Republican Party (United States)

== Name and symbols ==
The Republican Party's founding members chose its name as homage to the values of [[Republicanism in the United States|republicanism]] promoted by Democratic-Republican Party, which its founder, Thomas Jefferson, called the "Republican Party".<ref name="Rutland">{{cite book|last=Rutland|first=RA|title=The Republicans: From Lincoln to Bush|year=1996|page=[https://archive.org/details/republicansfroml00rutl_0/page/2 2]|publisher=University of Missouri Press |isbn=0826210902|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/republicansfroml00rutl_0/page/2}}</ref> The idea for the name came from an editorial by the party's leading publicist, Horace Greeley, who called for "some simple name like 'Republican' [that] would more fitly designate those who had united to restore the Union to its true mission of champion and promulgator of Liberty rather than propagandist of slavery".<ref name="ushistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.ushistory.org/gop/origins.htm|title=The Origins of the Republican Party|publisher=UShistory.org|date=July 4, 1995|access-date=October 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930194002/http://www.ushistory.org/gop/origins.htm|archive-date=September 30, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> The name reflects the 1776 republican values of civic virtue and opposition to aristocracy and corruption.<ref name="Gould2003p14">Gould, pp. 14–15</ref> "Republican" has a variety of meanings around the world, and the Republican Party has evolved such that the meanings no longer always align.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/10/the-changing-definition-of-conservative/246652/?single_page=true|title=The Changing Definition of 'Conservative'|last=Joyner|first=James|work=[[The Atlantic]]|access-date=May 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525034711/https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/10/the-changing-definition-of-conservative/246652/?single_page=true|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party|title=Republican Party {{!}} political party, United States [1854–present]|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=May 9, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505234240/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Republican-Party|archive-date=May 5, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

The term "Grand Old Party" is a traditional nickname for the Republican Party, and the abbreviation "GOP" is a commonly used designation. The term originated in 1875 in the ''[[Congressional Record]]'', referring to the party associated with the successful military defense of the Union as "this gallant old party". The following year in an article in the ''[[Cincinnati Commercial]]'', the term was modified to "grand old party". The first use of the abbreviation is dated 1884.<ref>"Grand Old Party", ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''.</ref>

The traditional mascot of the party is the elephant. A political cartoon by [[Thomas Nast]], published in ''[[Harper's Magazine|Harper's Weekly]]'' on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol.<ref name="harpweek20031107">{{cite web|url=http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=November&Date=7|title=Cartoon of the Day|website=HarpWeek.com|access-date=December 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921045800/http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=November&Date=7|archive-date=September 21, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> An alternate symbol of the Republican Party in states such as Indiana, New York and Ohio is the bald eagle as opposed to the Democratic rooster or the Democratic five-pointed star.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unc.edu/~asreynol/ballot_pages/us_ballot_pages/indiana.html|title=Ballots of United States: Indiana|publisher=University of North Carolina|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170525034148/http://www.unc.edu/~asreynol/ballot_pages/us_ballot_pages/indiana.html|archive-date=May 25, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Poor Ballot Design Hurts New York's Minor Parties&nbsp;... Again|publisher=[[Brennan Center for Justice]]|first=Tomas|last=Lopez|date=October 23, 2014|url=https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/poor-ballot-design-hurts-new-yorks-minor-parties-again|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031521/https://www.brennancenter.org/blog/poor-ballot-design-hurts-new-yorks-minor-parties-again|archive-date=February 7, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Kentucky]], the [[log cabin]] is a symbol of the Republican Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westkentuckystar.com/News/Local-Regional/Western-Kentucky/See-Sample-Ballots-for-Today-s-Primary-Elections.aspx|title=See Sample Ballots for Today's Primary Elections|publisher=West Kentucky Star|date=May 19, 2015|access-date=February 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207032021/http://westkentuckystar.com/News/Local-Regional/Western-Kentucky/See-Sample-Ballots-for-Today-s-Primary-Elections.aspx|archive-date=February 7, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Traditionally the party had no consistent color identity.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/08/red-vs-blue-a-brief-history-of-how-we-use-political-colors/|title=Red vs. Blue: A history of how we use political colors|last=Bump|first=Philip|date=November 8, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=October 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022519/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/08/red-vs-blue-a-brief-history-of-how-we-use-political-colors/|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2004/11/13/red-state-blue-state-2/|title=Red State, Blue State|last=Drum|first=Kevin|date=November 13, 2004|website=Washington Monthly|access-date=October 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013719/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2004/11/13/red-state-blue-state-2/|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2004/11/14/red-states-and-blue-states-explained/|title=Red States and Blue States&nbsp;... Explained!|last=Drum|first=Kevin|date=November 14, 2004|website=Washington Monthly|access-date=October 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107013032/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2004/11/14/red-states-and-blue-states-explained/|archive-date=November 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> After the 2000 presidential election, the color [[Political colour|red became associated]] with Republicans. During and after the election, the major broadcast networks used the same color scheme for the electoral map: states won by Republican nominee George W. Bush were colored red and states won by Democratic nominee [[Al Gore]] were colored blue. Due to the weeks-long [[2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida|dispute over the election results]], these color associations became firmly ingrained, persisting in subsequent years. Although the assignment of colors to political parties is unofficial and informal, the media has come to represent the respective political parties using these colors. The party and its candidates have also come to embrace the color red.<ref>{{cite news |first1=Philip |last1=Bump |title=Red vs. Blue: A history of how we use political colors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/08/red-vs-blue-a-brief-history-of-how-we-use-political-colors/?noredirect=on |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=November 8, 2018 |archive-date=February 22, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210222013526/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/11/08/red-vs-blue-a-brief-history-of-how-we-use-political-colors/?noredirect=on |url-status=live }}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:NastRepublicanElephant.jpg|An 1874 cartoon by [[Thomas Nast]], featuring the first notable appearance of the Republican elephant<ref name=harpweek>{{cite web|title=The Third-Term Panic|work=Cartoon of the Day|date=November 7, 2003|url=http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=November&Date=7|access-date=September 5, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110921045800/http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Year=2003&Month=November&Date=7|archive-date=September 21, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>
File:Republicanlogo.svg|The red, white and blue elephant
File:GOP Logo1.svg|The GOP banner logo, {{circa|2013}}
File:GOP logo.svg|A GOP banner logo, {{circa|2017}}
</gallery>