Republican Party

One of the two main parties in US politics, created in 1854 out of the anti-slavery movement that preceded the Civil War. It found almost immediate success when Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, and held the presidency except for four terms until Franklin D Roosevelt in 1933, when the Depression led to a major turnaround in Republican fortunes, and the Democrats became the clear majority party for 20 years. Since then there has been a period of split party control, with the Republicans often winning the presidency, and the Democrats holding the majority in Congress. Traditionally supported by voters with high income, education, and social status, its largest support is in NE industrial and W farming areas, and more recently in the southern ‘Sunbelt’. It is identified with big business rather than unions, and with white Anglo-Saxons rather than ethnic minorities. It advocates limited central government, the protection of states' rights, and an active and interventionist foreign policy stance. In the 1980s, it became much more conservative in outlook. During the 1990s the party regained control of the House of Representatives (1994), ending a half century out of power. At the same time it lost the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. It went on to win the presidential election in 2000 amid controversy over voting procedure. In 2006 it lost control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in mid-term elections.

The Republican Party may refer to: