Portal:Republican Party

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Republican Party

The red, white, and blue Republican elephant, still used a primary logo for many state GOP committees

The Republican Party, commonly referred to as the GOP (abbreviation for Grand Old Party), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, the other being its historic rival, the Democratic Party. The party is named after republicanism, the dominant value during the American Revolution. It was founded by anti-slavery activists, modernists, ex-Whigs, and ex-Free Soilers in 1854. The Republicans dominated politics nationally and in the majority of northern States for most of the period between 1860 and 1932. There have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one party. The first was 16th president Abraham Lincoln, who served from 1861 to 1865, when he was assassinated, and the most recent being 45th and current president Donald Trump, who took office on January 20, 2017.

The Republican Party's current ideology is American conservatism, which contrasts with the Democrats' progressive platform (also called modern liberalism). Further, its platform involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defense, deregulation, and restrictions on labor unions. In addition to advocating for conservative economic policies, the Republican Party is socially conservative (particularly in its opposition to abortion), and seeks to uphold traditional values based largely on Judeo-Christian ethics. Once dominant in the Northeast and Midwest, the party's core support now comes from the South, the Great Plains and the Mountain States, as well as from conservative Catholics, Mormons, and Evangelicals nationwide.

Selected article

The platform of the Republican Party of the United States is generally based on conservatism, in contrast to the modern liberalism of the Democrats. The Republican Party's conservatism involves support for free market capitalism, free enterprise, business, a strong national defense, deregulation, restrictions on labor unions, social-conservative policies, and traditional values, usually with a Christian foundation. The party is generally split on the issue of how to deal with illegal immigration. In general, Republicans oppose abortion, Planned Parenthood, drugs, Obamacare, Common Core, and gun control and support Just Say No and school choice on abortion, drug policy, healthcare, education and gun control. On economics, Republicans oppose an increased minimum wage and the estate tax, and support free markets and individual achievement. On the environment, Republicans have introduced environmental programs such as the Environmental Protection Agency and cap-and-trade policies in the past, but tend to oppose them today. Republicans support clean air and clean water policies, but also support increased fracking and reject scientific consensus on global warming and climate change. On immigration, LGBT issues, and the death penalty, Republicans oppose same-sex marriage. They have supported illegal immigration far less than the Democrats, and tend to support the death penalty.

Selected biography

Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 July 23, 1885) was the 18th President of the United States (186977). Previously, as Commanding General of the United States Army (186469), Grant had worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy, in the American Civil War. As president, Grant implemented Congressional Reconstruction, often at odds with Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson. Twice elected president, Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African-American citizenship, and supported industrial growth during the Gilded Age. Grant graduated in 1843 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, then served in the MexicanAmerican War and initially retired in 1854. He struggled financially in civilian life. When the Civil War began in 1861, he rejoined the U.S. Army. In 1862, Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee, and led Union forces to victory in the Battle of Shiloh, earning a reputation as an aggressive commander. He incorporated displaced African American slaves into the Union war effort. In July 1863, after a series of coordinated battles, Grant defeated Confederate armies and seized Vicksburg, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River and dividing the Confederacy in two. After his victories in the Chattanooga Campaign, Lincoln promoted him to lieutenant-general and Commanding General of the United States Army in March 1864. Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles, trapping Lee's army in their defense of Richmond. Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns in other theaters, as well. In April 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, effectively ending the war. Historians have hailed Grant's military genius, and his strategies are featured in military history textbooks, but a minority contend that he won by brute force rather than superior strategy.

Topics

Related portals

Things to do

Things you can do
  • Suggest new feature articles and pictures.
  • Contribute to the wikiprojects

Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Wikibooks
Books

Commons
Media

Wikinews 
News

Wikiquote 
Quotations

Wikisource 
Texts

Wikiversity
Learning resources

Wikivoyage 
Travel guides

Wiktionary 
Definitions

Wikidata 
Database

Purge server cache