To the editor:
The Republican Party has been taking a beating lately; it’s times like these that those who call ourselves traditional Republicans should be reminding ourselves and others of the historical roots of the Grand Old Party. Take the issue of slavery, for example. In 1864, the Chairman of the Republican National Convention, Sen. Edwin Morgan, opened the national convention. At the suggestion of President Abraham Lincoln (R-Ill.), he did so with a brief statement: “The party of which you, gentlemen, are the delegated and honored representatives, will fall far short of accomplishing its great mission, unless among its other resolves it shall declare for such an amendment of the Constitution as will positively prohibit African slavery in the United States.” Inspired by Chairman Morgan’s leadership, delegates made abolishing slavery part of the platform. And so, Republicans entered the 1864 presidential campaign determined to defeat the Democrats’ pro-slavery policies once and for all. The 13th Amendment was passed by congressional Republicans seven months later and ratified within the year.
This is only one of many examples that demonstrate the Republican Party has traditionally served as the Party of personal freedom and accountability in contrast to the philosophy of the collective, one in which government acts, not as the protector of individual rights and liberty, but as the great “equalizer” — as if it were somehow a noble goal to wipe out individual initiative in favor of making everyone the same.
If we continue to walk away from traditional Republican principles of individual initiative and self-reliance and expect government to deliver welfare, health care and address every other care we may have from the cradle to the grave, we’ll end up being slaves to a government we can no longer afford.
Presque Isle
