The Republican Party, also known as The Grand Old Party (GOP), was born in the early 1850's by anti-slavery activists and individuals who believed that government should grant western lands to settlers free of charge. In 1860, the Republicans successfully elected their nominee to the Presidency –Abraham Lincoln.

During his Presidency, the United States was wracked by Civil War. During that war, and against the advice of his cabinet, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. The Republicans of their day 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. That historic relationship is why the first African-American Congressmen were Republicans.

In 1896, Republicans were the first major party to argue for securing women the right to vote. When the 19th Amendment was finally added to the Constitution, 26 of 36 state legislatures that had voted to ratify it were under Republican control. The first woman elected to Congress was a Republican, Jeanette Rankin from Montana, in 1917.
Presidents during most of the late nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century were Republicans. While the Democrats and Franklin Roosevelt tended to dominate American politics in the 1930's and 40's, for twenty-eight of the forty-four years from 1952 through 2004, the White House has been in Republican hands - under Presidents like Eisenhower, Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bush. Under Reagan and Bush Sr., the United States became the world's only superpower, winning the Cold War from the old Soviet Union and releasing millions from Communist oppression.

Republican Party Platform
What does the Republican Party stand for?
Political Party affiliation is a quick way to find out the basic ideas and philosophy for each candidate, both Republicans and Democrats. Political affiliation can be used to understand the core beliefs of each candidate and there are significant differences between them.

Core Beliefs
Republicans believe that each person is responsible for his or her own place in society.  Government should enable each person the ability to secure the benefits of society for themselves, their families and for those who are unable to care for themselves.
The Republican philosophy is based on limiting the intervention of government as a catalyst of individual prosperity. Government should only intervene in specific cases where society cannot effectively act at the individual level. With the core belief that individual destiny should be in the individual’s hands, governmental power and resources should be kept close to the people, through their state and community leaders, and not centralized in distant federal government agencies.

The Economy
Republicans believe free enterprise has brought economic growth and innovations that have made this country great. Government should help stimulate a business environment where people are free to use their talents.

Taxes and Government Spending
Republicans work tirelessly to cut government spending and to eliminate government waste. Republicans believe individuals should control both their own and their government’s pocketbook – the people should authorize all tax increases.


National Defense
Republicans believe in a strong national defense. Republicans know that defending our nation against its enemies must be a fundamental commitment of the federal government and this requires the best-trained, best-equipped and most effective military in the world. With America as the world’s only superpower, Republicans believe that true security comes from the strength of character to act collaboratively, when possible, and alone when necessary.  After the tragedy of 9-11, America must be ready to fight terrorism abroad in order to prevent it at home. 

Education
Republicans believe all students, regardless of race or socio-economic background, should become proficient in both reading and math.  While it is desirable that children learn more than one language, mastery of the English language will allow our children to be competitive at the university level.  Republicans also believe that schools should be held accountable for student progress through testing, which can be used to identify individual childrens’ needs. These reports, at both the student and school level, should be provided to the parents to ensure accountability.

Republicans agree that the lack of security along our borders has contributed to the flow of narco-trafficking, gang violence, and the yearly forced servitude and slavery of over 50,000 women and children from foreign countries by human smugglers.  While our nation has been enriched by the determination, energy, and diversity of immigrants, Republicans believe that in this nation of laws, immigration policies should be followed and that securing our borders is vital to ensuring the safety of our citizens.