Federal Republican Party

The Federal Republican Party, also referred to as the FedReps, is one of the two major, contemporary political parties in the United States, along with its main rival, the Farmer-Labor Party.

The Federal Republicans were founded in 1876 by party leadership of two rival political parties, the Democratic-Republican Party and the Federalist Party, brought together by a shared opposition to the electoral domination of the now defunct Labor Party which brought many economic and social reforms such as Prohibition and an 8-hour workday. It was simultaneously strengthened by the collapse of the Labor Party, which collapsed after the Populist split heralded by Ignatius L. Donnelly. Upon founding, the Federal Republican party supported the gold standard and civil rights while opposing the nationalization of railroads. James Longstreet was the first Federal Republican president. Under the leadership of Longstreet and a Federal Republican Congress herded by House Speaker John D. White and Senate Majority Leader Augustus Hardenberg, the passing of the Three Acts of 1877 was pursued which included the Civil Rights Act of 1877, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Wise Tariff, these plans would soon be defeated after the assassination of President Longstreet and the ascension of then-Vice President Edward S. Bragg to the presidency who vetoed all three acts. The Federal Republicans are generally dominant during the midterms.

As of early 1904, there have been 4 Federal Republican presidents and six of the nine sitting U.S. Supreme Court justices were nominated by Federal Republican presidents including the Chief Justice.

19th century


The Federal Republican Party was founded after the Democratic-Republican Party and the Federalist Party merged in opposition to the Labor Party heralded by the President, John Bidwell who’s popularity became too hefty to bear for the two parties separately. The Federal Republican Coalition held its first national convention in 1872 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where former Democratic-Republican President John Adams Dix was nominated for president, though John C. Frémont was originally considered a shoo-in before he declined consideration due to his personal friendship with President John Bidwell, alongside former Federalist Vice President Henry Taylor Blow. Although the ticket went on to lose handedly to incumbent president John Bidwell in the 1872 election, the nomination of John Adams Dix and subsequent support from former Federalists, despite Dix’s anti-tariff record, proved a major victory for unity within the volatile coalition which would not officially merge until 1876. The 1874 Congressional Elections showed the need for the coalition to form into an official party when the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans won a combined slim majority in the House of Representatives.

At the 1876 Federal Republican National Convention, the party nominated dark horse candidate Colonel James Longstreet of Georgia for president who proved the perfect choice for unity when the Federal Republican coalition officially became a uniform political party. Alongside the presidential nomination of James Longstreet, who leaned Federalist ideologically, the convention nominated Democratic-Republican firebrand, Representative Edward S. Bragg from Wisconsin for Vice President. The party adopted a national platform emphasizing the preservation of the gold standard, the implementation of a protective tariff, the pursuit for civil rights legislation and the upholdment of the doctrine of State’s Rights. The ticket went on to win the 1876 election in a landslide due to the collapse of the Labor Party when Ignatius L. Donnelly split from the party and formed the Populist Party.

After the assassination of James Longstreet, then-Vice President Edward S. Bragg was elevated to the presidency. The presidency of Edward S. Bragg proved controversial not only among Laborites and Populists but also among Federal Republicans mainly due to the vetoes of the Three Acts of 1877 which included the Civil Rights Act of 1877, the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the Wise Tariff. The 1878 midterms showed a wave of anti-Bragg sentiment mainly due to the Cuban Crisis and the military tactics approved by the Bragg administration. The Federal Republicans retained their congressional majority due to the Labor-Populist split and pro-Bragg Federal Republicans were purged from leadership roles including Senate Federal Republican Caucus Chairman Augustus Hardenbergh who was replaced with John A. Logan. Many cabinet members appointed by Longstreet resigned from the Bragg cabinet, Bragg was heavily biased towards former Democratic-Republicans for cabinet positions but ultimately gave some positions to former Federalists to not appear hyper-partisan and for a chance at renomination. The most notable of the former Federalist appointees were 35 year old, dark horse William McKinley for Secretary of Labor and Attorney General John S. Mosby for Chief Justice.

Gold Standard vs Free Silver


At the 1880 Federal Republican National Convention, Edward S. Bragg was denied the nomination as expected. Other candidates were George F. Hoar, Hiram R. Revels, Benjamin H. Bristow, Shelby M. Cullom and Joseph E. Brown. The convention was deadlocked and after 35 ballots, the convention chose Chief Justice James W. Flanagan as a compromise. The 1880 presidential ticket of Chief Justice James W. Flanagan of Texas for President and Governor Albert G. Porter of Indiana for Vice President went on to lose the election to the nominee of the newly created Farmer-Labor Party, Former Vice President Lyman Trumbull from Illinois. The presidency of Lyman Trumbull ripped Federal Republicans between Progressives and Conservatives, a struggle which is dominant in the party, Federal Republican Speaker of House John D. White helped President Trumbull pass various economic reforms such as government-issued currency, workers' rights protections and antitrust legislation. In the congressional midterms of 1882, the Federal Republicans gained seats and progressive John D. White remained as Speaker.

Progressive-Conservative tension kept growing as Federalist and Democratic-Republican lines were being erased. This all culminated at the 1884 Federal Republican National Convention where Senator James G. Blaine from Maine and Speaker John D. White from Kentucky fought for the nomination alongside other minor candidates such as George A. Custer, Hamilton Fish, Buenaventura Báez, and Edward Atkinson. The convention reached a deadlock and after sketchy actions by Chairman Henry Cabot Lodge when it came to the "Draft Lincoln" movement, James G. Blaine was nominated, this caused progressives to walk out of the convention. The progressives formed the short-lived Progressive Party which nominated Nathaniel P. Banks for president and Charles D. Drake for vice-president. The Federal Republican ticket went on to lose narrowly to incumbent president Lyman Trumbull who would later prosecute his opponent, James G. Blaine on corruption charges.

By the 1886 Congressional Midterms, the Progressive Party was dead and all the bolters had returned to the Federal Republicans. Before the midterms, in 1885, Speaker John D. White promised Silver Party house members that he would bring the issue of free coinage of silver to a vote to secure their votes for Speaker and therefore guarantee his re election as Speaker. This backfired and resulted in the end of the gold standard when both the House and Senate passed the free coinage of silver. The 1886 midterms resulted in the Federal Republicans maintaining their House plurality but were unable to secure a majority. John D. White was ousted from the Speakership and replaced with Joseph Gurney Cannon due to influence from the rising Liberal Anti-Prohibition Party and Federal Republicans who saw John D. White as a traitor for bringing free silver to a vote. Throughout the rest Trumbull's term, opposition to Trumbull's anti civil rights policy and perceived corruption in the Trumbull administration untied the Federal Republicans whereas issues such as antitrust legislation and Chinese Exclusion divided the party.

Rise and Fall of Georgism




The Farmer-Laborites nominated New York City Mayor Henry George who was known for his signature proposal, the Land Value Tax or LVT. The 1888 Federal Republican National Convention was held from June 19 to the 25th in Baltimore, Maryland, many big name candidates fought for the nomination including: Former Speaker of the House John D. White of Kentucky, Senator John Sherman of Ohio, Senator Shelby M. Cullom of Illinois, Senate Federal Republican Chairman David B. Hill of New York and General and 1864 Democratic-Republican Presidential Candidate Pierre G.T. Beauregard of Louisiana. Despite the number of established candidates, former Appointed Senator (1871-1872) and 1840s abolitionist writer Frederick Douglass of New York stole the spotlight and narrowly secured the nomination on the second ballot, William McKinley was chosen as his running mate though the progressive wing campaigned for William M.O. Dawson.

Frederick Douglass went on to narrowly lose the general election to Farmer-Labor nominee, Henry George whose victory was largely considered an upset. President Henry George's political agenda went on to shape national debate with the Federal Republicans dividing into Pro and Anti LVT factions, influential New York reformer Theodore Roosevelt, Michigan Governor Hazen S. Pingree and editors Charles E.S. Wood and Mark Twain led the Pro-LVT Federal Republican wing. The 1890 Congressional Midterms settled the LVT issue, anti-LVT Federal Republicans swept primaries for Senate and House nominations as well as congressional leadership roles, alongside the anti-LVT victory, Federal Republicans also won the midterms in a landslide by capturing 230 out 345 House seats as well as 11 Senate seats which gave Federal Republicans 56 out of the 94 senate seats. The country had rejected Georgism, making the already debilitated president ineffective for the rest of his term. The Federal Republican congress passed the Goff Tariff of Senator Nathan Goff Jr. which would have raised the tariff rate to 39% as well as lower the income tax, President George vetoed it and many similar bills passed by the hostile congress. The Federal Republicans worked with George to pass the Trolley Act of 1891, which provided federal funding to cities to build free metropolitan rail transportation, the Blair Act of 1891, which provided federal funding for free public libraries in both urban and rural areas, as well as the Watson Act, which limited donations to political entities or candidates to $1,000. The Federal Republican unifying issue of civil rights arose which resulted in the Congressional passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1890 or Reed-Featherstone Act, nicknamed after Senator Thomas B. Reed (FR-ME) and Lewis P. Featherstone (FL-AR), President George would veto the bill.

The Pacific War, Progressive Dominance and Protectionism


The defeat of Henry George at the 1892 Farmer-Labor National Convention and the nomination of the first openly socialist candidate, Mary Elizabeth Lease proved that after 4 years of Georgism, the country was ready to move on. At the 1892 Federal Republican National Convention, the Federal Republicans had to once again convene to choose their presidential candidate. At the convention two front runners emerged, Governor of Texas and son of former President Sam Houston, Aaron Burr Houston, and former Senator from Virginia, Nathan Goff. Other candidates included 18th President of the United States Edward S. Bragg from Wisconsin, banker J.P. Morgan from New York, lawyer Elihu Root from New York and Senator Hazen S. Pingree from Michigan. Houston represented the progressive, prohibitionist and imperialist factions of the party whereas Goff represented the conservative, anti-prohibitionist and pro-civil rights factions.

Federal Republican presidents
As of 1916, there have been a total of 6 Federal Republican Presidents.

Current Supreme Court Justices appointed by Federal Republican presidents
As of 1916, seven of the nine seats are filled by Justices appointed by Federal Republican presidents George Dewey and John R. Lynch.