A History of the Republican Party

by George Washington Platt

"Resolved, That the northern man who can aid and abet in the commission of so stupendous a crime is none too good to become an accomplice in renewing the African slave trade, the services which, doubtless, will next be required of him by his Southern masters, should the Nebraska treason succeed;

"Resolved, That the attempt to withdraw the Missouri Compromise, whether successful or not, admonishes the North to adopt the maxim for all time to come, 'No more Compromises with Slavery';

"Resolved, That the passage of this Bill, if pass it should, will be a call to arms of a great Northern Party, such an one as the country has not hitherto seen, composed of Whigs, Democrats and Free-Soilers, every man with a heart in him united under the single banner cry of 'Repeal! Repeal!'

"Resolved, That the small but compact phalanx of true men who oppose the mad scheme upon the broadest principle of humanity, as well as their unflinching efforts to uphold the public faith, deserve not only our applause but our profound esteem;

"Resolved, That the heroic attitude of General Houston, amidst a host of degenerate men in the United States Senate, is worthy of honor and applause."

The Senate, as we have already seen, passed the Kansas-Nebraska Bill on March 3d. Mr. Bovay and his co-workers lost no time in signing and publishing the following call for a second meeting:

"A Bill expressly intended to extend and strengthen the institution of Slavery has passed the Senate by a large majority, many Northern Senators voting for it, and many more sitting in their seats and not voting at all, and it is evidently destined to pass the House and become a law unless its progress is arrested by a general uprising of the North against it;

"Therefore, we, the undersigned, believing the community to be nearly unanimous in opposition to the nefarious scheme, would call a public meeting of the citizens of all parties to be held in the schoolhouse at Ripon, on Monday evening, March 20th, at 6:30 o'clock, to resolve, to petition and to organize against it."

Through the efforts of Mr. Bovay, the meeting on the night of March 20th was largely attended, and the little schoolhouse on the prairie was filled with men, all voters. "We went in," wrote Mr. Bovay, "Whigs, Free-Soilers and Democrats; we came out Republicans, and we were the first Republicans in the Union." It is true, however, that this meeting did not formally adopt the name Republican, but it was discussed, as it had been for months in the village, and was practically agreed upon, but the meeting felt that it would be better not to use the name until a more pretentious movement of a national character was made. The meeting lasted well into the night, and the "cold March wind blew around the little building and the tallow candles burned low" as these pioneers in this frontier town made history. A motion was duly made and carried that the Town Committees of Whigs, Free-Soilers and Democrats be dissolved and a new Committee to represent the new party be appointed. The first Republican Committee was composed of Alvan E. Bovay, Jehdeiah Bowen, Amos A. Loper, Jacob Woodruff and Abraham Thomas, all courageous, outspoken and fearless men of the West, whose very names seem towers of strength, speaking the unalterable purpose of the new party.

These preliminary meetings of the new party having been held and a plan of action outlined, Mr. Bovay directed all his efforts toward having some National recognition of the name of the party. Two days before the first meeting at Ripon he wrote Mr. Greeley a strong letter, urging him to publish an editorial and adopt the name. Mr. Greeley gave the matter but little attention, and several months went by before he took any notice of the suggestion, and then it was only taken up in a half-hearted way, but what he said was enough to settle the matter. In the Tribune of June 24, 1854, appeared an article expressing indifference as to what name should be chosen to represent the Anti-Nebraska sentiment in the North, but the article concluded, "We think some simple name like Republican would more fitly designate those who have united to restore the Union to its true mission, the champion and promulgator of liberty rather than the propagandist of slavery."