The Creation of the Republican Party

The Republican Party or Grand Old Party (GOP) was created in the year 1854 in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act that would have allowed the west expansion of territories of slavery into Kansas.   The Act was passed on May 30, 1854, and it caused a violent uprising known in History as “Bleeding Kansas” as pro-slavery (Democrats) and anti-slavery activists attended in large numbers to swing the vote.   Besides strong political opposition to slavery and social economics, the Republican party put forward a progressive effort of modernizing the United States by emphasizing higher education, banking, railroads, industry, and cities, while promising free homesteads to farmers.

At first, the original Republicans consist of Northern Protestants, blue-collar workers, professionals such as Doctors, Academics, lawyers, and Engineers, prosperous farmers, and after 1866, former black slaves.   Unification with other parties, such as former Whigs, no nothing party, and former Free Soil Democrats allowed growth ending in a majority in every Northern State.    It can be argued that it was the Republican’s pro-business friendly policies that contributed to the Guilded Age (Age of Big Business) in American Industry.    Protectionist trade policies allowed the growth of domestic industries.   Investments in Education was a Human Development investment that contributed to an educated and technology leader in today’s commercial world.