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The Republican Party, one of the two major United States political parties, founded by a coalition in 1854. The coalition was composed of former members of the Whig, Free-Soil, and Know-Nothing parties, along with Northern Democrats who were dissatisfied with their party's conciliatory attitude on the slavery issue. The early Republicans were united in their opposition to extending slavery into the Western territories.
The Republicans joined the Democrats as one of the nation's two major parties in the late 1850s. They gained support as concern grew in the North over Southern influence in Washington, D.C., and they reassured the antiforeign Know-Nothings that they cared about the social impact of immigration. In 1860 their candidate, Abraham Lincoln, was elected to the presidency.
Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, Republicans returned to the social issues of an earlier day, although with modern overtones. Party leaders again argued that they represented a particular kind of American society: traditional, small town, and family oriented. In the 1960s this approach became dominant: More and more the party represented itself as the movement of a better America—more homogeneous, simpler, happier, and unspoiled by the ruinous policies of the New Deal Democrats.
Skipping about 20 years, we arrive here.
In the 2000 presidential race, the Republican Party nominated George W. Bush, the son of former president George H. Bush, as the party's presidential candidate. During the campaign, Bush focused on issues such as military spending, education, and tax cuts. He ran against Al Gore, the Democratic nominee. After one of the closest and most disputed elections in U.S. history, Bush won the election.
--Reprinted from encarta.com
