History of the Republican Party

It is not well known today, but the Republican party was founded when a split occurred in the 1850s in the existing Whig and Democratic parties over such social issues as slavery. Various members who left these parties-including Alan Earl Bovay, formed the new Republican Party.They  believed this new party should be formed to represent the interests of the Abolitionists and the Northern states.

This new party also supported restricting the role of government in business and private life. It also later took on the challenge of supporting womens suffrage, and was at the forefront of the movement to gain the right to vote for women. The Republican party was the first to officially recognize women, and the  Republican controlled Congress pushed the adoption of the nineteenth amendment granting women the right to vote.

Abraham Lincoln was one of the most well known Republican presidents, and he embraced the ideals of the new Republican party, which had only been in existence for 6 years when he was elected to the presidency. In his short term in office, not only did he preserve the Union, but he also created such entities as the Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the national banking system. He also pursued the creation of Land Grant colleges-which donated land to states for the creation of agricultural and technical colleges.

History of the Term GOP

The term GOP has changed meaning several times over the years. It was first used in the 1870s and 1880s and was often utilized in banner headlines in the newspapers such as the Boston Globe and Harpers Weekly. The original term was used to abbreviate Grand Old Party, but transformed to mean Get Out and Push in the 1960s motorcades, where individuals often rode on the outside of cars, and also Go Party during the same time. The 1970s saw the phrase Generation Of Peace come into vogue because of anti-war sentiments.  Finally, towards the end of the 1970s there was a return to basics, and the Grand Old Party found its way back, where it is still in use today.

History of the Elephant symbol

The Elephant symbol came to be used for the Republican party quite by accident. In the 1870s, Ulysess S. Grant was president, and there was a possibility that he might seek a third term for the presidency. The Democratic party claimed this was Caesarism, in other words, Grant was playing Caesar in ruling the United States. This issue was played out in the headlines of the newspaper the Herald. The Democrats were using this to try and scare the Republicans into not allowing Grant to run for the presidency a third time, and it appeared to be working.

At the same time, wild rumors were circulating about a mass escape of exotic animals from the zoo-who were living in the underbrush of Central Park, and again the Herald was responsible for this crazy story. Seizing this opportunity, a cartoonist from the Harpers Weekly depicted an ass dressed as a lion stalking an elephant. In other words, the Herald making allegations used by the Democratic party to scare the Republicans into not electing Grant for their candidate in the presidency.

The symbols stuck-and the Democrats become the ass (donkey), and the Republicans became the elephant.