Republican

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Republican

Mexico has been a republic since 1824. Since
the revolution in Brazil in iScp, all the South
American states (omitting the three Guiana
dependencies) are republics. Since the World
War, the following European countries have
become and continue to be republics: kus-
sia, Esthonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithunnia,
Turkey, Spain.

Republican Party, in American history,
the name applied to three political parties.

(1) The official name, in the early period
under the Constitution, of the party opposed
to Federalist policies, which later became
known as the Democratic Party. (See DEMO-
CRATIC PARTY.)

(2) The party founded by the followers
of John Quincy Adams, during the latter
part of his administration (1825-9), which
was ultimately absorbed in the New Whig
Party (1834-6). (See NATIONAL REPUBLICAN
PARTY.)

(3) By far the most powerful and the
best known of the Republican Parties is the
one organized in 1854-6, after the dissolution
of the Whig Party, to oppose the extension
of slavery, and to assert national supremacy
as against the States' Rights tendencies of
the Democratic Party, In 1854, at Ripon,
Wis., before the Kansas-Nebraska Bill was
signed by the President, a group of Whigs,
Democrats, and Free Soiters threatened to
form a new party if the bill should pass; and
on July 6 the name Republican was adopted
by a convention at Jackson, Mich. Other
State conventions followed, and the new
party spread rapidly, especially in the West.

In 1854 the new party carried 15 out of 31
States. On June 17, 1856, the first Republican
National Convention was held in Philadel-
phia, at which John C. Fr6mort was nomin-
ated for the Presidency. Although Fremont
was defeated in the ensuing election, the
party succeeded in electing most of its can-
didates for Congress in the Northern States.

In 1857 the Republican Party opposed the
Dred Scott Decision of the Supreme Court,
claiming that this was the result of a corrupt
bargain, and thus alienated the South. In
1860 the Republicans held their National
Convention at Chicago, and adopted a plat-
form which, among other things, declared
that *the normal condition of all the Terri-
tories of the United States is that of freedom,
which Congress is bound to demand and
defend.' On the third ballot Abraham Lin-
coln was nominated for President. In the
ensuing election, Lincoln received 180 out of
303 electoral votes. Immediately before and

after the inauguration of Lincoln occurred
the secession of the Southern States, which
formed the Confederate States of America,
and thus provoked the Civil War. The with-
drawal from Congress of the Democratic
members from the seceding States left the
Republican Party in control of the govern-
ment, and of the conduct of the war. In the
National Convention of 1864 slavery was
made the keynote of the platform, and its
complete extirpation was decreed. The assas-
sination of Lincoln (April 14, 1865) brought
to the Presidency Andrew Johnson of Tenne-
sec. In 1868 and 1872 Gen. U. S. Grant
was elected President by the Republicans,
while the supremacy of the party remained
unchallenged in Congress until 1874. The
Republican platform in 1876 advocated civil
service reform and a resumption of specie
payment. In the following election the Re-
publican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, re-
ceived a majority of only one electoral vote
over Samuel J. Tilden, the Democratic can-
didate. During the administration of Presi-
dent Hayes the character of the party grad-
ually changed; new leaders arose, and the
emphasis of party policy shifted from the
coercion of the South to such economic prob-
lems as the tariff, the currenc}-, and commer-
cial relations. The National Convention of
1880 advocated civil service reform, a pro-
tective tariff, government aid to education,
and 'the protection of the honest voter in
the South.' A bitter struggle between the old
and new leaders resulted in a victory for the
latter, who placed James A. Garneld in nom-
ination. Upon the death of Garneld, in 1881,
Chester A. Arthur, the Vice-President, suc-
ceeded to the Presidency. The Republican
platform of 1884 called for a high protective
tariff, international bimetallism, the regula-
tion of interstate commerce, and the upbuild-
ing of the navy. A large section of the party,
popularly called 'Mugwumps' refused to sup-
port James G. Blaine for President, and
Grover Cleveland, a Democrat, was elected—
the first defeat for a Republican Presidential
candidate since Lincoln's time. In 1888 the
tariff was the principal issue, the Republican
Party being uncompromisingly in favor of a
high protective system. The party was re-
turned to power by the election of Benjamin
Harrison. In the election of ,1892 the Re-
publican candidate, Harrison, was decisively
defeated by Cleveland,

In its platform of 1896 the Republican
Party upheld the gold standard; William Mc-
Kinley was chosen President to succeed