THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

I have a question for you. Do you consider yourself a Republican? If so, why? What is your historical knowledge of the Republican Party? Do you know how it started? Can you state the Republican Party platform?

The Republican Party – as stated in Wikipedia – states in part –

Founded in 1854 by anti-slavery expansion activists and modernizers, the Republican Party rose to prominence with the election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president. The party presided over the American Civil War and Reconstruction and was harried by internal factions and scandals toward the end of the 19th century. Today, the Republican Party supports a conservative platform (as far as American politics are concerned), with further foundations in economic liberalism, fiscal conservatism, and social conservatism.

The origins of the Republican Party is more complex than the simple explanation above. Due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, prominent Northern leaders decided there was a need for a new political party. The first proto-Republican party occurred in Ripon, Wisconsin in early 1854. June 6, 1854, at Jackson, Michigan, the new political party held a mass meeting. This led the new Republicans holding their first organizing convention on February 22, 1856 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. June 17, 1856, the Republican Party became a unified political party in Philadelphia. What was their first political platform?

The Republican Platform of 1856 stated their opposition to the Missouri Compromise, opposition to the expansion of slavery, and a return to the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Specifically, a return to these three main points of the Declaration – “…that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

My point is why do you never hear any Republican leader talk about this? The Republican Party was founded on the principles of freedom and equality for all. The Republican Party has a history of fighting against slavery, segregation, Jim Crow laws, and fighting for Civil Rights. The 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution is proof of my statement. Yet it seems that most Republicans want to run away from their origins and history.

I ask you again – are you a Republican and why? Do you agree with their first party platform? Do you think today’s Republican leaders exemplify the ideals and principles of the Republican Party?

I hope this will be an ongoing discussion.