Republican Party Civil War

Formation & Beliefs of the Republican Party

The Republican Party was officially created by previous members of the Whig Party at a meeting in Ripton, Wisconsin on the 20th of March, 1854. Their name, “Republican”, was originally taken in 1792 by those who were in support of President Thomas Jefferson. They favored the idea of a decentralized government with limited power and putting a stop to the Westward expansion of slavery. For the Republican Party, the only acceptable settlers in the West would be those that were free. The party was also in favor of railways that would run across the continent, helping to enable the settling of free Americans in the West while also promoting easier access to trade.

The Southern Democrats did not approve of the Republican Party's politics; upon the Republicans selecting their first candidate for the presidential running in 1856, Southern states threatened to secede from the Union if that candidate won. Though John C. Fremont won 11 out of 16 states in the North, he did not perform well in the South and lost to Democratic candidate James Buchanan on the 4^th of November.

Over the next four years, the Republican Party’s reputation was on the rise due to Abraham Lincoln’s debate performance against Stephen A. Douglas in the state of Illinois. Not only did people agree with Lincoln’s politics but they also noticed how he presented himself as an extremely well-spoken and prepared leader. Although Lincoln lost the senatorial seat to Douglas, his increased support propelled him into the presidency in 1860.

The Election of 1860

As the South had previously threatened if John C. Fremont became the U.S. president, the Southern States began to secede upon the successful election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 as president of the United States. The nomination of candidates was so intense that it caused the Democratic Party to split into three separate groups and nominate three separate candidates (pictured below). Despite losing the popular vote, Lincoln still pulled through against all opponents with 180 electoral votes.

The secession began with the state of South Carolina, and over the next six weeks, five other states would also remove themselves from the Union. The Civil War would soon begin on the 12^th of April, 1861, in South Carolina’s “Charleston Harbor” at Fort Sumter.

The Republican Party During the Civil War

President Abraham Lincoln did not only become opposed to slavery throughout the war, but he also saw it as his duty to keep the Union intact; states removing themselves and having the Union break apart was not an option. When he first addressed the seceding states just before the beginning of the war, he issued his warning:

Over the next few years, the Union of the North would fight the Confederacy of the South to keep the country preserved. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln would pass the “Emancipation Proclamation“, which would set thousands of slaves from the South free of their masters. Lincoln knew that as the president he had the right to seize land from those who were seceding, so he strategically chose to implement the proclamation in the Southern States which the Union no longer had control of.

In 1864, Lincoln ran again for president, though he worried that the war had taken a toll on his reputation. In a turn of events, however, General Ulysses S. Grant started winning more and more battles for the Union, bringing Lincoln’s credibility back up and he was elected for his second term in 1865.

Upon his second inauguration speech on March 4th of 1865, Lincoln made the statement: “lasting peace among ourselves... malice towards none... charity for all.” The Civil War ended only a few months later.

Significance of the Republican Party During the War

Not only did the Republican Party do everything in its power to stop the Union from falling apart during the war, but it also made many other notable changes in the country:

1. The Revenue Act of 1862 implemented the United States' first income tax to help fund the Civil War.
2. The Morrill Act of 1862 created new colleges in Western territories.
3. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided current and incoming citizens up to 160 acres of land in exchange for a small fee and a promise to live on the land and improve it.

The Republican Party after the Civil War

After the end of the war, there were still many Confederate sympathizers who pinned their anger on Abraham Lincoln. Secessionists and South sympathizers, such as John Wilkes Booth, would gather together to create a plan to overthrow the Union in order to reverse the outcome of the Civil War. On April 14^th, 1865, Lincoln would be shot in the head at Ford’s Theater in Washington DC, passing away the next day. The Secretary of State, William Seward would also be a victim of a sympathizer’s violence but survived his injuries. This violence against Republican representatives showed the United States that some people would not accept the outcome of the war peacefully.

Reconstruction Era

During this time, the Radical Republicans were upset with how free black people were being treated in formerly Confederate states. To combat this, Radical Republicans responded by passing legislation that more closely protected the civil rights of black men and women, while also giving voting rights to black men. These moves would deepen white Southerners' loyalty to the Democratic Party for generations after.

The Republican Party also became rapidly associated with big business and financial interests, deep in contrast to the agricultural South. The Federal Government had been able to expand during the Civil War via the implementation of the first income tax, and Northern businesses profited heavily from the expansion.

Progressive Era

While having such an interest in businesses, the Republican Party in the early 20^th century became more associated with upper-class citizens. During the Progressive Era, Republicans set in place progressive social, economic, and labor reforms to improve the quality of life for working-class Americans, though they began to neglect the protection of African American people more and more. When the stock market crashed in 1929, causing the Great Depression, the Party was blamed for failing to help the country's people causing them to lose even more support.

The Republican Party would keep its hold of the presidency until the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The party remains today as one of the two major political parties in the United States.