Republican Party

One of the two major political parties of the USA. Then name was originally used as a second name for the Democratic party founded by Thomas Jefferson. The modern Republican party was founded in 1854 by a union of Northern Whigs, Democrats, and Independents, all of whom were opposed to slavery. In 1856 it held its first national convention at Philadelphia, and nominated John C Fremont for the presidency. James Buchanan, a Democrat was elected, securing 174 votes, but the Republican party received 114 votes for its nominee.

In 1860 the Republican party succeeded in securing the election of Abraham Lincoln, and after Civil War it was the dominant party in the country. It controlled the presidency and Congress till 1874, when a Democratic House of Representatives was returned, but retained the presidency until Cleveland's election in 1884. The Republican party was again in power from 1888 to 1892 and in 1896 the party controlled Congress and the presidency once more. It was only the Roosevelt secession of 1912 which enabled the Democrats to gain control of Congress and secure the election of Woodrow Wilson; but a Republican Congress elected during his presidency blocked many of his measures.

In 1920 the Republican party regained the presidency and kept it until 1932. It returned to power with Eisenhower as their leader in 1952 and he was re-elected in 1956. Subsequently Richard Nixon narrowly failed to win the presidency in 1960, and Goldwater was heavily defeated in 1964. The party regained the presidency in 1968 with the election of Nixon. Upon his resignation in 1974, Gerald Ford became president, but was defeated when he stood for re-election in 1976. The Republican, Ronald Regan, was president for two terms from 1980 to 1988 and he was followed into office by his vice-president, George Bush. Republican domination of the presidency was broken by the election of Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996.

For years after the Civil War the Republican party profited by the claim that it had saved the union, though many Northern Democrats had fought beside Northern Republicans during the struggle. Later the two parties appeared to be distinguished chiefly by their attitudes on currency and tariff reform. Cleveland stressed a tariff for revenue only, while the Republican party generally wanted a high protective tariff to aid American industry. Following the Civil War, the Republican party also tended to support the strengthening of the central government as against the local spirit of the separate states, since the Southern states took every advantage of federalism to salvage something from their defeat in the war.

At the end of the First World War the Republican party opposed the entry of the USA to the League of Nations. Since the Second, its more right-wing elements have been more eager than the main body of the Democrats to participate in specific spheres of international politics where the paramount objective has been the prevention of Communism. It is hard to distinguish between the Republican party and the Democratic on many broad political questions. The Republican party has gained much support from big business; the Democrats have won many industrial worker's votes since the Roosevelt administration's 'New Deal'. In the sixties, the Democratic initiative on the racial question has, despite the conservative attitude of Southern Democrats to this subject, gained the bulk of the Black vote. Dislike of centralised government, has, in addition, turned the Republicans into the 'states' rights' party, thus reversing an earlier position. But voting in America is still based to a large extent on locality, historical association, and (particularly in presidential elections) on personal appeal, and both parties contain 'left' and 'right' groups, and often do not vote as a body, except when in opposition.

© JM Dent/Historybookshop.com