The Republican Party
History of the Republican PartyThe Republican Party was born in the early 1850’s by anti-slavery activists who believed that the government should grant western lands to settlers for free. The first official Republican meeting took place in Jackson, Michigan in 1854, and in 1856 the Republican party became a national party. The Republican party was still considered a third party though, because the Democrats and Whigs represented the two-party system at the time. Soon after, the Whig party began to dwindle out when the Democrats created the Compromise of 1850, and the Republican and Democratic parties grew into the two main parties that we know today.
The Republicans 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. They also played a key role in women's suffrage and granting women the right to vote. Why an Elephant?The symbol of the Republican party is an elephant. In a cartoon that appeared in Harper's Weekly in 1874, a political cartoonist named Thomas Nast drew a donkey clothed in lions skin, scaring away all of the animals at the zoo. One of those animals, the elephant, was labeled as "The Republican Vote." After that, the elephant became the national symbol of the Republican Party.
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Republican BeliefsRepublicans have a long history with basic principles. They believe that each person, not the government, is responsible for his or her own place in society. They believe that government should enable each person the ability to secure benefits of society for themselves and their families, but they do not think that it is the government's full responsibility to care for everyone. They believe that government should only intervene in specific cases where society cannot effectively act at
the individual level. Also, with the belief that destiny should be within the hands of each individual, Republicans believe that governmental power and resources should be kept close to the people, through community and state leaders, and not centralized at the federal level. Republicans believe in free enterprise. They believe that it has made our country great and strong. They think that the government should help to stimulate a business environment so that individuals can use their talents freely. Republicans also work around the clock to cut government spending and reduce government waste. They also believe in a very strong national defense. They think that defending our nation requires the most highly trained and powerful military force in the world. |