An Overview of the Republican Party

The Republican Party was coined by Thomas Jefferson in 1792 to describe those who favored decentralized government with limited powers. The Republican Party started to form in the 1850s when antislavery leaders were opposed to the extension of slavery into Kansas and Nebraska. During its first 4 years of existence, the Republican Party replaced the Whigs as the Democratic adversary.  In 1860, the Democrats split over the issue of slavery and Abraham Lincoln claimed presidency. In 1896, the Republicans won the office again with William McKinley. In 1920 and 1924, Republicans won office again, but the stock market crash hurt them because they refused to interfere directly. In 1932, the Republican candidate Herbert Hoover lost to FDR overwhelmingly. With FDR’s 4 terms and Truman’s success, the Republicans were out of office for two decades. In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower reclaimed office for the Republicans. At the Republican Convention in 1964, there was severe turmoil due to the battle between moderates and conservatives for control of the party. In 1980, Ronald Reagan claimed the office for Republicans. In 1994, Republicans had control of both the Senate and House of Representatives for the first time since 1954. In 2000, the Republicans reclaimed the presidency with George W. Bush, but lost control of the Senate and House of Representatives in 2006. 

Republican ideals frequently conflict with the ideas of the Democratic Party. Republicans believes in states’ rights against the power of the federal government. Republicans usually oppose government intervention in the economy, government funded social programs, and policies aimed at the rights of workers. Republicans prefer increased regulation of private non economic aspects of citizens’ lives such as abortion and strongly oppose gun control. Republicans generally are more likely to support prayer in schools than democrats and oppose legal recognition of the LGBTQ community. Republicans traditionally has supported a strong national defense and the aggressive pursuit of U.S. national security interests.

Works Cited

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. "Republican Party-present."Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party>.