Republicanism in the United States was founded in the 18th century and for the founding fathers, it stood for more than just a political system, it was perceived as a lifestyle with a total rejection of aristocracy. Republicanism is used to refer to the values that citizens in a republic or a nation are expected to practice. After the end of the civil war in the United States, there was a distinct split between the north and the south (Wood, 2011). The economic state of the north fared better than that of the south, and there was the adoption of industrialization over agricultural pursuits. During this time, there was more Republican presence in the north than the south, but this trend soon changed.
The formation of the Republican Party was primarily to oppose and eventually abolish slavery. The Democratic Party fought for these changes and sought to retain slavery, and under the 13th amendment, it was eliminated with 100% support from the Republican Party (Fried, 2008).
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The GOP has come under fire for their role in depriving women of their reproductive rights and basing the choices they make of religion rather than science. They are against the pro-choice stand taken by many Democrat and independent supporters (Wood, 2011). An example is a move to strip federal funds from Planned Parenthood despite the fact that the organizations provide many other health services such as sexual health guidance to both men and women. It is clear that the Republican culture is rigid and unchanging in its stance regarding social issues such as the place of women, LGBT, despite the fact that they led the war on slavery in the United States after the civil war (Fried, 2008).
References
Wood, Gordon (2011). The Idea of America . New York: The Penguin Press. p. 325
Fried, J (2008). Democrats and Republicans—Rhetoric and Reality. New York: Algora Publishing.
