110-508: Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824 – June 21, 1893) was an American attorney, industrialist, philanthropist, and Republican Party politician from California . He served as the 8th governor of California from 1862 to 1863 and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1885 until his death in 1893. He and his wife Jane founded Stanford University , named after their late son . Stanford became
220-618: A broader nationalist message. His election accelerated the Republican Party's shift towards right-wing populism and resulted in decreasing influence among its conservative factions. After the 2016 elections , Republicans maintained their majority in the Senate , the House , and governorships , and wielded newly acquired executive power with Trump's election. The Republican Party controlled 69 of 99 state legislative chambers in 2017,
330-558: A large majority of the Democratic Party's upper and middle-class support. McKinley defeated Bryan and returned the presidency to Republican control until the 1912 presidential election . The 1896 realignment cemented the Republicans as the party of big businesses while president Theodore Roosevelt added more small business support by his embrace of trust busting . He handpicked his successor William Howard Taft in
440-740: A large scale. He was one of the four merchants known popularly as "The Big Four" (or among themselves as " the Associates "), who were the key investors in Chief Engineer Theodore Dehone Judah 's plan for the Central Pacific Railroad . The five of them incorporated it on June 28, 1861, and Stanford was elected as its president. The other three associates were Charles Crocker , Mark Hopkins , and Collis P. Huntington . The Central Pacific's first locomotive, named Gov. Stanford in his honor,
550-561: A law library said to be the finest north of Milwaukee . In 1850, Stanford was nominated by the Whig Party as Washington County, Wisconsin district attorney. In 1852, having lost his law library and other property to a fire, Stanford followed his five brothers to California during the California Gold Rush . His wife, Jane, returned (temporarily) to Albany and her family. He went into business with his brothers and became
660-418: A number of Republicans and conservative thought leaders questioning whether Trump should continue as the party's main figurehead and leader. Despite this, Trump easily won the nomination to be the party's candidate again in the 2024 presidential election . Trump achieved a decisive victory against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris , winning every swing state and the popular vote, while the Republicans held
770-544: A reduction of the national debt and federal budget deficit through decreased government spending . The Tea Party movement was also described as a popular constitutional movement composed of a mixture of libertarian , right-wing populist , and conservative activism. The Tea Party movement's electoral success began with Scott Brown 's upset win in the January Senate special election in Massachusetts ;
880-717: A shareholder and executive in the early history of Pacific Life and Wells Fargo . He was the first Republican governor of California. Stanford has a reputation as a robber baron . Leland Stanford was born in 1824 in what was then Watervliet , New York (now the Town of Colonie ). He was one of eight children of Josiah and Elizabeth Phillips Stanford. Among his siblings were New York State Senator Charles Stanford (1819–1885) and Australian businessman and spiritualist Thomas Welton Stanford (1832–1918). His immigrant ancestor, Thomas Stanford, settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts , in
990-607: A successful merchant and wholesaler after migrating to California in 1852 during the Gold Rush ; he built a business empire. He was an influential executive of the Central Pacific Railroad and later of the Southern Pacific railroads from 1861 to 1890; these positions gave him tremendous power in the Western United States which left a lasting impact on California. He also played a significant role as
1100-527: A treaty annexing Hawaii before Cleveland could be inaugurated. Most Republicans supported the proposed annexation, but Cleveland opposed it. In the 1896 presidential election , Republican William McKinley 's platform supported the gold standard and high tariffs, having been the creator and namesake for the McKinley Tariff of 1890. Though having been divided on the issue prior to that year's National Convention , McKinley decided to heavily favor
1210-628: A trip to Europe. The university was established by the Endowment Act of the California Assembly and Senate of March 9, 1885, and the Grant of Endowment from Leland and Jane Stanford signed at the first meeting of the board of trustees on November 14, 1885. The Stanfords donated approximately $ 40 million (equivalent to approximately $ 1,356,000,000 today) to develop the university, which held its opening exercises on October 1, 1891, and
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#17327800634891320-560: A winner at the end of election day. Voter suppression in the South gave Republican-controlled returning officers enough of a reason to declare that fraud, intimidation and violence had soiled the states' results. They proceeded to throw out enough Democratic votes for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes to be declared the winner. Democrats refused to accept the results and the Electoral Commission made up of members of Congress
1430-715: Is preserved on static display at the California State Railroad Museum , in Sacramento. Stanford ran unsuccessfully for governor of California in 1859. He was nominated again in 1861 and won the election. Due to the Great Flood of 1862 , he had to row to his inauguration in a rowboat. He served one term, then limited to two years. While the Central Pacific was under construction, Stanford and his associates in 1868 acquired control of
1540-526: Is to be discouraged by every legitimate means. Asia, with her numberless millions, sends to our shores the dregs of her population. Large numbers of this class are already here; and, unless we do something early to check their immigration, the question, which of the two tides of immigration, meeting upon the shores of the Pacific, shall be turned back, will be forced upon our consideration, when far more difficult than now of disposal. There can be no doubt but that
1650-483: The 1980 United States presidential election . The Reagan presidency , lasting from 1981 to 1989, constituted what is known as " the Reagan Revolution ". It was seen as a fundamental shift from the stagflation of the 1970s, with the introduction of Reagan's economic policies intended to cut taxes, prioritize government deregulation and shift funding from the domestic sphere into the military to check
1760-466: The 2022 elections confident and with analysts predicting a red wave , but it ultimately underperformed expectations, with voters in swing states and competitive districts joining Democrats in rejecting candidates who had been endorsed by Trump or who had denied the results of the 2020 election. The party won control of the House with a narrow majority, but lost the Senate and several state legislative majorities and governorships. The results led to
1870-855: The Central Pacific Railroad (C.P.R.R.), which formed the western portion through the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains of the First Transcontinental Railroad in the United States, built from the mid-continent at the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean during the middle and late 1860s. Composed of Leland Stanford (1824–1893), Collis Potter Huntington (1821–1900), Mark Hopkins Jr. (1813–1878), and Charles Crocker (1822–1888),
1980-546: The Coinage Act of 1873 , as a solution to the depressed American economy in the aftermath of that year's panic . Ahead of the 1880 presidential election , both James G. Blaine and opponent John Sherman failed to win the Republican nomination; each then backed James A. Garfield for president. Garfield won the 1880 presidential election, but was assassinated early in his term . His death helped create support for
2090-635: The Court of International Trade by the time he left office, shifting the court system to the right . Other notable achievements during his presidency included the passing of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017; the creation of the U.S. Space Force , the first new independent military service since 1947; and the brokering of the Abraham Accords , a series of normalization agreements between Israel and various Arab states . The second half of his term
2200-597: The Great Flood of 1862 , the governor was said to have needed to row in a boat to his own inauguration. A large, slow-speaking man who always read from a prepared text, he impressed his listeners as being more sincere than a glib, extemporaneous speaker. During his gubernatorial tenure, he cut the state's debt in half and advocated for the conservation of forests. He also oversaw the establishment of California's first state normal school in San Jose, later to become San Jose State University . Following Stanford's governorship,
2310-544: The Iraq War . In the 2008 presidential election , Arizona Republican senator John McCain was defeated by Illinois Democratic senator Barack Obama . The Republicans experienced electoral success in the 2010 elections . The 2010 elections coincided with the ascendancy of the Tea Party movement , an anti-Obama protest movement of fiscal conservatives . Members of the movement called for lower taxes , and for
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#17327800634892420-653: The Kansas–Nebraska Act , which repealed the Missouri Compromise and opened the Kansas and Nebraska Territories to slavery and future admission as slave states. They denounced the expansion of slavery as a great evil, but did not call for complete abolition , including in the Southern states. While opposition to the expansion of slavery was the most consequential founding principle of the party, like
2530-1109: The Leland Stanford Winery in Alameda County founded in 1869, and run and later inherited by his brother Josiah, and the 55,000 acres (223 km) Great Vina Ranch in Tehama County , containing what was then the largest vineyard in the world at 3,575 acres (14 km) and given to Stanford University. Stanford was also interested in horses and owned the Gridley tract of 17,800 acres (72 km) in Butte County . In Santa Clara County , he founded his Palo Alto Stock Farm . He bred Standardbred horses to be raced as trotters, including his chief sire, Electioneer (sired by Hambletonian ) and his winning offspring: Arion, Sunol, Palo Alto, and Chimes (out of Stanford's best known dam Beautiful Bells); and Thoroughbreds for flat racing. In 1872, Stanford commissioned
2640-594: The Lucille Packard Children's Hospital ) and was torn down in 1965. Long-suffering from locomotor ataxia , Leland Stanford died of heart failure at home in Palo Alto, California , on June 21, 1893. He was buried in the family mausoleum on the Stanford campus. Jane Stanford died in 1905 after being poisoned with strychnine . In 1862, California volunteer troops re-building a military post at
2750-745: The Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company , the steamship line to Japan and China associated with the Central Pacific. The Southern Pacific Company was organized in 1884 as a holding company for the Central Pacific-Southern Pacific system. Stanford was president of the Southern Pacific Company from 1885 until 1890 when he was forced out of that post (as well as the presidency of the Southern Pacific Railroad) by Collis Huntington,
2860-708: The Palo Alto breeding farm was later developed into the Stanford University , the university was nicknamed "The Farm." Stanford was politically active and became a leading member of the Republican Party . In 1856, he met with other Whig politicians in Sacramento on April 30 to organize the California Republican Party at its first state convention. He was chosen as a delegate to the Republican Party convention that selected US presidential electors in both 1856 and 1860. Stanford
2970-537: The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act , which was passed in 1883; the bill was signed into law by Republican president Chester A. Arthur , who succeeded Garfield. In 1884, Blaine won the Republican presidential nomination, but lost the general election to Democrat Grover Cleveland . Cleveland was the first Democrat to be elected president since James Buchanan. Dissident Republicans, known as Mugwumps , had defected from Blaine due to
3080-470: The Pew Research Center found that social conservatives and free market advocates remained the other two main groups within the party's coalition of support, with all three being roughly equal in number. However, libertarians and libertarian-leaning conservatives increasingly found fault with what they saw as Republicans' restricting of vital civil liberties while corporate welfare and
3190-577: The Second New Deal , saying it represented class warfare and socialism . Roosevelt was easily re-elected president in 1936 ; however, as his second term began, the economy declined , strikes soared, and he failed to take control of the Supreme Court and purge the Southern conservatives from the Democratic Party. Republicans made a major comeback in the 1938 House elections . Southern conservatives joined with most Republicans to form
3300-659: The Southern Pacific Railroad . Stanford was elected president of the Southern Pacific, a post he held until 1890 (except for a brief period in 1869–1870 when Tevis was acting president) when he was ousted by Collis Huntington . As head of the railroad company that built the western portion of the "First Transcontinental Railroad" from Sacramento eastward over the Sierra Nevada mountains in California to Nevada and Utah, Stanford presided at
3410-815: The Soviet Union by utilizing deterrence theory . During a visit to then- West Berlin in June 1987, he addressed Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev during a speech at the Berlin Wall , demanding that he " Tear down this wall! ". The remark was later seen as influential in the fall of the wall in 1989, and was retroactively seen as a defining achievement. The Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 . Following Reagan's presidency, Republican presidential candidates frequently claimed to share Reagan's views and aimed to portray themselves and their policies as heirs to his legacy. Reagan's vice president, George H. W. Bush , won
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3520-564: The Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution —which banned slavery, except as punishment for a crime—was ratified in 1865. Following the assassination of Lincoln , Johnson ascended to the presidency. Johnson was vitriolic in his criticisms of the Radical Republicans during a national tour ahead of the 1866 elections . Anti-Johnson Republicans won a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress following
3630-614: The U.S. Senate Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds and on the Naval Committee. He was president and director of the Central Pacific Railroad the entire time he sat in the Senate. He authored several Senate bills that advanced ideas advocated by the People's Party : a bill to foster the creation of worker-owned cooperatives , and a bill to allow the issuance of currency backed by land value instead of only
3740-629: The World Trade Organization . Bush lost his re-election bid in 1992 . While there is debate about whether Perot's candidacy cost Bush re-election, Charlie Cook asserted that Perot's messaging carried weight with Republican and conservative voters. In the 1994 elections , the Republican Party, led by House minority whip Newt Gingrich , who campaigned on the " Contract with America ", won majorities in both chambers of Congress, gained 12 governorships, and regained control of 20 state legislatures . The Republican Party won control of
3850-514: The conservative coalition , which dominated domestic issues in Congress until 1964. By the time of World War II , both parties split on foreign policy issues, with the anti-war isolationists dominant in the Republican Party and the interventionists dominant in the Democratic Party. Roosevelt won a third term in 1940 and a fourth in 1944 . Conservatives abolished most of the New Deal during
3960-504: The gold standard . Neither bill made it out of committee. In Washington, DC, he had a residence on Farragut Square near the home of Baron Karl von Struve , Russian minister to the US. With his wife Jane, Stanford founded Leland Stanford Junior University as a memorial for their only child, Leland Stanford Jr. , who died as a teenager of typhoid fever in Florence , Italy, in 1884 while on
4070-609: The large-scale corruption present in the Grant administration , with the emerging Stalwart faction defending Grant and the spoils system , and the Half-Breeds advocating reform of the civil service . Republicans who opposed Grant branched off to form the Liberal Republican Party , nominating Horace Greeley in the 1872 presidential election . The Democratic Party attempted to capitalize on this divide in
4180-488: The "Big Four" but declined due to the financial risks . Over his lifetime he gained and lost several fortunes. In their time, the four men were sometimes referred to as nabobs or "nobs," a reference to their wealth and influence. When the four built mansions in the same neighborhood of San Francisco, the area quickly became known as Nob Hill , a name it carries today. In Henry T. Williams' The Pacific tourist – Williams' illustrated trans-continental guide of travel, from
4290-436: The 1776 republican values of civic virtue and opposition to aristocracy and corruption. "Republican" has a variety of meanings around the world, and the Republican Party has evolved such that the meanings no longer always align. The Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad) " The Big Four " was the name popularly given to the famous and influential businessmen, and railroad tycoons — also called robber barons — who funded
4400-528: The 17th century. Later ancestors settled in the eastern Mohawk Valley of central New York about 1720. Stanford's father was a farmer of some means. Stanford was raised on family farms in the Lisha Kill and Roessleville (after 1836) areas of Watervliet. The family home in Roessleville was called Elm Grove. The Elm Grove home was razed in the 1940s. Stanford attended the common school until 1836 and
4510-518: The 1908 election , but they became enemies as the party split down the middle. Taft defeated Roosevelt for the 1912 nomination . Roosevelt ran on the ticket of his new Progressive Party . He called for social reforms , many of which were later championed by New Deal Democrats in the 1930s. He lost and when most of his supporters returned to the GOP, they found they did not agree with the new conservative economic thinking , leading to an ideological shift to
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4620-746: The Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean published in 1878, the Big Four was replaced by the Five Associates or Representative Men of the Central Pacific Railroad, with Charles Crocker's older brother Judge Edwin B. Crocker (1818–1875), who served as the CPRR attorney from 1865 to 1869, added. Ambrose Bierce lampooned the "Big Four" in his work "Black Beetles in Amber" , a collection of satirical verses attacking various prominent Californians. In "The Birth of
4730-538: The Democrats, whom they saw as the party of bloated, secular, and liberal government. This period saw the rise of "pro-government conservatives"—a core part of the Bush's base—a considerable group of the Republicans who advocated for increased government spending and greater regulations covering both the economy and people's personal lives, as well as for an activist and interventionist foreign policy. Survey groups such as
4840-556: The GOP and he proved unable to shift the party to a more moderate position. Historians cite the 1964 presidential election and its respective National Convention as a significant shift, which saw the conservative wing, helmed by Arizona senator Barry Goldwater , battle liberal New York governor Nelson Rockefeller and his eponymous Rockefeller Republican faction for the nomination. With Goldwater poised to win, Rockefeller, urged to mobilize his liberal faction, retorted, "You're looking at it, buddy. I'm all that's left." Following
4950-406: The GOP by co-nominating Greeley under their party banner. Greeley's positions proved inconsistent with the Liberal Republican Party that nominated him, with Greeley supporting high tariffs despite the party's opposition. Grant was easily re-elected. The 1876 presidential election saw a contentious conclusion as both parties claimed victory despite three southern states not officially declaring
5060-597: The GOP cooperated with Truman's Cold War foreign policy, funded the Marshall Plan and supported NATO , despite the continued isolationism of the Old Right. Eisenhower had defeated conservative leader senator Robert A. Taft for the 1952 Republican presidential nomination , but conservatives dominated the domestic policies of the Eisenhower administration . Voters liked Eisenhower much more than they liked
5170-520: The House and retook control of the Senate, thus delivering a Republican trifecta . Trump significantly improved his vote share among almost all demographics nationwide, particularly among Hispanic voters, in a working class coalition described as the most racially diverse for a Republican presidential candidate in decades. As of 2024, the GOP holds a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives . It also holds 27 state governorships , 28 state legislatures , and 23 state government trifectas . Six of
5280-504: The House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years , and won a majority of U.S. House seats in the South for the first time since Reconstruction. However, most voters had not heard of the Contract and the Republican victory was attributed to traditional mid-term anti-incumbent voting and Republicans becoming the majority party in the South for the first time since Reconstruction, winning many former Southern Democrats . Gingrich
5390-435: The Pacific Union Express Company. It merged in 1870 with Wells Fargo and Company . Stanford was a director of Wells Fargo and Company from 1870 to January 1884. After a brief retirement from the board, he served again from February 1884 to his death in June 1893. Also in May 1868, he started the Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Company (now Pacific Life ) and served as its first president from 1868 to 1876. He owned two wineries,
5500-410: The Republican House's legislative agenda if he were to serve as speaker. Illinois representative Dennis Hastert was promoted to speaker in Livingston's place, serving in that position until 2007. Republican George W. Bush won the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections . He campaigned as a " compassionate conservative " in 2000, wanting to better appeal to immigrants and minority voters. The goal
5610-421: The Republican Party lost seven seats in the House , but still retained control of that chamber. However, Republicans were unable to gain control of the Senate , continuing their minority status with a net loss of two seats. In the aftermath of the loss, some prominent Republicans spoke out against their own party. A 2012 election post-mortem by the Republican Party concluded that the party needed to do more on
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#17327800634895720-462: The Republican Party had greatly shifted towards illiberalism following the election of Trump, and research conducted by the V-Dem Institute concluded that the party was more similar to Europe's most right-wing parties such as Law and Justice in Poland or Fidesz in Hungary. In 2022 and 2023, Supreme Court justices appointed by Trump proved decisive in landmark decisions on gun rights , abortion , and affirmative action . The party went into
5830-401: The Republican Party's first National Convention in 1856 , the party adopted a national platform emphasizing opposition to the expansion of slavery into the free territories. Although Republican nominee John C. Frémont lost that year's presidential election to Democrat James Buchanan , Buchanan managed to win only four of the fourteen northern states. Despite the loss of the presidency and
5940-855: The Republican banner. Since 2009, the party has faced significant factionalism within its own ranks and has shifted towards right-wing populism . In the 21st century, the Republican Party receives its strongest support from rural voters , evangelical Christians , men , senior citizens , and voters without college degrees . On economic issues, the party has maintained a pro-business attitude since its inception. It supports low taxes and deregulation while opposing socialism , labor unions and single-payer healthcare . The populist faction supports economic protectionism , including tariffs . On social issues, it advocates for restricting abortion , discouraging and often prohibiting recreational drug use , promoting gun ownership and easing gun restrictions , and opposing transgender rights . In foreign policy,
6050-497: The Republicans lost five seats, though whether it was due to poor messaging or Clinton's popularity providing a coattail effect is debated. Gingrich was ousted from party power due to the performance, ultimately deciding to resign from Congress altogether. For a short time afterward, it appeared Louisiana representative Bob Livingston would become his successor; Livingston, however, stepped down from consideration and resigned from Congress after damaging reports of affairs threatened
6160-433: The Republicans struck a deal with Clinton on the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 , which included tax cuts, the Republican House majority had difficulty convening on a new agenda ahead of the 1998 elections . During the ongoing impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998, Gingrich decided to make Clinton's misconduct the party message heading into the elections, believing it would add to their majority. The strategy proved mistaken and
6270-444: The Senate on June 6, 2001, when Vermont Republican senator Jim Jeffords switched his party affiliation to Democrat. The Republicans regained the Senate majority in the 2002 elections , helped by Bush's surge in popularity following the September 11 attacks , and Republican majorities in the House and Senate were held until the Democrats regained control of both chambers in the 2006 elections , largely due to increasing opposition to
6380-401: The Senate voted to acquit him. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden . He refused to concede the race, claiming widespread electoral fraud and attempting to overturn the results . On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by Trump supporters following a rally at which Trump spoke. After the attack, the House impeached Trump for a second time on
6490-408: The Senate. Over the course of his presidency, Trump appointed three justices to the Supreme Court : Neil Gorsuch , Brett Kavanaugh , and Amy Coney Barrett . It was the most Supreme Court appointments for any president in a single term since Richard Nixon . Trump appointed 260 judges in total, creating overall Republican-appointed majorities on every branch of the federal judiciary except for
6600-426: The Whig Party it replaced, Republicans also called for economic and social modernization . At the first public meeting of the anti-Nebraska movement on March 20, 1854, at the Little White Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin , the name "Republican" was proposed as the name of the party. The name was partly chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jefferson 's Democratic-Republican Party . The first official party convention
6710-406: The ceremonial driving of "Last Spike" in Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. The grade of the CPRR met that of the Union Pacific Railroad , which had been built westward from its eastern terminus at Council Bluffs, Iowa / Omaha, Nebraska . He was even given the honor of driving the final spike. Stanford moved with his family from Sacramento to San Francisco in 1874, where he assumed presidency of
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#17327800634896820-532: The charge of incitement of insurrection , making him the only federal officeholder to be impeached twice. Trump left office on January 20, 2021. His impeachment trial continued into the early weeks of the Biden presidency , and he was acquitted on February 13, 2021 . Since the 2020 election, election denial has become increasingly mainstream in the party, with the majority of 2022 Republican candidates being election deniers. The party also made efforts to restrict voting based on false claims of fraud. By 2020,
6930-491: The company's ranking vice president and the corporate directorate. That was thought to be retaliation for Stanford's election to the US Senate in 1885 over Huntington's friend, Aaron A. Sargent . Stanford was elected chairman of the Southern Pacific Railroad's executive committee in 1890, and he held this post and the presidency of the Central Pacific Railroad until his death. In May 1868, he joined Lloyd Tevis , Darius Ogden Mills , H.D. Bacon, Hopkins, and Crocker in forming
7040-452: The confluence of the San Pedro River and Aravaipa Creek in Arizona Territory named the post Fort Stanford after the governor. However, the post later reverted to its former name, Fort Breckenridge, and in 1866 became Camp Grant . In 2008, Stanford was inducted into The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts , California Hall of Fame . A relative, Tom Stanford, accepted the honors on his behalf. The Stanford Memorial Church on
7150-462: The corruption which had plagued his political career. Republican Benjamin Harrison defeated Cleveland in the 1888 election . During his presidency, Harrison signed the Dependent and Disability Pension Act , which established pensions for all veterans of the Union who had served for more than 90 days and were unable to perform manual labor. Following his loss to Cleveland in the 1892 presidential election , Harrison unsuccessfully attempted to pass
7260-426: The decade produced an unprecedented prosperity until the Wall Street Crash of 1929 heralded the Great Depression. The New Deal coalition forged by Democratic president Franklin D. Roosevelt controlled American politics for most of the next three decades, excluding the presidency of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s. After Roosevelt took office in 1933, New Deal legislation sailed through Congress and
7370-416: The economy moved sharply upward from its nadir in early 1933. The 1934 elections left the GOP with only 25 senators against 71 Democrats. The House likewise had overwhelming Democratic majorities. The Republican Party factionalized into a majority Old Right , based predominantly in the Midwest , and a liberal wing based in the Northeast that supported much of the New Deal. The Old Right sharply attacked
7480-417: The elections, which helped lead the way toward his impeachment and near ouster from office in 1868, the same year Ulysses S. Grant was elected as the next Republican president . Grant was a Radical Republican, which created some division within the party. Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner and Illinois senator Lyman Trumbull opposed most of his Reconstructionist policies. Others took issue with
7590-400: The four themselves, however, personally preferred to be known as " The Associates ." They enriched themselves using tax money and land grants , while heavily influencing the state legislature from within the Republican Party (Stanford was governor of California when the first of the Pacific Railroad Acts was passed.), and through monopolizing tactics. Contemporary critics claimed they were
7700-409: The gold standard over free silver in his campaign messaging, but promised to continue bimetallism to ward off continued skepticism over the gold standard, which had lingered since the Panic of 1893 . Democrat William Jennings Bryan proved to be a devoted adherent to the free silver movement, which cost Bryan the support of Democratic institutions such as Tammany Hall , the New York World and
7810-408: The greatest swindlers in U.S. history. Collectively, the four established the Sacramento Library Association for the state capital in Sacramento, California in 1857, which later established the present Sacramento Public Library . David Hewes , an enterprising businessman, was called the "maker of San Francisco" for his work in clearing land for development. He was invited to be a part of
7920-814: The keeper of a general store for miners in Michigan City, California , later the name changed to Michigan Bluff in Placer County ; later he had a wholesale house. He served as a justice of the peace and helped organize the Sacramento Library Association, which later became the Sacramento Public Library. In 1855, he returned to Albany to join his wife, but found the pace too slow after the excitement of developing California. In 1856, he and Jane moved to Sacramento , where he engaged in mercantile pursuits on
8030-479: The lack of a majority in the U.S. Congress , Republicans were able to orchestrate a Republican speaker of the House of Representatives , which went to Nathaniel P. Banks . Historian James M. McPherson writes regarding Banks' speakership that "if any one moment marked the birth of the Republican party, this was it." The Republicans were eager for the 1860 elections . Former Illinois U.S. representative Abraham Lincoln spent several years building support within
8140-707: The leadership of Lincoln and a Republican Congress, the Republican Party led the fight to defeat the Confederate States in the American Civil War , thereby preserving the Union and abolishing slavery . After the war, the party largely dominated national politics until the Great Depression in the 1930s, when it lost its congressional majorities and the Democrats' New Deal programs proved popular. Dwight D. Eisenhower 's election in 1952
8250-419: The most it had held in history. The Party also held 33 governorships, the most it had held since 1922. The party had total control of government in 25 states; it had not held total control of this many states since 1952. The opposing Democratic Party held full control of only five states in 2017. In the 2018 elections , Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives, but strengthened their hold on
8360-467: The national debt hiked considerably under Bush's tenure. In contrast, some social conservatives expressed dissatisfaction with the party's support for economic policies that conflicted with their moral values. The Republican Party lost its Senate majority in 2001 when the Senate became split evenly; nevertheless, the Republicans maintained control of the Senate due to the tie-breaking vote of Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney . Democrats gained control of
8470-406: The national level to attract votes from minorities and young voters. In March 2013, Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus issued a report on the party's electoral failures in 2012, calling on Republicans to reinvent themselves and officially endorse immigration reform. He proposed 219 reforms, including a $ 10 million marketing campaign to reach women, minorities, and gay people;
8580-422: The nine current U.S. Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republican presidents. Its most recent presidential nominee is Donald Trump , who served as the 45th president of the United States and was the party's candidate again in the 2024 presidential election . There have been 19 Republican presidents, the most from any one political party. The Republican Party's founding members chose its name as homage to
8690-549: The party establishment is interventionist, while the populist faction supports isolationism and in some cases non-interventionism . In 1854, the Republican Party was founded in the Northern United States by forces opposed to the expansion of slavery , ex- Whigs , and ex- Free Soilers . The Republican Party quickly became the principal opposition to the dominant Democratic Party and the briefly popular Know Nothing Party. The party grew out of opposition to
8800-615: The party, campaigning heavily for Frémont in 1856 and making a bid for the Senate in 1858 , losing to Democrat Stephen A. Douglas but gaining national attention from the Lincoln–Douglas debates it produced. At the 1860 Republican National Convention , Lincoln consolidated support among opponents of New York U.S. senator William H. Seward , a fierce abolitionist who some Republicans feared would be too radical for crucial states such as Pennsylvania and Indiana , as well as those who disapproved of his support for Irish immigrants. Lincoln
8910-695: The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 , the southern states became more reliably Republican in presidential politics, while northeastern states became more reliably Democratic. The GOP went on to control the White House from 1969 to 1977 under 37th president Richard Nixon , and when he resigned in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal , Gerald Ford became the 38th president, serving until 1977. Ronald Reagan defeated incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in
9020-487: The photographer Eadweard Muybridge to undertake scientific studies of the gaits of horses at a trot and gallop at the Agricultural Park race track in Sacramento. Images of the horses' feet were captured there, later moving to his Palo Alto Stock Farm. He wanted to determine if the horses ever had all four feet off the ground at the same time. The result was the proto-film Sallie Gardner at a Gallop (1878). As
9130-493: The presence among us of numbers of degraded and distinct people must exercise a deleterious influence upon the superior race, and to a certain extent, repel desirable immigration. Stanford was initially acclaimed for such statements, but lost support when it was revealed that his Central Pacific Railroad was also importing Chinese workers to construct the railroad. Later, he served in the United States Senate from 1885 until his death in 1893. He served for four years as chairman of
9240-501: The presidency in a landslide in the 1988 election . However, his term was characterized by division within the Republican Party. Bush's vision of economic liberalization and international cooperation with foreign nations saw the negotiation and, during the presidency of Democrat Bill Clinton in the 1990s, the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the conceptual beginnings of
9350-604: The prosecution of the Bald Hills War in Northern California. The gold strike in California had brought a large influx of newcomers into the territory, including Chinese immigrants, who faced persecution. Anti-Chinese sentiment became a political issue over time. In a message to the legislature in January 1862, Governor Stanford said: To my mind it is clear, that the settlement among us of an inferior race
9460-487: The right in the Republican Party. The Republicans returned to the presidency in the 1920s, winning on platforms of normalcy , business-oriented efficiency, and high tariffs. The national party platform avoided mention of prohibition, instead issuing a vague commitment to law and order . Warren G. Harding died in 1923 and Calvin Coolidge easily defeated the splintered opposition in 1924. The pro-business policies of
9570-464: The seat had been held for decades by Democrat Ted Kennedy . In November, Republicans recaptured control of the House , increased their number of seats in the Senate , and gained a majority of governorships . The Tea Party would go on to strongly influence the Republican Party, in part due to the replacement of establishment Republicans with Tea Party-style Republicans. When Obama was re-elected president in 2012 , defeating Republican Mitt Romney ,
9680-519: The setting of a shorter, more controlled primary season; and the creation of better data collection facilities. Following the 2014 elections , the Republican Party took control of the Senate by gaining nine seats. With 247 seats in the House and 54 seats in the Senate, the Republicans ultimately achieved their largest majority in the Congress since the 71st Congress in 1929. In the 2016 presidential election , Republican nominee Donald Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton . The result
9790-534: The term of office changed from two years to four years, in line with legislation passed during his time in office. The ongoing eradication of the Native Americans living in California continued under his administration. He did sign into law an act reversing part of the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians that allowed the enslavement of Native Americans. However, he also continued
9900-472: The then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the two parties have dominated American politics since then. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act , which allowed for the potential extension of slavery to the western territories. The party supported classical liberalism and economic reform geared to industry, supporting investments in manufacturing, railroads, and banking. The party
10010-469: The university campus is dedicated to his memory. Mount Stanford , located in California's Sierra Nevada, is named in his honor. Central Pacific locomotives named for Stanford were: Republican Party (United States) The Republican Party , also known as the GOP ( Grand Old Party ), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States . It emerged as the main political rival of
10120-453: The university, proposals as a senator, and in interviews with the news media. On September 30, 1850, Stanford married Jane Elizabeth Lathrop in Albany, New York. She was the daughter of Dyer Lathrop, a merchant of that city, and Jane Anne (Shields) Lathrop. The couple did not have any children for years, until their only child, a son, Leland DeWitt Stanford , was born in 1868 when his father
10230-477: The values of republicanism promoted by Democratic-Republican Party, which its founder, Thomas Jefferson, called the "Republican Party". The idea for the name came from an editorial by the party's leading publicist, Horace Greeley, who called for "some simple name like 'Republican' [that] would more fitly designate those who had united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty rather than propagandist of slavery". The name reflects
10340-475: The war, but they did not attempt to do away with Social Security or the agencies that regulated business. Historian George H. Nash argues: Unlike the "moderate", internationalist, largely eastern bloc of Republicans who accepted (or at least acquiesced in) some of the "Roosevelt Revolution" and the essential premises of President Harry S. Truman 's foreign policy, the Republican Right at heart
10450-553: Was a rare break between Democratic presidents and he presided over a period of increased economic prosperity after World War II . Following the 1960s era of civil rights legislation, enacted by Democrats, the South became more reliably Republican, and Richard Nixon carried 49 states in the 1972 election , with what he touted as his " silent majority ". The 1980 election of Ronald Reagan realigned national politics, bringing together advocates of free-market economics, social conservatives , and Cold War foreign policy hawks under
10560-548: Was a zealous radical. Gingrich's strategy of " constitutional hardball " resulted in increasing political polarization . The Republicans maintained their majority for the first time since 1928 despite Bob Dole losing handily to Clinton in the presidential election . However, Gingrich's national profile proved a detriment to the Republican Congress, which enjoyed majority approval among voters in spite of Gingrich's relative unpopularity. After Gingrich and
10670-737: Was born in 1868. Now the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park , the house museum is also used for California state social occasions. The Stanfords' home in San Francisco's Nob Hill district was destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake ; the site is now occupied by the Stanford Court Hotel . The Stanford residence at the Palo Alto Stock Farm became a convalescent home for children in 1919 (the forerunner of
10780-415: Was counterrevolutionary. Anti-collectivist, anti-Communist , anti-New Deal, passionately committed to limited government , free market economics , and congressional (as opposed to executive) prerogatives, the G.O.P. conservatives were obliged from the start to wage a constant two-front war: against liberal Democrats from without and "me-too" Republicans from within. After 1945, the internationalist wing of
10890-556: Was defeated in his 1857 bid for California state treasurer, and his 1859 bid for the office of governor of California. In 1860, he was named a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago, but did not attend. He was elected governor in a second campaign in 1861. He was elected the eighth Governor of California , serving from January 1862 to December 1863, and the first Republican governor. Due to
11000-515: Was elected president in the general election . This election result helped kickstart the American Civil War , which lasted from 1861 until 1865. The 1864 presidential election united War Democrats with the GOP in support of Lincoln and Tennessee Democratic senator Andrew Johnson , who ran for president and vice president on the National Union Party ticket; Lincoln was re-elected. Under Republican congressional leadership,
11110-592: Was established to decide who would be awarded the states' electors. After the Commission voted along party lines in Hayes' favor, Democrats threatened to delay the counting of electoral votes indefinitely so no president would be inaugurated on March 4. This resulted in the Compromise of 1877 and Hayes finally became president. Hayes doubled down on the gold standard , which had been signed into law by Grant with
11220-751: Was forty-four. Stanford was an active Freemason from 1850 to 1855, joining the Prometheus Lodge No. 17 in Port Washington, Wisconsin . After moving west, he became a member of the Michigan City Lodge No. 47 in Michigan Bluff, California . He was also a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in California . The Stanfords retained ownership of their mansion in Sacramento, where their only son
11330-537: Was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan . The party emerged from the great political realignment of the mid-1850s, united in pro-capitalist stances with members often valuing Radicalism . The realignment was powerful because it forced voters to switch parties, as typified by the rise and fall of the Know Nothing Party , the rise of the Republican Party and the splits in the Democratic Party. At
11440-476: Was increasingly controversial, as he implemented a family separation policy for migrants , deployed federal law enforcement forces in response to racial protests and reacted slowly to the COVID-19 pandemic before clashing with health officials over testing and treatment. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives in 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020,
11550-443: Was intended for agricultural studies. Its first student, admitted to Encina Hall that day, was Herbert Hoover , who went on to become the 31st US president. The wealth of the Stanford family during the late 19th century is estimated at $ 50 million (equivalent to approximately $ 1,831,000,000 today). Stanford had ideas of Stanford University employee ownership for more than thirty years before giving them expression in his plans for
11660-399: Was made speaker, and within the first 100 days of the Republican majority, every proposition featured in the Contract was passed, with the exception of term limits for members of Congress. One key to Gingrich's success in 1994 was nationalizing the election, which in turn led to his becoming a national figure during the 1996 House elections , with many Democratic leaders proclaiming Gingrich
11770-460: Was successful in the North, and by 1858, it had enlisted most former Whigs and former Free Soilers to form majorities in almost every northern state. White Southerners of the planter class became alarmed at the threat to the future of slavery in the United States. With the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln , the first Republican president, the Southern states seceded from the United States. Under
11880-454: Was to prioritize drug rehabilitation programs and aid for prisoner reentry into society, a move intended to capitalize on President Clinton's tougher crime initiatives such as his administration's 1994 crime bill . The platform failed to gain much traction among members of the party during his presidency. The Republican Party remained fairly cohesive for much of the 2000s, as both strong economic libertarians and social conservatives opposed
11990-619: Was tutored at home until 1839. He attended Clinton Liberal Institute , in Clinton, New York , and studied law at Cazenovia Seminary in Cazenovia, New York , in 1841 to 1845. In 1845, he entered the law office of Wheaton, Doolittle, and Hadley in Albany . After being admitted to the bar in 1848, Stanford moved with many other settlers to Port Washington, Wisconsin , where he began a law practice with Wesley Pierce. His father presented him with
12100-544: Was unexpected; polls leading up to the election showed Clinton leading the race. Trump's victory was fueled by narrow victories in three states— Michigan , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin —that had been part of the Democratic blue wall for decades. It was attributed to strong support amongst working-class white voters, who felt dismissed and disrespected by the political establishment. Trump became popular with them by abandoning Republican establishment orthodoxy in favor of
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