Party History

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. In 1856, the Republicans became a national party when John C. Fremont was nominated for President under the slogan: "Free soil, free labour, free speech, free men, Fremont", which was an important landmark in promoting popularity of the anti-slavery Republican party.

However, the actual emergence of the Republican party as a nationwide institution is associated with Abraham Lincoln who became its leader and won the presidential elections of 1860 to become the 16th US President. The Civil War erupted in 1861 and lasted five grueling years. During the war, in January 1863, against the advice of his cabinet, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. The Republicans of the day worked to pass the Thirteenth Amendment, which outlawed slavery, the Fourteenth, which guaranteed equal protection under the laws, and the Fifteenth, which helped secure voting rights for African-Americans, although, unfortunately, almost a century passed before these principles were implemented in the life of the country.

The Republican Party also played a leading role in securing women the right to vote. In 1896, Republicans were the first major party to favor women's suffrage. When the 19^th Amendment finally was added to the Constitution, 26 of 36 state legislatures that had voted to ratify it were under Republican control. The first woman elected to Congress was a Republican, Jeanette Rankin from Montana in 1917. Presidents during most of the late nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century were Republicans. In the second half of the 20th century the White House was in Republican hands under Presidents Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, George

H. Bush and George W. Bush.

The national structure of the party starts with the Republican Natonal Committee. Each state has its own Republican State Committee with a Chairman and staff. The Republican structure goes right down to the neighborhoods where a Republican precinct captain every Election Day organizes Republican workers to get out the vote. Most states ask voters when they register to express party preference Voters don t have to do so, but registration lists let the parties know exactly which voters they want to be sure to vote on Election Day. Just because voters register as a Republican they don t need to vote that way — many voters split their tickets, voting for candidates in both parties.

But the national party is made up of all registered Republicans in all 50 states. They are the heart and soul of the party. Republicans have a long and rich history with basic principles: Individuals, not government, can make the best decisions; all people are entitled to equal rights; and decisions are best made close to home. Actually, Republicans expressing the interests of 'big business' and well-to-do class are strongly committed to laissez-faire principles when governmental interference is supposed to be minimal in the life of the state. Thus they are more conservative as compared to Democrats.

The symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. During the mid term elections way back in 1874, Democrats tried to scare voters into thinking President Grant would seek to run for an unprecedented third term. Thomas Nast, a cartoonist for Harper's Weekly, depicted a Democratic jackass (donkey) trying to scare a Republican elephant — and both symbols stuck. For a long time Republicans have been known as the "G.O.P." And party supporters thought it meant the "Grand Old Party." But apparently the original meaning (in 1875) was "gallant old party." And when automobiles were invented it also came to mean, "get out and push." That's still a good slogan for Republicans who depend every campaign year on the hard work of hundreds of thousands

of volunteers to get out and vote and push people to support the causes of the Republican Party. However, the initial meaning of the abbreviation still prevails.