<P> Founded in the Northern states in 1854 by anti-slavery activists , modernizers , ex Whigs and ex Free Soilers , the Republican Party quickly became the principal opposition to the dominant Democratic Party and the briefly popular Know Nothing Party . The main cause was opposition to the Kansas -- Nebraska Act , which repealed the Missouri Compromise by which slavery was kept out of Kansas . The Northern Republicans saw the expansion of slavery as a great evil . The first public meeting of the general `` anti-Nebraska '' movement where the name `` Republican '' was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20 , 1854 , in a schoolhouse in Ripon , Wisconsin . The name was partly chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jefferson 's Republican Party . </P>
<P> Founded in the Northern states in 1854 by anti-slavery activists , modernizers , ex Whigs and ex Free Soilers , the Republican Party quickly became the principal opposition to the dominant Democratic Party and the briefly popular Know Nothing Party . The main cause was opposition to the Kansas -- Nebraska Act , which repealed the Missouri Compromise by which slavery was kept out of Kansas . The Northern Republicans saw the expansion of slavery as a great evil . The first public meeting of the general `` anti-Nebraska '' movement where the name `` Republican '' was suggested for a new anti-slavery party was held on March 20 , 1854 , in a schoolhouse in Ripon , Wisconsin . The name was partly chosen to pay homage to Thomas Jefferson 's Republican Party . </P>
who were the leaders of the opposition republican party
who were the leaders of the opposition republican party
anti-slavery activists , modernizers , ex Whigs and ex Free Soilers
anti-slavery activists , modernizers , ex Whigs and ex Free Soilers