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[[|thumb|Modern Republican party logo, depicts a stylized elephant in red, white, and blue.]] The Republican Party (often GOP for Grand Old Party) is the new majority party of the two major political parties in the United States. The President of the United States, George W. Bush, is a member of the party – and by rules common to both major U.S. parties, its head – and it has majorities in the Senate and the House, as well as in governorships and state legislative seats. The GOP is a conservative (or right-wing) party.

The party was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on February 28, 1854, as a party opposed to slavery. The first convention of the U.S. Republican Party was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan. Since its inception, its chief opposition has been the Democratic Party, which supported slavery, with occasional factional disagreement.

Today, the Republicans stand for small government, individual freedom and free-market capitalism along with national security, winning the War on Terror, family values, the reinvention of social security, a Pro-Life stance on abortion.

The official symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. how you doing fucking bitchWeekly]] on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol [1]. In the early 20th century, the traditional symbol of the Republican party in Midwestern states such as Indiana and Ohio was the eagle, as opposed to the Democratic cock. This symbol still appears on Indiana ballots.

Organization

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For more information on how American political parties are organized, see Politics of the United States.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) of the United States is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as for coordinating fundraising and election strategy. There are similar committees in every U.S. state and most U.S. counties (though in some states, party organization lower than state-level is arranged by legislative districts). It can be considered the counterpart of the Democratic National Committee. The chairman of the RNC, since July of 2003, is Ed Gillespie.

The Republican Party also has fundraising and strategy committees for House races (National Republican Congressional Committee), Senate races (National Republican Senatorial Committee), and gubernatorial races (Republican Governors Association).

History

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The Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin where the Republican Party was organized

John C. Frémont ran as the first Republican nominee for President in 1856, using the political slogan: "Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men, Frémont." Although Frémont's bid was unsuccessful, the party grew especially rapidly in Northeastern and Midwestern states, where slavery had long been prohibited, culminating in a sweep of victories in the Northern states. The ensuing election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 ended 60 years of dominance by slavery supporting Southern Democrats and thus ushered in a new era of Republican dominance based in the industrial north and on the end of slavery.

With the end of the Civil War came the upheavals of Reconstruction under Democratic President Andrew Johnson (who had bitter disputes with the Republicans in Congress, who eventually impeached him) and Ulysses S. Grant, a Republican. For a brief period, Republicans assumed control of Southern politics (due especially to the former slaves receiving the vote while it was denied to many whites who had participated in the Confederacy), forcing drastic reforms and frequently giving former slaves positions in government. Reconstruction came to an end with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes through the Compromise of 1877.

Though states' rights was a cause of both Northern and Southern states before the War, control of the federal government led the Republican Party down a national line. The patriotic unity that developed in the North because of the war led to a string of military men as President, and an era of international expansion and domestic protectionism. As the rural Northern postbellum economy mushroomed with industry and immigration, supporting innovation and entrepreneurship became the hallmarks of Republican policy. From the Reconstruction era up to the turn of the century, the Republicans benefited from the Democrats' association with the Confederacy and dominated national politics – albeit with strong competition from the Democrats, especially during the 1880s. With the two-term presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, the party became known for its strong advocacy of commerce, industry, and veterans' rights, which continues to this day.

During the 1880s and 1890s, the Republicans struggled against the Democrats' efforts, winning several close elections and losing two to Grover Cleveland (in 1884 and 1892). The election of William McKinley in 1896 is widely seen as a resurgence of Republican dominance and is sometimes cited as a realigning election. He confirmed the Republicans as a pro-enterprise party; his campaign manager, Marcus Hanna was a highly effective political strategist and fund-raiser which meant McKinley outspent his radical rival William Jennings Bryan by a large margin. Theodore Roosevelt, McKinley's successor after assassination, in order to ensure fair competition in the economy took steps to abolish "trusts" or cartels which then dominated many key markets within the economy. This led Republicans into conflict with the most powerful commercial interests in the country, led by John D. Rockefeller, the richest man in the world.

Roosevelt did not seek another term in 1908, instead endorsing William Howard Taft as his successor, but the widening division between progressive and conservative forces in the party resulted in a third-party candidacy for Roosevelt on the Progressive, or "Bull Moose" ticket in the election of 1912. He finished ahead of Taft, but the split in the Republican vote resulted in a decisive victory for Democrat Woodrow Wilson, temporarily interrupting the Republican era.

The party controlled the presidency throughout the 1920s, running on a platform of isolationism and laissez-faire economics after Wilson's turbulent internationalism. Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover were resoundingly elected in 1920, 1924, and 1928 respectively, but the Great Depression cost Hoover the presidency with the landslide election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932. Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition controlled American politics for the next two decades, concluding with the two-term presidency of popular World War II General Dwight Eisenhower.

The post-war emergence of the United States as one of two superpowers and rapid social change caused the Republican Party to divide into a conservative faction (dominant in the West and Southeast) and a liberal faction (dominant in New England) – combined with a residual base of inherited progressive Midwestern Republicanism active throughout the century. A Republican like U.S. Sen Robert Taft of Ohio represented the Midwestern wing of the party that continued to oppose New Deal reforms and continued to champion isolationism. Thomas Dewey represented the Northeastern wing of the party that was closer to Democratic liberalism and internationalism. In the end, the isolationists were marginalized by those who supported a strong U.S. role in opposing the Soviet Union throughout the world, as embodied by President Eisenhower. However, this development did not represent the end of the story. The seeds of conservative dominance in the Republican party were planted in the nomination of conservative Barry Goldwater over liberal Nelson Rockefeller as the Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election.

Goldwater's electoral success in the Southern states, and Nixon's successful Southern strategy four years later, represented a significant political change, as Southern white protestants began moving into the party, largely in reaction to national Democratic Party's support for the Civil Rights Movement. The remaining pockets of liberal Republicanism in the northeast began to die out as the region turned solidly Democratic. In The Emerging Republican Majority, Kevin Phillips, then a Nixon strategist, argued (based on the 1968 election results) that support from Southern whites and growth in the Sun Belt, among other factors, was driving an enduring Republican electoral realignment.

Any eduring Republican majority, however, was put on hold when the Watergate prompted President Nixon to resign after Congressional hearings, much media interest and possible impeachment. Gerald Ford succeeded Nixon under the 25th Amendment and struggled to forge a political identity separate from his predecessor, contributing, along with various economic difficulties, to the election of maverick Democrat Jimmy Carter's election in 1976.

In 1980, Ronald Reagan won the Republican nomination and convincingly beat Carter with his strong communication skills and message of tax cuts and strength against the Soviets. He won in a landslide in 1984, with the economy booming.

George Bush, Reagan's loyal Vice-President, was elected in 1988 but was defeated in 1992 despite the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 to Bill Clinton who repositioned the Democrats subsantially to the right. Ross Perot's candidacy was instrumental in Clinton's victory as he took Republican votes with his policies of zero deficits.

In 1994, with Clinton in the White House, Newt Gingrich led the "Republican Revolution" in that year's Congressional electionsand its Contract With America. The latter was the first time in 40 years that the Republicans secured control of both houses of U.S. Congress, which, with the exception of the Senate during 2001-2002, has been retained through the present time.

That year, the GOP campaigned on a platform of major reforms of government with measures, such as a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution and welfare reform. These measures and others formed the famous Contract with America, which were subsequently considered by the Congress, although not all items passed. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives also failed to muster the two-thirds majority required to pass one of the most popular proposals – a Constitutional amendment to impose term limits on members of Congress. Clinton was re-elected in 1996 after shrewdly accepting Dick Morris' campaign strategy to "triangulate" or shift to the Right. This led him to sign the Republican's welfare reforms and to accept the balanced budget proposal.

With the election of George W. Bush (son of former president George H. W. Bush) in an extremely close 2000 election, the Republican party controlled both the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1952.

In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, however, his political fortunes and approval ratings rose sharply as he responded to the most serious attack on the United States in its history with what he called the "War on Terror" which included the liberation of Afghanistan from the Taliban regime and the USA Patriot Act.

The Republican Party solidified its Congressional margins in the 2002 midterm elections (regaining control of the Senate), in the run-up to the Liberation of Iraq. This marked just the third time since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election (others were 1902 and 1934). On November 2, 2004, Bush was re-elected emphatically, while Republicans gained seats in both houses of Congress, leaving Democrats in disarray.

Thus, by 2008, Republicans will have controlled the White House for 28 of the previous 40 years, and the Congress since 1994 (with a brief interruption in the Senate). Conservative commentators speculate that this may constitute a permanent partisan realignment. Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political advisor, has been reported to be a keen student of the presidential election of 1896, in which Mark Hanna helped William McKinley construct a Republican majority that lasted for the next 36 years.

However, some liberal-leaning commentators, such as Ruy Teixeira and John Judis (in The Emerging Democratic Majority, 2002), see such prospects as unlikely, given that Republican voters are overwhelming white and largely rural, two groups shrinking in relative demographic terms, while Democrats win healthy majorities among Latinos, African Americans, and city dwellers. Their conservative counterparts, however, point to Bush's stunning success among Latinos, 35% of whom voted for Bush in 2000 and 44% in 2004. (Though Bush lost the African American vote by a record-setting margin in 2000, winning only 9%, he modestly improved that share to 16% in 2004). They also point to Republican strength in quickly-growing exurbs and in the booming metropolitan areas of the South.

Republican Party Presidents

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  1. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
  2. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
  3. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
  4. James Garfield (1881)
  5. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
  6. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
  7. William McKinley (1897-1901)
  8. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
  9. William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
  10. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
  11. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
  12. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
  13. Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)
  14. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
  15. Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)
  16. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
  17. George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
  18. George W. Bush (2001-2009)

Presidential nominees

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Other noted Republicans

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Present-day

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Historical

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Lists

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See also

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This article is about the modern United States Republican Party. For the older Republican Party, which is now known as the Democratic-Republican Party, see Democratic-Republican Party (United States).

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