The party colors are a surprisingly recent tradition. But do they really represent the diversity of Americans’ beliefs?

Color has long played a role in US politics.

In 1867, US suffragists Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton adopted the yellow color of the sunflower – Kansas’s state flower – during their campaign for women’s voting rights in the state. By the 20th century, suffragists added white and purple to their political “uniforms”: white dresses, standing for purity and moral authority, became the most notable marker of the movement.