How the Republican Party Got Started - The History of the GOP & Some Trivia Too

Prior to the start of the Civil War, the states of the United States had many disagreements over the antislavery debate. A document was created to alleviate the stress between the states. It was called the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and it separated the country between North (antislavery) and South (proslavery). This document helped keep the country calm at a time when the antislavery debate caused a tremendous uproar between the states.

In 1834, the Whig Party was formed to oppose President Andrew Jackson. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act undid the Missouri Compromise. The peace between the states turned to embattled and hostile interactions. Members of the Whig Party met to deal with this national situation. The Whig party dissolved as a new party was formed to deal with the slavery issue.
March 20, 1854 marks the official date of the birth of the Republican party. '

By June 17, 1856, the Republican Party emerged as a political national entity symbolizing the change America would about to experience. As a new political force, the Republican party was a source of unity against the slavery movement and a promoter of liberty for the freedom of all people. The newly formed republican party achieved overnight success. In addition to opposing slavery, the republicans were strong supporters of a central route for the transcontinental railroad. They were proponents of the Homestead Acts to make it easier for western settlers to own land.

The Republican party was named for Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican party he affliated himself with during his presidential term.

John C. Fremont became the first man to be nominated for president by the newly formed Republican Party with the slogan “Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men ” He won 11 out of 16 northern states, but did not win the presidency.

Four years later, they knew if they had a well liked candidate in the northern states, and did not even try to run the republican nominee in the southern slave states, they would have enough electoral votes to win the election. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican president who won the highest office in the land. Many of the northern states felt victorious to win the presidency, but some of the southern stated withdrew from the union after his election. The word republican was specifically chosen to express the belief in equality and was strongly influenced by the philosophy of Thomas Jefferson and his democratic-republican party..

Since the day of Lincoln, the majority of presidents have been Republicans. From 1876 until 1933, every president was republican until the election of Franklin D, Roosevelt.

In 1875, the Republicans were called gallant old party. In 1888, the party dominatedthe congress along with a win of a Republican president and gained the nickname Grand Old Party. After the invention of the car, GOP stood for get out and push.

The logo of the elephant was created in the 1870’s. During the election of 1874, a cartoonist, Thomas Nast of the Harper’s Weekly, drew a Democratic donkey trying to scare a Republican elephant. His creation became the symbols for both parties.

This chart lists the republican presidential candidates who ran for office since the inception of the republican party.

There were four presidents who were assinated while in office.

• John Kennedy was the only democratic president to be assassinated and the only one in the 20th century.
• The other three were all republicans, and it occurred in the 1800’s.
• Abraham Lincoln was the first republican president elected and the first to be shot while in office. James Garfield and William McKinley also shared the same fate.

More Republican Trivia ~ all U.S. Presidents with beards were Republican

There have been 8 left handed Presidents - 5 of them have been Republicans

Left Handed United States Presidents

• James A. Garfield (1831-1881) 20th Republican

• Herbert Hoover (1874-1964) 31st Republican

• Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) 33rd

• Gerald Ford (1913 -2006) 38th Republican

• Ronald Reagan (1911 -2004 ) 40th Republican

• George H.W. Bush (1924- ) 41st Republican

• Bill Clinton (1946- ) 42nd

• Barack Obama (1961- ) 44th