Washington ( CNN ) -- Some may not realize that the modern Republican Party owes its origin to the fight over slavery nearly two centuries ago . In the tumultuous mid-1800s , right before the Civil War , some political activists were concerned about keeping slavery from spreading into new western territories , and they saw no way to stop it through existing political powers : the Democrats and the Whigs ( the pro-Congress party of the mid 1800s that largely destroyed itself in the 1852 elections in a battle over slavery ) . So they formed a new party , taking the name `` Republicans '' in a salute to earlier American politicians . By 1861 , they had their first president : Abraham Lincoln . Soon after , slavery fell . The Whig party disappeared . And the Republicans began a long steady rise in power . Even back then , the party liked to talk about fiscal responsibility -- immigration , religion -- and the need for a strong business climate . All of this spurred a sympathetic Chicago newspaper to call the Republicans the Grand Old Party , or the GOP . Republican voters were strongest in rural and western parts of the country , and they were highly successful at maximizing electoral votes to produce presidents : Ulysses S. Grant and Theodore Roosevelt were among their early successes . However , World War I brought sharp policy disagreements to the party . And when Herbert Hoover ushered in the Great Depression , the Republicans were driven into retreat . It would be 20 years until they won the White House again , under Dwight Eisenhower . But since 1969 , they have been largely back to their winning ways . During that time , Republicans have been in the Oval Office for almost twice as many years as the Democrats -- Nixon ( elected to two terms , but resigned at the start of his second ) , Ford ( served out Nixon 's second term ) , Reagan ( elected to two terms ) , George H.W . Bush ( elected to one term ) and George W. Bush ( elected to two terms ) . Now Mitt Romney is hoping to restart that tradition .
Republicans emerge as an anti-slavery party in 1800s . Comment: GOP got name Grand Old Party from a Chicago newspaper .