GOP Roots?
Abraham Lincoln was the first US President who was a member of the modern Republican party. But who was the first big shot in the Grand Old Party? Most agree that it began in a little Wisconsin schoolhouse in 1854. A small group of dedicated abolitionists gathered to fight the expansion of slavery, and they gave birth to a Party dedicated to freedom and equal opportunity.
The name “Republican” was chosen, alluding to Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party and conveying a commitment to the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.