Here you go people!!
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 labor, free speech, free men, Fremont." Even though they were considered a "third party" because the Democrats and Whigs represented the two-party system at the time, Fremont received 33% of the vote. Four years later, Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to win the White House.
The Civil War erupted in 1861 and lasted four grueling years. During the war, 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.
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 19th 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.
" During the war, against the advice of his cabinet, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. "
Read the document.
The Southern Democrats seceded and started the civil war BECAUSE Abraham Lincoln was elected the first republican president. For decades after the war no black would vote other than republican. The solid South was solid democrat and of course the lynchers, kkk, church bombers, etc were democrats. that is just historical reality. The slaveholders were democrats, the emancipationists were republicans.
Well said! The whole REASON for the Republican party's existence is the abolition of slavery. The democrats were pro-slavery, the Republicans opposed it. The catalyst for the civil war was the election of Lincoln, the Republican. The South seceded from the union upon his election. To my knowledge, the democrat party has NEVER disavowed, or APOLOGIZED for being the slavery party. To this day I remain ashamed of ever voting for a democrat. The last time was in 1988. Never again will I support the party of racists.
bttt