How did the Republican Party begin?
The Republican Party, one of the two principal political parties of the United States, was founded in 1854 by those who opposed the extension of slavery (the buying and selling of Africans as forced laborers) into new territories. The party gained enough support to elect their candidate, Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), to the presidency in 1860. During the 1880s party members called themselves the Grand Old Party (GOP), a nickname that is still used by Republicans today. There have been seventeen Republican presidents. Further Information: Anbinder, Tyler G. Nativism and Slavery: The Northern Know Nothings and the Politics of the 1850’s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992; History of the Republican Party. [Online] Available http://www.azgop.org/history.htm, October 26, 2000; Republican…
