Abstract

Liberal Origins and the Future

A lot is heard about these days from the right-wing politicos about "returning to the first principles of Republicanism." The fact is that Republican Party, in its origins, was primarily a labor party. The "father of the Republican Party" was the secretary and treasurer of a workingmen's association called the Industrial Congress. Most categories of labor and social legislation were initiated by Republican enactments. A second mistaken notion about the origins of the Republican Party, along with the idea that it was historically the party of conservatism and big business, is the assumption that it began primarily as an anti-slavery party. It became an anti-slavery party, but its deepest roots were in the homestead movement.