February 5, 1854
At meeting at the Little White Schoolhouse, Alan Bovay proposes the name “Republican Party.” Evidence indicates there were several groups across the country that met to discuss the formation of a new party. Thus, the location of the first meeting has been disputed. It is known that Whig Party defectors met privately in February, 1854, in Crawfordsville, Iowa, to call for the creation of a new political party. Some evidence indicates an earlier meeting was held in Exeter, New Hampshire. The first public meeting was held in March of 1854 at a small church in Ripon, Wisconsin, when Alan Bovay rallied anti-slavery forces and adopted resolutions opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
A second meeting was held in a one-story schoolhouse in Ripon on March 20, 1854. Fifty-four citizens, including three women, dissolved their local committees and chose five men to serve as the committee of the new party: Alan Bovay, Jebediah Bowen, Amos Loper, Abram Thomas, and Jacob Woodruff. Said Mr. Bovay: "We went into the little meeting Whigs, Free Soilers, and Democrats. We came out Republicans and...were the first Republicans in the Union."
We celebrate the birth of the 'twin' tomorrow. The date was February 6, 1911. http://www.tngop.org/principles/history.html Added Link
At meeting at the Little White Schoolhouse, Alan Bovay proposes the name “Republican Party.” Evidence indicates there were several groups across the country that met to discuss the formation of a new party. Thus, the location of the first meeting has been disputed. It is known that Whig Party defectors met privately in February, 1854, in Crawfordsville, Iowa, to call for the creation of a new political party. Some evidence indicates an earlier meeting was held in Exeter, New Hampshire. The first public meeting was held in March of 1854 at a small church in Ripon, Wisconsin, when Alan Bovay rallied anti-slavery forces and adopted resolutions opposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
A second meeting was held in a one-story schoolhouse in Ripon on March 20, 1854. Fifty-four citizens, including three women, dissolved their local committees and chose five men to serve as the committee of the new party: Alan Bovay, Jebediah Bowen, Amos Loper, Abram Thomas, and Jacob Woodruff. Said Mr. Bovay: "We went into the little meeting Whigs, Free Soilers, and Democrats. We came out Republicans and...were the first Republicans in the Union."
We celebrate the birth of the 'twin' tomorrow. The date was February 6, 1911. http://www.tngop.org/principles/history.html Added Link
