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[[File:Hon. Roscoe Conkling, N.Y.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sen. Roscoe Conkling, a staunch conservative who led the congressional Stalwarts.]]

[[File:Hon. Roscoe Conkling, N.Y.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sen. Roscoe Conkling, a staunch conservative who led the congressional Stalwarts.]]

'''Stalwart''' is a term used to describe the "Old Guard,"<ref name=uspartypolitics>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/american-party-politics American Party Politics]. ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved December 21, 2021.</ref> [[conservative]]<ref name=encyclopedia.combasicinfo>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/stalwarts Stalwarts]. ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> wing of the [[Republican Party]] during the [[Gilded Age]] that stood firmly for equal rights for [[African American]]s and opposed [[Jim Crow]] and the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. From 1877–81, they opposed the Jim Crow Democrats' efforts to rebuild the [[Democratic Party]] in the post-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] era with a [[civil service system]] that discriminated against [[black]]s, instead favoring the traditional [[spoils system]].<ref name=trumpchristie>Matthews, Dylan (July 20, 2016). [https://www.vox.com/2016/7/20/12233454/christie-trump-purge-federal-employees Donald Trump and Chris Christie are reportedly planning to purge the civil service]. ''Vox''. Retrieved December 21, 2021.</ref>

'''Stalwart''' is a term used to describe the "Old Guard,"<ref name=uspartypolitics>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/american-party-politics American Party Politics]. ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved December 21, 2021.</ref> [[conservative]]<ref name=encyclopedia.combasicinfo>[https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/stalwarts Stalwarts]. ''Encyclopedia.com''. Retrieved August 25, 2021.</ref> wing of the [[Republican Party]] during the [[Gilded Age]] that stood firmly for equal rights for [[African American]]s and opposed [[Jim Crow]] and the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. From 1877–81, they opposed the Jim Crow Democrats' efforts to rebuild the [[Democratic Party]] in the post-[[American Civil War|Civil War]] era with a [[civil service system]] that discriminated against [[black]]s, instead favoring the traditional [[spoils system]].<ref name=trumpchristie>Matthews, Dylan (July 20, 2016). [https://www.vox.com/2016/7/20/12233454/christie-trump-purge-federal-employees Donald Trump and Chris Christie are reportedly planning to purge the civil service]. ''Vox''. Retrieved December 21, 2021.</ref>

==Background==

==Background==

The Stalwarts in essence succeeded the powerful bloc of [[Radical Republicans]], who during the presidency of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] shepherded the passage of major legislation to combat Democratic Party terrorism, particularly the Enforcement Acts (known as the Ku Klux Klan Act). Not all Radical Republicans would join the Stalwarts, though many prominent members did out of continued sympathy for the plight of Southern blacks.<ref group=note>A small number of Radical Republicans joined the Half-Breeds faction, such as George F. Hoar. Those who broke early on tended to ally with the Liberal Republican Party revolt in 1872, such as Horace Greeley and Lyman Trumbull.</ref> Examples include:

The Stalwarts in essence succeeded the powerful bloc of [[Radical Republicans]], who during the presidency of [[Ulysses S. Grant]] shepherded the passage of major legislation to combat Democratic Party terrorism, particularly the Enforcement Acts (known as the Ku Klux Klan Act). Not all Radical Republicans would join the Stalwarts, though many prominent members did out of continued sympathy for the plight of Southern blacks.<ref group=note>A small number of Radical Republicans joined the Half-Breeds faction, such as George F. Hoar. Those who broke early on tended to ally with the Liberal Republican Party revolt in 1872, such as Horace Greeley and Lyman Trumbull.</ref> Examples include:

*Sen. Roscoe Conkling of New York<ref>[https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/c/conkling_r.htm Roscoe Conkling Letters]. ''Syracuse University''. Retrieved December 21, 2021.</ref>

*Sen. Roscoe Conkling of New York<ref>[https://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/c/conkling_r.htm Roscoe Conkling Letters]. ''Syracuse University''. Retrieved December 21, 2021.</ref>