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Show On July 6 Americans remember July 1-3 as the anniversary of the decisive Battle of Gettysburg, in 1863, and July 4 as Independence Inde-pendence Day. Few recall that July 6 is the anniversary of the founding of the Republican Party, at Jackson, Michigan, in 1854. THERE HAD been sentiment senti-ment for a new party in Wisconsin Wis-consin and other places but Michigan opponents of slavery gave the party its name on July 6 in a meeting at Jackson. The first national convention conven-tion was held in Philadelphia two years later June 17, 1856on.the anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. An earlier meeting had been held at Pittsburgh, on Washington's Washing-ton's birthday leading to the convention. THE NEW party's first presidential pres-idential candidate was John Fremont, who received an impressive im-pressive 114 electoral votes in 1856 against 174 for James Buchanan, the Democratic Party winner. In the next election in I860 the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, who won when the Democrats split into two parties. From then until 1884, the Republicans won five successive presidential elections. |