Discrimination based on skin color.

Disadvantages people with darker skin while privileging those with lighter skin.

A persistent form of discrimination that should be fought with the same urgency as racism.

History/Origin

Within the US, colorism unfolded when chattel slavery was a common practice. Slave owners tended to pr…

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• Diversity - Secures representation among those who are qualified. This spans across sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, race, religion, disability, socioeconomic status, age, shared ancestry, military status, parental status, and more. Given this, institutions should reflect the nation’s communities that they serve.

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The two major parties of the USA (The GOP & the Democrats) have not always held the same ideologies that they do today. They have [essentially] flipped ideologies since their founding. Early on, the Republican Party was considered the more liberal of the two parties, while the Democratic Party was perceived as staunchly conservative.

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The USA had the “First Party System” in the 1820s with the Democratic-Republican Party and the Federalist Party. The latter party died out with the election of James Monroe to the presidency. From [roughly] 1815 - 1825, there was a period of acute optimism, nationalism, and the single-party rule of the Democratic-Republican Party within the country (The Era of Good Feelings). During the presidential election of 1824, the Democratic-Republicans had FOUR men running for the highest seat in the land. The victor of the election was John Quincy Adams.

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The Republican Party was founded in opposition to the expansion of slavery in 1854. Upon its founding, the party swiftly became a dominant force and (originally) stood in favor of a strong federal government. The birth of the GOP took place in the Midwest by anti-slavery activists and former members of the Whig party who were against the Kansas-Arkansas Act. It was the Republican Party that led the country through the Civil War, changed the parameters of slavery, and passed the 13th through 15th Amendments.

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The Democratic Party was (formally) established between 1828 and 1832 due to a political faction that was in support of Andrew Jackson. Some accounts trace the party back to the Democratic-Republican Party (of Thomas Jefferson), which was formed in 1792 and transitioned into the Democratic Party for the 1828 presidential campaign of Jackson. The party adopted the donkey symbol as a result of Jacksonians utilizing it to symbolize being down-to-earth and persistence. Additionally, opponents of Jackson would call him a “jackass” during his 1828 campaign.

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The Mugwumps were a faction of the GOP that was widely recognized as activists who opposed political corruption. Some accounts contend that they party-switched in 1884 when they decided to support Grover Cleveland. Cleveland was the Democratic presidential candidate at the time. Their support for a non-Republican candidate was due to the history of corruption that was associated with James G. Blaine. It does need to be noted that this faction did not FORMALLY organize, but proclaimed that their influence was the driving factor behind Cleveland gaining the presidency.

The term “mugwump” is a humorous word with origins dating back to 1832 and was applied to the faction derisively. It hails from “mugquomp” (Algonquian), which means “kingpin” or “important person.” It is a shortened version of “mugumquomp, meaning “war leader.” This denotation insinuated that this GOP faction was pious in their refusal for (unwavering) partisanship.

Once Cleveland became POTUS, the moniker of “mugwump” survived for (approximately) a decade as a byname for [political] turncoats in the US. Post-election, many within this faction found themselves “defecting” to the Democratic political party, others stood under the umbrella of independent, and many continued to support reform into the 20th century.

Theodore Roosevelt, notably, supported Blaine in the election. This move stunned his upper-class companions and kept the GOP leadership “alive” while clearing a path for his own path for his political goals/aspirtions.

Richard Henry Dana III led the faction within Massachusetts, and under his leadership, the Mugwumps took credit for the passing of the state’s 1884 civil service law. This law was a [stronger] version of the Pendleton Act of 1883 (Federal).

Notable Members

• Horace Hite

  • Chicago Tribune editor

• Henry Adams

  • author

• Charles Francis Adams, Jr

  • Union Pacific Railroad president

  • American Historical Association president

• Samuel Clemens AKA Mark Twain

  • author

• Josiah Willard Gibbs

  • Yale University professor

• Edward Atkinson

  • businessman

• Louis Brandeis

  • Lawyer

• Charles William Eliot

  • Harvard University president

• Moorfield Storey

  • lawyer

• Seth Low

  • Brooklyn mayor

  • backed Cleveland

• William Graham Sumner

  • Yale University social scientist

• EL Godkin

  • The Nation editor

• Joseph Medlil

  • Chicago Tribune owner

• Thomas Nast

  • political cartoonist

• Carl Schurz

  • politician

  • Saturday Evening Post editor

Trumpism is the faction of the GOP that is steeped within the political ideology that fuels Donald John Trump, Sr. (the 45th $ 47th POTUS). This is a faction that is comprised of the following [political] ideologies:

• right-wing populism

• national conservatism

• neo-nationalism

• iliberal

• authoritarian

• autocratic beliefs

• neo-fascism

This is a faction that seemingly believes that Donald John Trump, Sr. is [fervently] above the rule of law. MAGA has also been referred to as a cult, as it has become the largest faction within the GOP. This faction labels the remainder of the Republican party as either RINOs (Republican In Name Only) or as “the elites”. Additionally, this is a portion of the GOP that is HEAVILY driven/influenced by emotion. public opinion regarding their gender identities and lack of intelligence. T

The Never Trump faction of the Republican Party has also been known as the following:

• Stop Trump

• Dump Trump movement

• Anti-Trump

This is a faction that opposes Donald John Trump Sr and his two (non-consecutive) presidential terms and his Trumpism. Generally, ths faction is in support of a putative return to a more rules-based internalist, (traditionally) conservative GOP. Generally, this is a faction that consists of:

• officeholders (many have converted to MAGA)

• commetators

• donors

• operatives

• consultants

• professional Republicans

Never Trump began as a GOP effort to PREVENT Trump (the, then, GOP frontrunner for the presidential elction cycle of 2016) from winning the election and (fully) infiltrating the GOP. Additionally, many members of the faction are also members of the PAC, The Lincoln Project.

According to Trump Sr., himself, has stated that the faction is “more dangerous for our country than the do nothing Democrats” and denoted its supporters “human scum”.

Motivators

• Trump has a “long record of betraying everyone who trusted him.”
  

• “his rhetoric that legitimized many of the worst false things that conservatism’s critics had said for years.”

• lack of qualifications for the position of POTUS

• no record in support of conservative causes or ideologies

• His 34 felonies

• The evidence insisting that he incited the Jan 6 insurrection/self-coup

• The retention of classified documents

• His admiration of dictators

• His attacks on the US Constitution

• His desire to eliminate the US Constitution

Notable Members

• Mitt Romney

• Liz Cheney

• John McCain

• Adam Kizinger

• Anthony Gonzalez

• Todd Young

• George Will

• Max Boot

• David Frum

• Richard Painter

• Steve Schmidt

• Jennifer Rubi

• Colin Powell

• Joe Walsh

• Wayne Gilchrest

• Geoff Duncan

• Olivia Troye

Former Never Trumpers

• VP JD Vance

• Bernie Moreno

• Lindsey Graham

• Nikki Haley

• Ambassador James Jeffrey

Associated Organizations

• The Lincoln Project

• Republicans for the Rule of Law

• Republican Accountability Project

The 1960s brought a shift among liberal intellectuals toward the right, leading to the emergence of the neoconservative faction of the GOP. This shift was a reaction to the New Left and Great Society welfare programs. The original focus of this faction was the domestic policy critiques of The Public Interest, which led them to adopt a robust anti-Soviet Union foreign policy in the 1970s. It must be noted that Irving Kristol is regarded as the “godfather” of the faction and was essential to the shaping of its core principles.

This faction holds an ideology that is (primarily) correlated to the advocacy of a strengthened military as well as an interventionalist foreign policy whose aim is the global spread of democratic values. The neocon faction, [unapologetically] emphasizes the utilization of US military power to address [perceived] threats, believing that preemptive action is key regarding the protection of US interests. This faction also serves as a proponent of [steady] economic growth, the sustaining of traditional democratic values, the denouncing of the welfare state, and clearly characterizing adversaries and allies (regarding foreign policy).

Prominent Members

• John Bolton

• Paul Wolfowitz

• Elliott Abrams

• Richard Perle

• Paul Bremer

• Mike Pompeo

• Nadia Schladlow

• Mike Waltz

• John Ratcliff

• Marco Rubio

Associated Organizations

• The Hudson Institute

• The American Enterprise Institute

• The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies

• The Henry Jackson Society

• The Project for the New American Century

The moderates of the GOP are broken into 3 subsets and cross into other factions of the overall party. They are as follows:

• Reconstruction Era Moderate Republicans

• Rockefeller Republicans

• Present-Day Moderate Republicans

Reconstruction Era Moderates

This is a faction that was known for its loya support fr the war policies of President Lincoln. The faction opposed the Radical Republicans’ militant stances. The members hailed from (primarily) states outside of New England. Their Congressional leaders were:

• John Sherman

• John A. Bingham

• James G. Blaine

• William P. Fessenden

• Lyman Trumbull

Membership included”

• Conservative Republicans

• [moderate] Liberal Republicans

  • later known as “Half-Breeds.”

In the course of the1864 presidential election, the moderates were in support of the GOP merging with the War Democrats in order to form the National Union Party [alliance]. At the National Union National Convention (that year’s rebranded RNC) the faction spearheaded the efforts to replace Hannibal Hamlin as the VP choice of Lincoln’s with Andrew Johnson (War Democrat). This was done under the belief that the addition of a War Democrat to the Lincoln ticket would solidify his re-election.

Moderate Republicans were NOT enthused by Black suffrage, although they embraced civil equality and the expansion of federal authority. This is a faction that was skeptical of the conciliatory and lenient policies of Pres. Andrew Johnson.

There were converts from the Radical Republican factions, due to [alleged] corruption within the radical side of the GOP, especially within the Grant administration.

Rockefeller Republicans

Moderates

The modern iteration of this faction tends to lean conservative-to-moderate in regard to fiscal issues and moderate-to-liberal regarding social issues. This faction tends to find itself represented and residing in either Blue states or swing states. Typically, moderates are often:

• highly educated

• affluent

• socially liberal or moderate

• Never Trumpers

• ideologically akin to European conservative liberals

This is a faction that does align with other Republicans regarding the following:

• welfare reform

• lower taxes

• deregulation

The following is where they differ, due to being in support of:

• affirmative action

• same sex marriage

• LGBTQIA+ rights

• public funding & legal access to abortion

• gun control legislation

• increased environmental regulation

• action regarding climate change

• reduced immigration restrictionsembryonic stem cell research

Beginning in the 21st century, many moderates began to shift to the Democratic Party.

Notable (Modern) Members

• Republican Governance Group

  • moderate cause within the House of Representatives

• John McCain

• Lisa Murkowski

• Susan Collins

• Charlie Baker

• Phil Scott

• Joe Lombardo

• Brian Fitzpatrick

• Mike Lawler

• David Valadao

• Colin powell

• George W. Bush

Historically, the Republitarian faction of the GOP has been smaller than its other factions, both present and throughout its existence. This is a GOP subset that tends to favor the following:

• deregulation

• tax cuts

• Affordable Healthcare Act repeal

• gun rights protection

• privacy

• opposed to the USA Patriot Act

• opposed to the “war on drugs.”

• non-interventionists regarding: defense & foreign policies

• (some favor) abortion rights

Approximately 2/3 of libertarian Republicans are men/male-presenting. As of 2023, 14% of the GOP considered themselves a part of this faction, and their support resides as follows:

• 38% - providing additional support to Ukraine

• 34% - cut corporate taxes instead of raising tariffs

• 19% - consider themselves to be [very] conservative

• 45% - believe that abortion should be legal

• 51% - anti-comprehensive immigration reform

• 73% - favor the “protection of individual freedom over traditional values.”

• 13% - desire a candidate/politician that will “fight corporations that promote woke left ideology.”

In 2024, 43% of the faction said they would support/vote for Donald John Trump, Sr., for POTUS, while only 12% supported Gov. Ron DeSantis.

In 1991, the Republican Liberty Caucus was founded. This political action organization, which self-describes as “the oldest continuously operating organization in the Liberty Republican movement with state charters nationwide.” The faction also established the House Liberty Caucus via Rep. Justin Amash (Michigan).

Notable Members

• Mick Mulvaney

• Rep. Thomas Massie

• Rep Tom McClintock

• Rep Nancy Mace

• Juston Amash

• Matt GaetzDenver Riggleman

• Dana Rohrabacher

• Ted Yoho

• Bob Barr

• Kerry Bentivolio

• Connie Mack IV

• Ron Paul

• Sen. Rand Paul

• Sen. Mike Lee

• Sen. Cynthia Lummis

• Barry Goldwater

• Mark Hatfield

• Jeff Flake

• Chris Sununu

• Gary Johnson

• Mark Sanford

• William Weld

• Virginia State Delegate Nick Freitas

• Florida State Rep Anthony Sabatini

• Eric Brakey

• Richard Tisei

• Milton Friedman (Nobel Prize winning Economist)

• Glenn Jacobs (WWE Wrestler)

• Kennedy (MTV VJ)

• Grover Norquist

• PJ O’Rourke

• Austin Petersen

• Wayne Allyn Root

• Peter Schiff

• Mark Spitznegel

• Peter Thiel (businessman)

• Vinve Vaughn (actor)

The Christian right is characterized as Christian political factions identified by (strong) support of traditionalist and socially conservative policies. Members of these factions tend to seek to influence public policy and politics. This faction is also (widely) known as the Religious Right, or the New Christian Right, and is (generally) considered to be an informal coalition formed around a core of Roman Catholics and Evangelical Protestants. Additional support is garnered from (politically conservative) Mormons, mainline Protestants & Orthodox Jewish communities.

This is a faction of the GOP that gained dominance starting in the late 1970s. The influence of the Christian Right cemented itself during Reagan’s presidency (1980s). This faction has been able to advance the following:

• creationism (within PUBLIC education)

• school prayer

• temperance

• Christian Nationalism

• Sunday Sabbatarianism

The Christian Right has also OPPOSED the following:

• Biological evolution teaching

• secullarism

• LGBTQIA+ rights

• abortion

• pornography

• euthanasia

• drug use

• embryonic stem cell research

This faction of the GOP is (widely) classified as a fiscally conservative political movement that launched itself into the mainstream of the party with the presidential campaign of Ron Paul. The Tea Party expanded due to its response to then-President Barack Obama’s policies (most notably the Affordable Care Act/ObamaCare). This is the faction that was responsible for the 2010 wave election, which resulted in the GOP taking control of the House by gaining 63 congressional seats.

Members of the Tea Party unified under a desire for decreased government spending, leading to the following:

• lower taxes

• national debt reduction

• a reduced federal deficit

This faction has also been described as an “astroturf movement,” a popular constitutional movement that attempted to be both spontaneous and grassroots. It has been (widely) alleged that the Tea Party faction was (heavily) influenced by outside interests. This is a faction of the GOP that is comprised of conservatism, libertarian, and right-wing populist activism. The Tea Party, since 2009, has sponsored and supported a variety of political candidates.

The faction took its name from the Boston Tea Party (December 1773), during which some of the movement's adherents wore Revolutionary-era costumes. It was on February 19, 2009, that the Tea Party began to gain popularity. This was a call on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange by Rick Santelli (CNBC) for a “tea party”. The following day, the National Tea Party Coalition assisted in the launching of the Tea Party movement through a conference call with (approximately) 50 conservatives in attendance.

During its existence as a faction of the GOP, the Tea Party voted like a right-wing third party on Capitol Hill. The Americans for Prosperity (AFP), which is a conservative political advocacy group (founded by David Koch), was a major driving force behind the Tea Party.

Per Politico, this faction became obsolete in 2016. CNBC contends that the GOP “has basically shed the Tea Party moniker.”

During the height of its existence, the faction’s platform included the following:

• a (significant) reduction in the size & scope of the government

• a national economy void of government oversight

• reduction of government spending

• national debt reduction

• tax increase opposition

• right to work advocacy

• Tighter border security

• No amnesty for undocumented immigrants

• federal healthcare reform opposition (from the state level up)

• Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) program opposition (including):

  • American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009

  • Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act (PPACA)

This faction of the GOP was (actually) a combination of Democratic AND Republican voters & politicians. This coalition engineered a political realignment that led to his 1980 presidential win. Additionally, Reagan and his faction cemented their presence within the GOP with his 1984 acquisition of 60% of the popular vote & carrying 49 US states. Do note that the Democratic component of the Reagan Coalition went on to vote for George H.W. Bush (Reagan’s vice president) in 1988, providing him with landslide victories.

It does need to be noted that this is a GOP faction that was (predominantly) riddled with [socially] conservative, Northeastern, blue-collar, union-affiliated (mostly auto-workers) white people. Those registered (officially) as Democrats did NOT continue to vote in alignment with the GOP in 1992 or 1996. Their “attraction” to this faction resided in Reagan’s hawkish, anti-communism foreign policy as well as the (longstanding) conservative talking point of abortion.

Please DO NOT confuse this coalition/faction with Southern Democrats who OFFICIALLY & PERMANENTLY changed their affiliation to the GOP.

This faction of the GOP held moderate views on domestic issues, similar to those held by NY Gov. Nelson Rockefeller (1959 - 1973) & US VPOTUS (1974 - 1977). Rockefeller Republicans were (virtually) concentrated in the industrial Midwest and the Northeast, and were fairly rare in the West & South of the US.

Rockefeller Republicans are more liberal or moderate Republicans. Per Geoffrey Kabaservice, this is a faction that is a “part of a separate political ideology” which caused them to align with liberal on certain policies and conservatives on other policies. According to Luke Phillips, this is a faction of the GOP that is (essentially) an extension of the Whig Party tradition of US politics. This faction has also been described as the final phase of the “Eastern Establishment” of the GOP that had been led by NY Gov. Thomas E. Dewey.

Their domestic policy typically leaned center to center-right economically. The faction vehemently rejected conservatives (such as Barry Goldwater) & their laissez-faire economic policies. The social policies of the Rockefeller Republicans were (often) culturally liberal. Typically, the faction favored a continuation of the New Deal Programs and a social safety net (but wanted to run the programs more effectively than Democrats). Overall, their leanings/support were as follows:

• opposed:

  • socialism

  • government ownership

• strongly supported:

  • Wall Street

  • big business

  • state colleges

  • trade schools

  • low tuition universities with large research budgets

  • investments in infrastructure (i.e., highway projects)

• supported:

  • SOME regulation of business

  • The use of US power in cooperation with allies to fight the spread of Communism

  • national health insurance program

    • Rockefeller described healthcare as “a basic human right.”

    • labor union

• advocated for:

  • The development of a mutually beneficial relationship between public interests & private enterprise

• espoused:

  • private & government investments in:

    • environmentalism

    • healthcare

    • higher education

• Hamiltonian re: foreign policy

  • espousing internationalist & realist policies

  • supporting the UN

  • promotion of US business interests abroad

Prominent Rockefeller Republicans

Nelson Rockefeller

• Sen.

  • Prescott Bush (CT)

  • Hugh Scott (PA)

  • Charles H. Percy (IL)

  • Mark Hatfield (OR)

  • Jacob Javits (NY)

  • Edward Brooke (MA)

  • Lowell Weicker (CT)

  • Clifford Chase (MA)

  • Arlen Spector (PA)

  • John Warner (VA)

  • Charles Gooddell (NY)

• Rep’s

  • John Lindsey (NY)

  • George Wallhauser (NJ)

  • John B. Anderson (IL)

• Gov.

  • Raymond P. Shafer (PA)

  • Winthrop Rockefeller (AK)

  • John Chafee (RI)

  • William Cahill (NJ)

  • Dan Evans (WA)

  • Tom Kean (NJ)

  • Linwood Holton (VA)

  • William Scranton (PA)

  • Bill Weld (MA)

  • George W. Romney (MI)

• POTUS

  • Richard Nixon (considered to be)

  • Dwight Eisenhower

The John Birch Society was founded by a businessman named Robert W. Welch Jr. (1899 - 1985). The JBS/Birchers is a US-based right-wing political advocacy group that was founded in 1958. This faction of the GOP is anti-communist and in staunch support of social conservatism. The Birchers are also associated with the following (ideas):

• right-wing libertarianism

• ultraconservativeness

• right-wing populist

• radical right

• far-right

The JBS was formerly based in Belmont, Massachusetts, but is now headquartered in Grand Chute, Wisconsin (with [local] chapters throughout the nation). The concept (for the faction) to have nationwide chapters is an organizational infrastructure put into place via Welch. The organization owns American Opinion Publishing, Inc., which publishes The New American & is affiliated with FreedomProject Academy (an online school).

This faction soon became known for Welch's conspiracy theories and for its membership (which peaked in the 1960s & 1970s), which was kept quiet. Welch once alleged that President Eisenhower was a communist agent. In the 1960s, the National Review and William F. Buckley, Jr. attempted to shun the JBS to the fringes of the American right. The Birchers & their legacy of conspiracy theories peaked in the 1970s, but gained a resurgence in the mid-2010s (becoming the dominant strain in the conservative movement). It has been argued that Bircherism and its beliefs shaped the following:

• the GOP

• the Christian Right

• the Trump administration

• the (broader) conservative movement

The Birchers (from its start) opposed the following:

• collectivism (as a cancer)

• communism

  • JBS referred to fighting against communism as a “spiritual war against the devil.”

  • A recurring theme of the JBS & its publications was allegations of “insiders” conspiring to control the US via communism & world government.

  • Americanism was promoted as its philosophical antithesis

• big government

• “one world government”

  • which includes:

    • the UN

    • NAFTA

    • CAFTA

    • FTAA

• The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s

• The Equal Rights Amendment (1970s)

• An Article V convention for the amending of the US Constitution

The JBS carries the following beliefs/ideals:

• The US is not a democracy, but a republic

• The states’ rights should supersede the federal government

• an infusion of constitutionalism & classical liberal principles

• The constitution has been devalued in favor of political & economic globalization

• immigration reduction

• citing the existence of the former Security & Prosperity Partnership as evidence of a push towards a North American Union

• state nullification

• The audit & (eventual) dismantling of the Federal Reserve System

• Congress only has the ability to coin money per the Constitution & cannot delegate its power or transform the dollar into a fiat currency not backed by silver or gold.

According to The New American, the threats to the family & moral decline include the following:

• abortion

• birth control

• divorce

• drugs

• homosexuality

• crime

• violence

• secular humanism

• teen pregnancy

• teen suicide

• environmentalism

• feminism

• porn

The Birchers (strongly) contend that moral degeneracy is a perpetuated conspiracy to make the US vulnerable to internationalism. In 2024, the JBS distributed pamphlets urging parents to withdraw their (school-age) children from public education due to “Reforming the schools is no longer an option. We must get them out now.”

Bircherism is (widely) considered to be:

• ultraconservative

• fringe

• extremist

• far-right

Per the SPLC, the JBS is listed as a “Patriot” group (a group that “advocates or adheres to extreme antigovernment doctrines”). By the 1990s, the Birchers were considered to be “more mainstream conservative” than in the 1960s. This faction has also been linked to the American libertarian movement and business nationalism. It was also noted (in the early 2000s) that the Birchers’ worldview influenced the American militia movement. The faction has never (as of date) called for paramilitary training.

Presidents & Chairmen

• Robert W. Welch, Jr

• Larry McDonald

• Charles R. Armour

• John F. McManus

• G. Vance Smith

• Ray Clark

• Martin Ohlson

• William F. Jasper

CEOs

• G. Allen Bubolz

• G. Vance Smith

• Arthur Thompson

• Bill Hahn

• Wayne Morrow

Founding Members

• Harry Lynde Bradley

• Fred C. Koch

  • (became) one of the faction’s primary financial supporters

  • His sons (David & Charles) also [later] became members

• Robert Waring Stoddard

• Revilo P. Oliver

• Robert W. Welch, Jr

  • The transcript of his (2-day) presentation at the founding meeting was published as The Blue Book of the John Birch Society

    • This became the cornerstone of the beliefs of the Birchers

    • each new (prospective) member receives a copy

    • within the transcripts, Welch stated, the following:

      • “[B]oth the US and Soviet governments are controlled by the same furtive conspiratorial cabal of internationalists, greedy bankers, and corrupt politicians. If left unexposed, the traitors inside the US government would betray the country’s sovereignty to the United Nations for the collectivist New World Order, managed by a ‘one-world socialist government’.”

The Old Guard (or the Old Right) was an [informal] designation that labeled a branch of American conservatism (that was most prominent from 1910 (when the GOP split) to the mid-1950s). The movement never [truly] became organized, with MOST of its members being Republicans (with a conservative Democrat element) & its base being (predominantly) in the South. This faction, in 1912, pushed out Teddy Roosevelt (& his progressive followers) & beginning in 1913, many Democrats became associated with the faction & formed the Conservative Coalition (by 1937) with the GOP. Until 1964, the Coalition controlled Congress and carried a position that was amplified by the America First Committee.

The Old Right/Guard unified due to their collective defense of the following:

• tradition

• non-interventionist policies re: Europe (at the start of WWII)

• authority

• religion

• morality

• rule of law

• limited government

• capitalism

• civic nationalism

• social conservatism

• anti-Communism

• anti-socialism

• Anti-Zionism

• anti-imperialism

• near-libertarian honesty in domestic affairs

• small-scale economy of rural America (to preserve the cultural amenities of the society that they knew)

This faction also unified over their skepticism of the following:

• democracy

• egalitarianism

• Washington, DC’s growing power

The Old Guard also opposed the foreign & domestic policies of President Harry Truman. In 1952, the final (major) battle was led by Sen. Robert A. Taft (Ohio), who was defeated by Dwight D. Eisenhower for the presidential nomination. Many outside of this faction were under the impression that Taft was the epitome of conservatism within the GOP. In actuality, Taft found himself consistently criticized by party hardliners (especially after he sponsored New Deal-like programs). He was viewed as having a “touch of socialism” in him. Real estate lobbyists for the GOP were extremely fearful of federal housing for the poor and federal aid for public schools, and took offense to Taft’s support of them.

Typically, this faction of the GOP favored laissez-faire classical liberalism, with some being free market conservatives & others being ex-radical leftists. Traditionalists, including the Democrat Southern Agrarians, desired the restoration of a pre-modern communal society.

According to Murray Rothbard, the Old Right/Guard found unity in their opposition to the following:

• US entry into NATO

• Intervention in the Korean War

• militarism & war

• what they saw as the danger of “domestic dictatorship” by (Democratic) POTUS Franklin D. Roosevelt (& his New Deal Coalition)

  • The anti-New Deal movement included:

    • Republicans (including Raymond E. Baldwin & Robert A. Taft)

    • media tycoons (including William Randolph Hurst & Colonel Robert R. McCormick)

    • Conservative Democrats (including Josiah Bailey, John W. Davis & Al Smith)

    • Libertarians (including Garet Garrett & HL Mencken)

Many of the ideas of this faction are similar to those found among paleolibertarians & paleoconservatives. It has been argued that before 1933, the Old Guard was [actually] comprised of classical liberals & were “accepted members of the ‘Left’”. Over the next decade, without altering their fundamental views, they came to be viewed as examples of the political ‘Right’.

Notable members:

• Generals

  • Robert E. Wood

• John T. Flynn

• William Randolph Hearst

• Zora Neale Hurston

• Senators:

  • Robert A. Taft (Ohio)

  • Kenneth S. Wherry (Nebraska)

  • William E. Jenner (Indiana)

  • Bennett Champ Clark (Missouri)

  • John W. Bricker (Ohio)

  • Harry F. Byrd (Virginia)

  • Josiah Bailey (NC)

• John J. Raskob

• Albert Jay Nock

• Representatives:

  • Eugene Siler (KY)

  • Hamilton Fish III (NY)

  • Howard Buffett (Nebraska)

• Raymond C. Hoiles

• Presidents:

  • Herbert Hoover

  • William Howard Taft

  • Calvin Coolidge

  • Warren G. Harding

• consumer protection

• The control of corporations

• natural resource conservation

Roosevelt challenged William Howard Taft for the presidency as the Progressive ticket candidate in 1912. The two had split after the Pinchot-Ballinger controversy. Roosevelt’s participation in the election deprived Taft of re-election, but he ultimately lost to Woodrow Wilson (Democrat). His loss started the decline of the progressive wing of the GOP.

This wing of the GOP in the House held a “last stand“ protest (December 1923) as the 68th Congress commenced. They (collectively) refused to support Frederick H. Gillett becoming Speaker of the House. After 8 votes, the Progressive wing of the GOP agreed to vote in favor of Gillett, in exchange for:

• pledges that subsequent rule changes would be taken into consideration

• a seat on the House Rules Committee

Early leaders of the Progressive wing included the following:

• Fiorello La Guardia

• Victor Murdoch

• Hiram Johnson

• Robert M. Follette

• Clyde M. Reed

• Charles Evens Hughes

• Willam Borah

• George W. Norris

• William Allen White

This GOP faction originated from the party’s founding (1854), 6 years before the Civil War. The faction named themselves “Radicals” due to their goal of immediate, permanent, and complete abolishment of chattel slavery within the US. Within the Radical faction, some currents included the following:

• Prohibition of alcohol

• Anti-Catholicism

• Nativism

The stance (and accompanying rhetoric) of the faction led to the alienation of various subsets within the voting public, including:

• The German community

• Irish Catholics

• multiple (other) White ethnic communities

The 48ers and the Freethinkers fought the Radical Republicans regarding prohibition, but sympathized with them otherwise.

It was the Radical Republicans who led efforts for the establishment of rights for the formerly enslaved, as well as the full implementation of emancipation. After violence erupted in 1866 toward former slaves (in the former confederacy), due to failed measures, this faction pushed for the 14th Amendment. In addition, it was this GOP faction that stood in opposition to ex-Confederate military veterans and politicians retaking political power within the South.

During the Civil War, the Radicals opposed:

• Pres. Lincoln’s selection of Gen. George B. McClellan to take command of the major eastern Army of the Potomac

  • Lincoln did (later) acknowledge that McClellan was unfit and relieved him of duty.

• Lincoln’s 1864 efforts to bring the seceded Southern states back into the Union as quickly as possible

• Lincoln’s veto of the Wade-Davis Bill

• Lincoln’s desire to (partially) match the abolition method of the British Empire through financially compensating former slave owners (who remained loyal to the Union).

• Pres. Johnson’s veto of multiple acts, including:

  • those that favored citizenship for freedmen

  • a harsher Reconstruction for the South (who has been defeated)

  • bills that Johnson felt were uncnstitutional

In 1868, the faction failed to impeach Lincoln’s replacement by a single vote.