On February 28th, 1854, opponents of slavery met met in Ripon, Wisconsin and agreed to form a new political group which later became the Democrat Republican Party.*

It all started with people who opposed slavery. They were common, everyday people who bristled at the notion that men had any right to oppress their fellow man. In the early 1850’s, these anti-slavery activists found commonality with rugged individuals looking to settle in western lands, free of government charges.
“Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men,” went the slogan. And it was thus in joint opposition to human enslavement and government tyranny that an enterprising people gave birth to the Republican Party.

[Source: GOP website]

John Charles Frémont, a colorful, controversial character was the first Republican presidential candidate ~
 

 
Frémont lost to James Buchanan in the 1856 election. But four years later, the party put its first president in the White House, a country lawyer and state legislator from Illinois: Abraham Lincoln.
 
The Dems have tried to hijack history, pretending they’ve been the civil rights champions all along, but if low-information voters really wanted the truth, it’s not that hard to find.
 

*Source: The American Patriot’s Almanac – William J. Bennett & John T.E. Cribb