement), but some countries have large social democratic parties alongside large socialist or communist parties, so that it would be confusing for them all to use red.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In such cases, social democrats are usually the ones who give up red in favour of a different colour. Pink is often chosen because it is seen as a softer, less aggressive version of red, in the same way that social democracy is more centrist and capitalistic than socialism.

  • In some European nations and the United States, pink is associated with homosexuality and the pink flag is used as a symbol in support of civil rights for LGBT people;<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> it is commonly used to represent queer anarchism. This use originates in Nazi German policy of appending pink triangles to the clothing of homosexual prisoners.
  • The Austrian liberal party NEOS uses pink as its main colour, though this corresponds closer to the use of magenta typically associated with centrist liberal parties.
  • In the Dominion of Newfoundland, pink was used to represent the Newfoundland People's Party.

PurpleEdit

File:Reivindicaciones 8M (49638766962).jpg
Purple placards and clothing at an International Women's Day event in Spain

Although purple has some older associations with monarchism, it is the most prominent colour that is not traditionally connected to any major contemporary ideology. As such, it is sometimes used to represent a mix of different ideologies, or new protest movements that are critical of all previously existing large parties and minor parties.

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (the Suffragettes), purple has been associated with feminism and the women's movement.<ref name="f879">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="l661">Template:Cite journal</ref> 1970s feminists such as Dale Spender and Midge Mackenzie revived these colours, and they were used officially for International Women's Year in 1975 and subsequently as the colours for International Women's Day.<ref name="f879"/><ref name="z420">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Often in combination with green, it the symbol for feminist political parties such as the UK's Women's Equality Party or the Women's List in Iceland. When combined with black, it is used to represent anarcha-feminism.

  • Purple has been the colour of the international Pirate Party movement since the founding of the Swedish Pirate Party in 2006.
  • In Albania, purple is the colour of the Socialist Party of Albania.
  • In Australia, purple is used by the Australian Electoral Commission, the independent statutory authority responsible for the management of federal elections. While use of the colour purple by political parties is not prohibited in itself, it is strongly discouraged owing to the possibility of confusion and the risk of contravening laws against misleadingly branded election signage.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The colour is also used by the European federalist party Volt.

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> in most other countries, social democrats use pink or red, but the use of purple has allowed the party to stand out visually from other left-wing parties (such as Labour, Solidarity, People Before Profit and the Workers' Party, who all use shades of red and pink). Co-leader Catherine Murphy used purple as her personal colour when she was an independent politician, prior to the party's foundation in 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

  • In Israel, because purple has been a less politicised colour (and inspired by Spain's Podemos), the colour has become the symbol of Standing Together, a grassroots joint Jewish/Palestinian for social justice.<ref name="m242"/><ref name="g443">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="f018">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="g895">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The left-wing to far-left and republican Podemos uses purple.<ref name="z590">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="m242">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

RedEdit

File:Wpi france.jpg
Red flags and a banner at a socialist rally in Lyon, France, on International Workers' Day in 2009

Red is often associated with the left, especially socialism and communism.<ref name=":0" /> The oldest symbol of socialism (and by extension communism) is the red flag, which dates back to the French Revolution in the 18th century and the revolutions of 1848. Before this nascence, the colour red was generally associated with Christianity due to the symbolism and association of Christ's blood. The colour red was chosen to represent the blood of the workers who died in the struggle against capitalism.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All major socialist and communist alliances and organisations—including the First, Second, Third and Fourth Internationals—used red as their official colour. The association between the colour red and communism is particularly strong. Communists use red much more often and more extensively than other ideologies use their respective traditional colours.

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Both parties had social liberalism ideologies.

SaffronEdit

Saffron is traditionally associated with Hinduism, Hindutva and the Hindu nationalist movement.<ref name="Saffron">Template:Cite book</ref> Saffron was chosen because in Hinduism, the deep saffron colour is associated with sacrifice, religious abstinence, quest for light and salvation. Saffron or "Bhagwa" is the most sacred colour for the Hindus and is often worn by Sanyasis who have left their home in search of the ultimate truth.

TealEdit

WhiteEdit

White is today mainly linked to pacifism (as in the surrender flag).<ref name=":0" />

  • Historically, it was associated with support for absolute monarchy, starting with the supporters of the Bourbon dynasty of France because it was the dynasty's colour. Partly due to this association, white also came to be associated with Jacobitism, itself allied with the Bourbons. White cockades, white ladies' gloves, and Rosa pimpinellifolia (the 'burnet' or 'Stuart' rose) symbolised support for the exiled House of Stuart. Because some of the Russian "Whites" had similar goals to the French "Whites" of a century earlier,Template:Cn it was used by the Whites who fought against the communist "Reds" in the Russian Civil War (see also White Army), although the Whites included many different people with many ideologies, such as monarchists, liberals, anticommunist social democrats and others.
    • Because of its use by anti-communist forces in Russia, the colour white came to be associated in the 20th century with many different anti-communist and counter-revolutionary groups,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> even those that did not support absolute monarchy (for example, the Finnish "Whites" who fought against the socialist "Reds" in the civil war following the independence of Finland). In some revolutions, red is used to represent the revolutionaries and white is used to represent the supporters of the old order, regardless of the ideologies or goals of the two sides.Template:Citation needed
  • In Italy, a red cross on a white shield ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) is the emblem of Catholic parties from the historical Christian Democracy party.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Yellow and goldEdit

Yellow and gold are the colours most strongly associated with right-libertarianism and liberalism.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In several countries, the yellow ribbon, often associated with showing support for troops serving in wars, prisoners of war or hostages, has taken on a political meaning.

  • In Latin America, it is not unusual for left-wing social democratic parties to use yellow, as red was the traditional colour of liberals, especially in countries with prominent red-using liberal parties like Uruguay, Honduras, Mexico, Colombia and Costa Rica.
  • Yellow is also associated with Judaism and the Jewish people, although this may be seen negatively (see also Yellow badge).<ref name="s611">Template:Cite journal</ref> It has consequently been taken up by the Revisionist Zionist and Kach movements,Template:Cn and yellow ribbons are used to demonstrate support for hostages taken by Palestinian militants,<ref name="p783">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> especially after 7 October 2023.<ref name="d947">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> and later, with support of Jair Bolsonaro, like PSL and the Alliance for Brazil.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The association came because many of the protesters against Dilma wore the jersey of Brazil national football team, which is yellow with the numbers and some details in green, and because the protesters chanted that the Brazilian flag "will never be red" (in reference to the colours of the communism and Workers' Party) and "will always be green and yellow".

  • In Canada, yellow does not have any dominant political connotation, and so is commonly used by Elections Canada as a politically neutral colour and as a high-visibility colour to mark polling stations.
  • In Estonia, yellow is used by the right-wing liberal Reform Party.
  • In Hong Kong, yellow represents the pro-democracy supporters.<ref name="q939">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> (See also Yellow economic circle.)

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The gold-yellow colour is prominent because of the historical association with classical liberalism and in reference to a gold-backed currency and free markets.

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

By countryEdit

GermanyEdit

In Germany, colours are commonly used by media and politicians as signals of political affiliation; this public practice helps them reach the increasing number of unaffiliated voters. <ref name="bpb-farben">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Colour schemes used by major political parties in Germany include the following:

United KingdomEdit

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> The traditional colour of the Warwickshire Liberals was green, rather than orange.

United States of AmericaEdit

File:ElectoralCollege2012.svg
In this map of the 2012 United States presidential election results, the states are colour-coded by the political colour of the party whose candidate won their electoral college votes, but the political meanings of red and blue in the United States are the opposite of their meanings in the rest of the world.
  • In the United States the two major political parties use the national colours, i.e. red, white and blue. Historically, the only common situation in which it has been necessary to assign a single colour to a party has been in the production of political maps in graphical displays of election results. In such cases, there had been no consistent association of particular parties with particular colours. Between the early 1970s and 1992, most television networks used blue to denote states carried by the Democratic Party and red to denote states carried by the Republican Party in presidential elections. A unified colour scheme (blue for Democrats, red for Republicans) began to be implemented with the 1996 presidential election; in the weeks following the 2000 election, there arose the terminology of red states and blue states. Political observers latched on to this association, which resulted from the use of red for Republican victories and blue for Democratic victories on the display map of a television network. As of November 2012, maps for presidential elections produced by the U.S. government also use blue for Democrats and red for Republicans.<ref name="US-NARA-map">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> In September 2010, the Democratic Party officially adopted an all-blue logo.<ref name="democrats.org"/> Around the same time, the official Republican website began using a red logo.

    • This association has potential to confuse foreign observers in that, as described above, red is traditionally a left-wing colour (as used with the Democratic Socialists of America), while blue is typically associated with right-wing politics.<ref name=":3" /> This is further complicated by the diversity of factions in the Democratic Party ranging from conservatives to right-libertarians to democratic socialists alongside the dominant centrist and social liberal elements of the party that outside the United States often each use different political colours.
    • The conservative Blue Dog Coalition within the Democratic Party adopted the colour blue at its founding, before the 2000 election solidified the red-blue convention.
    • There is some historical use of blue for Democrats and red for Republicans: in the late 19th century and early 20th century, Texas county election boards used colour-coding to help Spanish speakers and illiterates identify the parties,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> but this system was not applied consistently in Texas and was not picked up on a national level. For instance in 1888, Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison used maps that coded blue for the Republicans, the colour Harrison perceived to represent the Union and "Lincoln's Party" and red for the Democrats.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Better source needed

NotesEdit

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See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist Template:Colour topics

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