Happy birthday, Republican Party

On this day in 1854, a group of former Whigs met in a Ripon, Wisconsin church to found Republican Party. Illinois Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska bill, which would open up western territories to slavery, inspired the Wisconsinites to act.

Related posts:

Stephen A. Douglas Tomb in Chicago
My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Jonesboro, site of the third Lincoln-Douglas Debate

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