Republican Party

The Republican Party (of the United States) 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. 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

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

The contemporary Republican Party represents a wide array of interests such as the conservative evangelicals and the economic libertarians. The party has had some internal conflict over attitudes about how governments should run and how large they should be, what the party stands for, and what the party's attitude towards neo-conservatism should be especially in regard to foreign policy. The party is also divided over immigration issues with some members (such as George Bush) favoring workers visas and permits and some other members favoring strict control of immigration and strong action against illegal immigration.