Republican Party (United States) History Founding and 19th century The first official party convention was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan.
By 1858, the Republicans dominated nearly all Northern states. The Republican Party first came to power in 1860 with the election of Lincoln to the Presidency and Republicans in control of Congress and again, the Northern states. It oversaw the saving of the union, the end of slavery, and the provision of equal rights to all men in the American Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877.[16] Republican. Republican Party legal definition of Republican Party. Republican Party synonyms by the Free Online Law Dictionary. Republican Party The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by a group of renegade Democrats, Whigs, and political independents who opposed the expansion of Slavery into new U.S. territories and states.
What began as a single-issue, independent party became a major political force in the United States.