The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1896-02-07


republican party had state before it
had national organization. The
Pittsburg gathering, which was at
tended by representatives of the
party from twenty-four states, framed
national organization for the party,
and the national committee then
chosen called the Philadelphia con-
vention of June IL, 1856, which made
John G. Fremont the party's stand
ard-bearer for president.
1t is usually difficult and is often
impossible to fix upon the precise
beginning of great social or politi-
cal upheaval. Frequently the real
starting point of movementis much
farther back than the time when that
movement began to take concrete
shape. This is particularly true Of
the genesis of political parties. In
the case of the republican party, how
ever, the beginning can be pointed
out with little more confidence
than can that Of any other great po-
litical organization except the fed
eralist. That party had its starting
point in the convention of 1857 which
framed the constitution. Its antago-
mist, the republican or democratic
republican party of Jefferson, Madi-
son and Gallatin, had its origin in the
debates in the same gathering, but
it did not begin to take organized
shape until the discussion of the Jay
treaty in the house of representatives
in 1896 and the presidential election
of 1896, while the starting point OF
it's historical successor, the demo-
cratic party of Jackson, Buchanan and
Cleveland, can be put anywhere be-
tween 1925 and 1929. Considerable
haze also envelops the actual birth
point of the national republican party
of 1854, and the wing party of
1S34-54, the predecessors of the pres
ent republican organization.
But for all practical purposes the
beginning of the republican party
can be pointed out with reasonable
degree Of precision. The impulse,
of course, which led to its formation
was generated by the Kansas-Neb-
raska bill signed by President Pierce
May 30, 1858, opening the territories
north of the Missouri line of $3.50
to slavery, which forced all the en-
emies of slavery extension = aboli-
tionists, free sellers, anti slavery
wings and anti-slavery democrats
into the combination which took the
name of republican party. The re-
publican name was adopted in Ripon,
Wis, as early as March, 1854, before
the Kansas bill passed, but when its
enactment was seen to be inevitable
Michigan, however, has the honor oil
: holding the first state gathering that
, selected that name, which met on
July 6, 1854. As before mentioned
the first national gathering of the
party was that which met in Pitts.
burg on February %, 1856. The
fortieth anniversary of the party's
birth will be at hand in little over
two weeks, and republican clubs
throughout the country should take
steps to bring about appropriate
observance of the occasion. All the
large parties and some of the small
ones have rendered valuable service
to the country, but none of them
were SO strong in constructive states
manship as the republican party Oh
r had such GLORIOUS record, except the
great party of Washington, Adams
Hamilton and the Pinckneys, which
laid the foundations upon which the
edifce of the government has beer
built.
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