History
The Illinois Republican Party was organized at a conference held in Major's Hall in Bloomington on May 29, 1856. Its founding members came from the former Whig Party in Illinois after its members joined with several powerful local political factions including, notably, the Independent Democrat movement of Chicago that helped elect James Hutchinson Woodworth Mayor in 1848.
The early Illinois Republican party enjoyed many members from commerce who shared the vision of Illinois generally, and Chicago in particular, as a gateway to the Western frontier of the United States. The early party members quickly identified their shared anti-slavery sentiment which further differentiated them from the older parties based on the East Coast. Many early members of the party failed to gain statewide office or election to the United States Congress due to this anti-slavery view, although this early position of the party in Illinois would later propel several candidates to prominent office, including the Governorship of Illinois won by Richard Yates, and in the mid 1850s, the election of former Chicago Mayor James Hutchinson Woodworth to one term in the United States House of Representatives.
On May 9–10, 1860 the Illinois Republican State Convention was held in Decatur. At this convention Abraham Lincoln received his first endorsement for president of the United States.
Read more about this topic: Illinois Republican Party
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