Republican Party (United States)

Factions:
• Centrism
• Neoconservatism
• Right-libertarianism
• Right-wing populism

## Election symbol

The **Republican Party**, also referred to as the **GOP** ("**Grand Old Party**"), is one of two major, contemporary political parties in the United States, along with its main historical rival, the Democratic Party.

The GOP was founded in 1854 by opponents of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. It was simultaneously strengthened by the collapse of the Whig Party, which had previously been one of the two major parties in the country. Upon founding, the Republican party supported economic reform and classical liberalism while opposing the expansion of slavery. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president. Under the leadership of Lincoln and a Republican Congress, slavery was banned in the United States in 1865. The GOP was generally dominant during the Third and the Fourth Party System periods. It was strongly committed to protectionism and tariffs at its founding, but grew more supportive of free trade in the 20th century.

After 1912, the Republican Party began to undergo an ideological shift to the right. Following the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the party's core base shifted, with southern states becoming more reliably Republican in presidential politics. After the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in *Roe v. Wade*, the Republican Party opposed abortion in its party platform and grew its support among evangelicals. Its 21st-century ideology is American conservatism, which incorporates both social conservatism and fiscal conservatism. The GOP supports lower taxes, free-market capitalism, immigration reform and border security, increased military spending, gun rights, restrictions on abortion, deregulation, preserving tradition, and equally corporation and union power.

The Republican Party has been the dominant party in control of government thoughout the 21st century. A majority of its members are fiscally and/or socially conservative. Although not all members, a majority of Americans in the 21st century agree more with the Republican Party's base. Its most recent presidential nominee was Cornelius Moss, who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2013. There have been more presidents from the Republican Party than any other American political party.

The party's current leaders are Benjamin Asher, the 51st vice president of the United States alongside unaffiliated president Tom Kirkman, and Margaret Clay, the 55th speaker of the House of Representatives. Both are centrists with fiscally conservative economic views.

## History

### 19th century

The Republican Party was founded in the northern states in 1854 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 the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and opened Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory to chattel slavery and future admission as slave states. The Republicans called for economic and social modernization. They denounced the expansion of chattel slavery as a great evil, but did not call for ending it in the southern states. The first public meeting of the general anti-Nebraska movement, at which the name Republican was proposed, was held on March 20, 1854, at the Little White Schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. The name was partly chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-Republican Party. The first official party convention was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan.

The party emerged from the great political realignment of the mid-1850s. Historian William Gienapp argues that the great realignment of the 1850s began before the Whigs' collapse, and was caused not by politicians but by voters at the local level. The central forces were ethno-cultural, involving tensions between pietistic Protestants versus liturgical Catholics, Lutherans and Episcopalians regarding Catholicism, prohibition and nativism. Abolition did play a role but it was less important at first. The Know Nothing Party embodied the social forces at work, but its weak leadership was unable to solidify its organization, and the Republicans picked it apart. Nativism was so powerful that the Republicans could not avoid it, but they did minimize it and turn voter wrath against the threat that slave owners would buy up the good farm lands wherever chattel slavery was allowed. The realignment was powerful because it forced voters to switch parties, as typified by the rise and fall of the Know Nothings, the rise of the Republican Party and the splits in the Democratic Party.

At the 1856 Republican National Convention, the party adopted a national platform emphasizing opposition to the expansion of chattel slavery into U.S. territories. While Republican nominee John C. Frémont lost the 1856 United States presidential election to Democrat doughface James Buchanan, Buchanan only managed to win four of the fourteen northern states, winning his home state of Pennsylvania narrowly. Republicans fared better in Congressional and local elections, but Know Nothing candidates took a significant number of seats, creating an awkward three party arrangement. Despite the loss of the presidency and the lack of a majority in Congress, Republicans were able to orchestrate a Republican Speaker of the House, 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 elections of 1860. Former Illinois Representative Abraham Lincoln spent several years building support within 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 for the Lincoln–Douglas debates it produced. At the 1860 Republican National Convention, Lincoln consolidated support among opponents of New York 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 won on the third ballot and was ultimately elected president in the general election in a rematch against Douglas. Lincoln had not been on the ballot in a single southern state, and even if the vote for Democrats had not been split between Douglas, John C. Breckinridge and John Bell, the Republicans would've still won but without the popular vote. This election result helped kickstart the American Civil War which lasted from 1861 until 1865.

The election of 1864 united War Democrats with the GOP and saw Lincoln and Tennessee Democratic Senator Andrew Johnson get nominated on the National Union Party ticket; Lincoln was re-elected. Under Republican congressional leadership, the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution—which banned chattel slavery in the United States—passed the Senate in 1864 and the House in 1865; it was ratified in December 1865.

#### Reconstruction, the gold standard and the Gilded Age

Radical Republicans during Lincoln's presidency felt he wasn't going far enough in his eradication of slavery and opposed his ten percent plan. Radical Republicans passed the Wade–Davis Bill in 1864, which sought to enforce the taking of the Ironclad Oath for all former Confederates. Lincoln vetoed the bill, believing it would jeopardize the peaceful reintegration of the Confederate states into the United States.

Following the assassination of Lincoln, Johnson ascended to the presidency and was deplored by Radical Republicans. Johnson was vitriolic in his criticisms of the Radical Republicans during a national tour ahead of the 1866 midterm elections. In his view, Johnson saw Radical Republicanism as the same as secessionism, both being two extremist sides of the political spectrum. Anti-Johnson Republicans won a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress following the elections, which helped lead the way toward his impeachment and near ouster from office in 1868. That same year, former Union Army General Ulysses S. Grant was elected as the next Republican president.

Grant was a Radical Republican which created some division within the party, some such as Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner and Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull opposed most of his Reconstructionist policies. Others found contempt with the large-scale corruption present in Grant's administration, with the emerging Stalwart faction defending Grant and the spoils system, whereas the Half-Breeds pushed for reform of the civil service. Republicans who opposed Grant branched off to form the Liberal Republican Party, nominating Horace Greeley in 1872. The Democratic Party attempted to capitalize on this divide in 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 general election saw a contentious conclusion as both parties claimed victory despite three southern states still not officially declaring a winner at the end of election day. Voter suppression had occurred in the south to depress the black and white Republican vote, which gave Republican-controlled returning officers enough of a reason to declare fraud, intimidation and violence soiled the states' results. They proceeded to throw out enough Democratic votes for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes to be declared the winner. Still, Democrats refused to accept the results and an Electoral Commission made up of members of Congress 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 the Coinage Act of 1873, as a solution to the depressed American economy in the aftermath of the Panic of 1873. He also believed greenbacks posed a threat; greenbacks being money printed during the Civil War that was not backed by specie, which Hayes objected to as a proponent of hard money. Hayes sought to restock the country's gold supply, which by January 1879 succeeded as gold was more frequently exchanged for greenbacks compared to greenbacks being exchanged for gold. Ahead of the 1880 general election, Republican James G. Blaine ran for the party nomination supporting Hayes' gold standard push and supporting his civil reforms. Both falling short of the nomination, Blaine and opponent John Sherman backed Republican James A. Garfield, who agreed with Hayes' move in favor of the gold standard, but opposed his civil reform efforts.

Garfield was elected but assassinated early into his term, however his death helped create support for 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.

Blaine once again ran for the presidency, winning the nomination but losing to Democrat Grover Cleveland in 1884, the first Democrat to be elected president since Buchanan. Dissident Republicans, known as Mugwumps, had defected Blaine due to corruption which had plagued his political career. Cleveland stuck to the gold standard policy, which eased most Republicans, but he came into conflict with the party regarding budding American imperialism. Republican Benjamin Harrison was able to reclaim the presidency from Cleveland in 1888. 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.

A majority of Republicans supported the annexation of Hawaii, under the new governance of Republican Sanford B. Dole, and Harrison, following his loss in 1892 to Cleveland, attempted to pass a treaty annexing Hawaii before Cleveland was to be inaugurated again. Cleveland opposed annexation, though Democrats were split geographically on the issue, with most northeastern Democrats proving to be the strongest voices of opposition.

In 1896, 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 the 1896 Republican National Convention, McKinley decided to heavily favor 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 Democrat institutions such as Tammany Hall, the *New York World* and a large majority of the Democratic Party's upper and middle-class support. McKinley defeated Bryan and returned the White House to Republican control until 1912.

### 20th century

The 1896 realignment cemented the Republicans as the party of big businesses while Theodore Roosevelt added more small business support by his embrace of trust busting. He handpicked his successor William Howard Taft in 1908, but they became enemies as the party split down the middle. Taft defeated Roosevelt for the 1912 nomination and Roosevelt ran on the ticket of his new Progressive ("Bull Moose") 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 the right in the Republican Party. The Republicans returned to the White House throughout the 1920s, running 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, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover were resoundingly elected in 1920, 1924 and 1928, respectively. The Teapot Dome scandal threatened to hurt the party, but Harding died and the opposition splintered in 1924. The pro-business policies of the decade seemed to produce an unprecedented prosperity until the Wall Street Crash of 1929 heralded the Great Depression.

#### New Deal era, the Moral Majority and the Republican Revolution

The New Deal coalition of Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt controlled American politics for most of the next three decades, excluding the two-term presidency of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. After Roosevelt took office in 1933, New Deal legislation sailed through Congress and the economy moved sharply upward from its nadir in early 1933. However, long-term unemployment remained a drag until 1940. In the 1934 midterm elections, 10 Republican senators went down to defeat, leaving the GOP with only 25 senators against 71 Democrats. The House of Representatives likewise had overwhelming Democratic majorities.

The Republican Party factionalized into a majority "Old Right" (based in the midwest) and a liberal wing based in the northeast that supported much of the New Deal. The Old Right sharply attacked the "Second New Deal" and said it represented class warfare and socialism. Roosevelt was re-elected in a landslide 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 elections and had new rising stars such as Robert A. Taft of Ohio on the right and Thomas E. Dewey of New York on the left. Southern conservatives joined with most Republicans to form the conservative coalition, which dominated domestic issues in Congress until 1964. Both parties split on foreign policy issues, with the anti-war isolationists dominant in the Republican Party and the interventionists who wanted to stop Adolf Hitler dominant in the Democratic Party. Roosevelt won a third and fourth term in 1940 and 1944, respectively. Conservatives abolished most of the New Deal during the war, but they did not attempt to do away with Social Security or the agencies that regulated business.

After 1945, the internationalist wing of 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.

The second half of the 20th century saw the election or succession of Republican presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. Eisenhower had defeated conservative leader Senator Robert A. Taft for the 1952 nomination, but conservatives dominated the domestic policies of the Eisenhower administration. Voters liked Eisenhower much more than they liked the GOP and he proved unable to shift the party to a more moderate position. Since 1976, liberalism has virtually faded out of the Republican Party, apart from a few northeastern holdouts. Historians cite the 1964 United States presidential election and its respective 1964 Republican National Convention as a significant shift, which saw the conservative wing, helmed by Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, battle the liberal New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller and his eponymous Rockefeller Republican faction for the party presidential nomination. With Goldwater poised to win, Rockefeller, urged to mobilize his liberal faction, relented, "You’re looking at it, buddy. I’m all that’s left." Though Goldwater lost in a landslide, Reagan would make himself known as a prominent supporter of his throughout the campaign, delivering the "A Time for Choosing" speech for him. He'd go on to become governor of California two years later, and in 1980, win the presidency.

The presidency of Reagan, 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 preceding it, with the introduction of Reaganomics intended to cut taxes, prioritize government deregulation and shift funding from the domestic sphere into the military to check the Soviet Union by utilizing deterrence theory. A defining moment in Reagan's term of office was his speech in then-West Berlin where he demanded Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!", referring to the Berlin Wall constructed to separate West and East Berlin.

After he left office in 1989, Reagan became an iconic conservative Republican. Republican presidential candidates would frequently claim to share his views and aim to establish themselves and their policies as the more appropriate heir to his legacy.

Vice President Bush scored a landslide in the 1988 presidential election. However his term would see a divide form within the Republican Party. Bush's vision of economic liberalization and international cooperation with foreign nations saw the negotiation and signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the conceptual beginnings of the World Trade Organization. Independent politician and businessman Ross Perot decried NAFTA and prophesied it would lead to outsourcing American jobs to Mexico, while Democrat Bill Clinton found agreement in Bush's policies. Bush lost reelection in 1992 with 37 percent of the popular vote, with Clinton garnering a plurality of 43 percent and Perot in third with 19 percent. While debatable if Perot's candidacy cost Bush reelection, Charlie Cook of *The Cook Political Report* attests Perot's messaging held more weight with Republican and conservative voters at-large.

In the Republican Revolution of 1994, the party won majorities in both chambers of Congress, gained 12 governorships and regained control of 20 state legislatures. It was the first time the Republican Party had achieved a majority in the House since 1952. The Republicans maintained their majority for the first time since 1928 despite the presidential ticket of Bob Dole-Jack Kemp losing handily to President Clinton in the general election.

The Republican House majority had difficulty convening on a new agenda ahead of the 1998 midterm elections. During the ongoing impeachment of Bill Clinton in 1998, his misconduct was the party message heading into the midterms. The strategy proved mistaken and the Republicans lost five seats, though whether it was due to poor messaging or Clinton's popularity providing a coattail effect is debated.

### 21st century

A Republican ticket of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney won the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. Bush campaigned as a "compassionate conservative" in 2000, wanting to better appeal to immigrants and minority voters. The goal was to prioritize drug rehabilitation programs and aide for prisoner reentry into society, a move intended to capitalize on President Bill Clinton's tougher crime initiatives such as the 1994 crime bill passed under his administration. The platform failed to gain much traction among members of the party during his presidency.

With the inauguration of Bush as president, the Republican Party remained fairly cohesive for much of the 2000s as both strong economic libertarians and social conservatives opposed 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, interventionist foreign policy. Survey groups such as 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 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 Republican Vice President Dick Cheney. Democrats gained control of the Senate on June 6, 2001, when Republican Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont switched his party affiliation to Democrat. The Republicans regained the Senate majority in the 2002 elections. Republican majorities in the House and Senate were held until the Democrats regained control of both chambers in the mid-term elections of 2006.

 File:Cornelius Moss.png
The Great Recession, emerging in the final years of the Bush presidency, caused his administration's approval to drop significantly. Cornelius Moss campaigned as a new conservative option, criticizing the Bush administration for their recession policies and increase of government spending. Despite the low approval for the Republican Party, Moss and his running mate Arnold Vinick succeeded and the 2008 presidential election and defeated the Democratic ticket.

Moss' presidency was met with a renewal of the Reagan-era conservatism. His early government stimulus pro-jobs agenda led to the end of the Great Recession and began the ongoing economic boom in the United States throughout the 2010's. His election, and the high disapproval of Bush, was met with the Republicans' success in the wave election of 2010, which coincided with the ascendancy of the Tea Party movement, an anti-Bush protest movement of fiscal conservatives. Members of the movement called for lower taxes, and for a reduction of the national debt of the United States and federal budget deficit through decreased government spending. It was also described as a popular constitutional movement composed of a mixture of libertarian, right-wing populist, and conservative activism. The Tea Party would go on to strongly influence the Republican Party, in part due to the replacement of some establishment Republicans with Tea Party-style Republicans, including senator Curtis Haas.

#### Post-Capitol bombing

 File:Tom Kirkman presidential portrait.png
The ascension of Tom Kirkman to the presidency marked the beginning of an ongoing period of Republican unified government control. Since elections following the Capitol Bombing, the Republicans have maintained control of the House of Representatives and Senate. Although an independent, Kirkman is a fiscal conservative that shares many policy views with the party. Regardless, his rejection of an offer to run in the 2020 presidential election as a Republican resulted in the nomination of former president Cornelius Moss and his subsequent endorsements from most Republicans. Although winning the general election against Moss, a significant majority of Republicans approve of the Kirkman administration. His selection of Republican U.S. senator Benjamin Asher of Pennsylvania as his running mate in the election caused Kirkman's base to be made up of mostly moderate and conservative Republicans despite Moss' nomination.

Under the leadership of Kimble Hookstraten, the party's first female leader, Republicans took control of the new government in 2017. After the 2018 elections, they maintained their trifecta control of government, despite Hookstraten's resignation in May 2017. Due to the historic scenario left in the wake of the Capitol Bombing, all 100 seats in the United States Senate were contested. Republicans overperformed and made a net seat gain. In the House of Representatives, after most independents elected in the 2017 special elections did not approve of Kirkman's agenda, a majority were voted out and replaced mainly by Republicans.

Despite Moss loss to Kirkman in the 2020 presidential election, Republicans added on to their majorities in Congress, making a net gain of 13 seats with 52.23% of the popular vote in the House and a net gain of 3 seats with 54.36% of the popular vote. Under the Republican leadership through the 116th and 117th United States Congress', nine out of the ten Supreme Court nominations made by Kirkman were confirmed, as were a vast majority of his other judicial and executive nominees. Analysers contribute Republicans' overall passage of Kirkman's agenda, plus his moderate and conservative Cabinet secretaries, as a reason for their continued control of government.

### Names and symbols

The party's founding members chose the name Republican Party in the mid-1850s as homage to the values of republicanism promoted by Thomas Jefferson's Democratic-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 the 1776 republican values of civic virtue and opposition to aristocracy and corruption. It is important to note that "republican" has a variety of meanings around the world and the Republican Party has evolved such that the meanings no longer always align.

The term "Grand Old Party" is a traditional nickname for the Republican Party and the abbreviation "GOP" is a commonly used designation. The term originated in 1875 in the *Congressional Record*, referring to the party associated with the successful military defense of the Union as "this gallant old party." The following year in an article in the *Cincinnati Commercial*, the term was modified to "grand old party." The first use of the abbreviation is dated 1884.

The traditional mascot of the party is the elephant. A political cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in *Harper's Weekly* on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol. An alternate symbol of the Republican Party in states such as Indiana, New York and Ohio is the bald eagle as opposed to the Democratic rooster or the Democratic five-pointed star. In Kentucky, the log cabin is a symbol of the Republican Party.

Traditionally the party had no consistent color identity. After the 2000 election, the color red became associated with Republicans. During and after the election, the major broadcast networks used the same color scheme for the electoral map: states won by Republican nominee George W. Bush were colored red and states won by Democratic nominee Al Gore were colored blue. Due to the weeks-long dispute over the election results, these color associations became firmly ingrained, persisting in subsequent years. Although the assignment of colors to political parties is unofficial and informal, the media has come to represent the respective political parties using these colors. The party and its candidates have also come to embrace the color red.

### Political positions

#### Economic policies

Republicans believe that free markets and individual achievement are the primary factors behind economic prosperity. Republicans frequently advocate in favor of fiscal conservatism, and support decreased government spending and lower taxes in order to achieve a sustainable economy. They are, however, in favor of increased opportunity but support a job creation-based policy.

Modern Republicans advocate the theory of supply-side economics, which holds that lower tax rates increase economic growth. Despite this, the modern Republican Party supports a progressive tax system that charges taxes proportionally overall in terms of income. They are opposed to wealth taxes proposed by members of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. At the national level and state level, Republicans tend to pursue policies of tax cuts and deregulation. Modern Republicans support the deregulation only in areas they consider to be overegulated. The party's platform endorses baseline economic regulation.

Republicans believe individuals should take responsibility for their own circumstances. They also support help for the poor through private sector charity and reformed welfare programs, which holds that the government can only directly provide for needy citizens until they can provide for themselves. Overall, the modern party supports an overhaul of the welfare state and creation of new job opportunities.

Republicans believe in a moderate corporate tax rate and support corporations being able to establish their own employment practices. Modern Republicans support an equalization between labor unions and corporations. Despite this, they are frequently opposed by labor union organizations. Republicans also support a reasonable minimum wage but oppose large increases to it, proposed by progressive wings, believing that such increases hurt businesses by forcing them to cut and outsource jobs while passing on costs to consumers.

#### Enviornmental and energy policies

Historically, progressive leaders in the Republican Party supported environmental protection. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was a prominent conservationist whose policies eventually led to the creation of the National Park Service. While Republican President Richard Nixon was not an environmentalist, he signed legislation to create the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970 and had a comprehensive environmental program. However, this position has changed since the 1980s and the administration of President Ronald Reagan, who labeled environmental regulations a burden on the economy. Despite this, the modern Republican Party recognizes the scientific consensus on climate change, but disagrees with the Democratic Party on responses.

Republicans support the continued use of certain fossil fuels, notably oil, gasoline, and natural gas, a difference from some mainstream Democrats. They also support increased usage of renewable energy. The party is in favor of carbon capture methods for fossil fuels, but opposes a carbon tax. Modern Republicans accept the negative impact from global warming, but reject some beliefs that with carbon capture methods and increased renewable energy production, the results of climate change will be irreversible.

While the party supports a combined grid of cleaner, domestic energy to achieve energy independence, some Republicans support the development of alternative fuels. A majority Republicans support the continued use of fracking methods and domestic oil and gas drilling. Many supported continued use of oil, gas, and natural gas pipelines.

#### Healthcare

In healthcare, Republicans oppose a single-payer health care system. On a national level, the party generally supports a universal healthcare plan made up of prodominant coverage by private insurance with Medicare availability for those not covered, and Medicaid for the poor, homeless, and unemployed. While supporting their continued existence and funding, many Republicans oppose its wide expansion.

#### Immigration

In the period 1850–1870, the Republican Party was more opposed to immigration than Democrats, in part because the Republican Party relied on the support of anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant parties, such as the Know-Nothings, at the time. In the decades following the Civil War, the Republican Party grew more supportive of immigration, as it represented manufacturers in the northeast (who wanted additional labor) whereas the Democratic Party came to be seen as the party of labor (which wanted fewer laborers to compete with).

Republicans support immigration overhaul. They are in favor of reformed legal immigration practices and border security, and are opposed to illegal immigration. Most Republicans support modernizing the border barrier on the Mexico-United States border and stricter enforcement of border patrol polices. Additionally, a vast majority of Republicans support the Kirkman administration's Advanced Asylum Review Policy (AARP), which requires that all asylum seekers remain in their country of origin while their request is being reviewed.

#### Foreign policy and defense

Following the September 11 attacks, many Republicans supported increased interventionalist policies with regard to the global War on Terror, which caused War in Afghanistan and Iraq War. The George W. Bush administration took the position that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to unlawful combatants, while other prominent Republicans strongly opposed the use of enhanced interrogation techniques, which they view as torture. The Bush administration's address to foreign policy led to an ideological shift within the party. Cornelius Moss and his base, which campaigned negatively towards the Bush administration and touted a new era of conservatism, advocated for increased non-interventionalism and pro-American foreign policy. A majority of modern Republicans support a continued strong defense budget but advocate for non-interventionalism, calling for military action whenever national security is at risk or foreign citizens are being intensely persecuted.

#### Social policies

The Republican Party is generally associated with social conservative policies, but it does have prominent centrist and libertarian factions. Many Republicans support action that upholds traditional values, employs based on talent and capability, and opposes same-sex marriage, abortion, and legalized marijuana. Most conservatives in the party also oppose excessive gun control and illegal immigration. A majority of moderates also generally support these policies, but some may have differences on action regarding them.

##### Abortion and embyronic research

A majority of the party's candidates are anti-abortion on moral or religious grounds. Most, however, argue morality and support exceptions in the case of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life. Prior to the Supreme Court ruling on *Roe v. Wade*, there were not many differences between the platforms of the Republican and Democratic parties in terms of abortion. Following the ruling, however, most Republicans denounced abortion while many Democrats supported it, causing Christians to migrate to the party. A vast majority of Republicans support the Hyde Amendment, which opposes federal funding for abortion and abortion clinics, notably Planned Parenthood- a nonprofit organization -except for certain cases.

Most Republicans also oppose the creation, experimentation, and purposeful destruction of embryonic stem cells for research on moral grounds. The party does however support other stem cell research.

##### Affirmitive action

Republicans have expressed concerns over racism and discrimination, recognizing the mistreatment in their platform. The party though is opposed to affirmitive action for the sole purpose of including minorities in unrepresented fields, believing that is counter-productive and will promote further discrimination. The Republican Party supports a modern meritocratic system that employs based on talent and skill among all people regardless of race, sexuality, or gender. Republicans frequently condemn outdated and discriminatory systems that purposefully disclude racial and sexual minorities with equal talent.

##### Gun ownership

Republicans generally support gun ownership rights and oppose laws that excessively regulate firearms, believing it violates the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Many Republicans do however support national background checks, red flags, and other measures describes as "common sense" baseline regulation.

##### Drugs

Republicans have opposed legalization or decriminalization of drugs, including marijuana, throughout the majority of the party's existence.

##### LGBT issues

Republicans oppose same-sex marriage but condemn discrimination against individuals solely for their sexuality. Throughout the 1990's and 2000's, the Republican and Democratic parties did not have many differences on same-sex marriage; a majority of both its members were opposed. When Democrats began to support same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in the 2010's, the party maintained its opposition. Many Republicans remain opposed to same-sex marriage following the Supreme Court ruling that legalized it nationwide, defining marriage as "the union of one man and one woman."

However, while most Republicans do not support same-sex marriage, a vast majority of the party's prominent members have publicly stated that they have no objection to those individually that are in a same-sex marriage. As a platform, the Republican Party supports other LGBT rights, notably preventing discrimination on the basis of sexuality. It previously opposed the inclusion of gay people in the United States Armed Forces, as did the Democratic Party, but both have sense fallen from the issue. While more people in a same-sex marriage support Democrats overall, the Republican Party has seen an increase in membership among LGBT individuals.

##### Voting rights and requirements

Republicans support the universal right to vote with baseline voting requirements. Most members of the party support voter ID laws and stricter regulation for mail voting, so long as they do not establish barriers to minority voting groups.