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The '''Republican Party''' is one of the two major extant parties in the United States. The party is sometimes referred to as the GOP for "Grand Old Party." (The conservative party is not actually older than the Democratic Party.) The party was founded on February 28, 1854 by a coalition of different interests who opposed the expansion of slavery and wanted to industrialize the United States.

The Republican Party was born in the early 1850's by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. The first informal meeting of the party took place in Ripon, Wisconsin, a small town northwest of Milwaukee. The first official Republican meeting took place on July 6th, 1854 in Jackson, Michigan. The name "Republican" was chosen because it alluded to equality and reminded individuals of Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. At the Jackson convention, the new party adopted a platform and nominated candidates for office in Michigan.  

Since then the party has undergone a variety of changes and now is a socially conservative party with a generally libertarian attitude towards economic issues.  

Presidents from the party include: [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[George H W Bush]], [[George W Bush]], [[Herbert Hoover]], [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and [[Theodore Roosevelt]].  

Presidents from the party include: [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[George H W Bush]], [[George W Bush]], [[Herbert Hoover]], [[Dwight Eisenhower]], and [[Theodore Roosevelt]].  

== History ==

== History ==

The party was founded by disaffected Free-Soilers, Whigs and Democrats (mainly from the North). The first Republican candidate for President was [[John Frémont]] who was unsuccessful in his bid for the Presidency. [[Abraham Lincoln]] then ran in 1860 and was president during the [[US Civil War]]. In the post [[Civil War]] era, [[Reconstruction]] and associated resentment of the South in the North allowed the party to stay strong through the turn of the century. As slavery fell into the past, the party became more a party of industry and business. Later, in the 1920s, the party stood for high tariffs and non-involvement with the [[League of Nations]]. During the Depression, [[Herbert Hoover]] lost to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as the party became more in favor of small government and against the [[New Deal]]. Hoover's unsuccessful attempts to end the Great Depression were rejected in favor of the New Deal, which had much greater electoral success.

The first Republican candidate for President was [[John Frémont]] who was unsuccessful in his bid for the Presidency. [[Abraham Lincoln]] then ran in 1860 and was president during the [[US Civil War]]. In the post [[Civil War]] era, [[Reconstruction]] and associated resentment of the South in the North allowed the party to stay strong through the turn of the century. As slavery fell into the past, the party became more a party of industry and business. Later, in the 1920s, the party stood for high tariffs and non-involvement with the [[League of Nations]]. During the Depression, [[Herbert Hoover]] lost to [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] as the party became more in favor of small government and against the [[New Deal]]. Hoover's unsuccessful attempts to end the Great Depression were rejected in favor of the New Deal, which had much greater electoral success.

== Contemporary Party ==

== Contemporary Party ==