The Green Party of the United States exists today as a political party fielding candidates for office in most states and at the national level. It was formed when the state-level Green Parties came together in the mid-1990s. Thirty-three years ago, however, there were no state-level Green Parties, except one formed in Maine in January 1984, although various groups and organizations were discussing Green politics in other states. The effort to form a national Green Party began in the summer of 1984 and extended over several years of start-up work, including dialogue, debate, and outreach to spread the concept of a comprehensive Green politics. A tremendous variety of interests and approaches from many social movements flowed into the making of the Green Party of the United States.

The immediate inspiration for the U.S. Green Party was the creation of Green parties in Germany and the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia and New Zealand. But what would a Green political party look like in the United States? What could it look like in our particular circumstances and the immense spread of different populations and regions of a huge country? What were its chances of getting a foothold amid the myriad electoral rules and patterns and given the monopolization of politics by two dominant parties?

These and many related questions were discussed and debated as the Green movement grew and the fledgling Green Party took shape.