The Republican Party has allowed itself to be described by the Democrats as the party of the rich, white male, but it should not and does not have to be that way. The Republican Party has a rich and storied history of promoting freedom and opportunity for all and as the 2016 election season heats up it’s time to look at that history.

Many may not know this, but the first congresswoman, Rep. Jeannette Rankin, was a Republican. Surprising? The Republican Party has many other “firsts” of which to be proud. The first African-American governor, Pinckney Pinchback, was a Republican. The first Hispanic U.S. Senator, Octaviano Larrazolo, was a Republican, and the first woman to be elected to the House of Representatives and to the Senate, Margaret Chase Smith, was a Republican. In 1959, the first Asian-American U.S. Senator was elected to office. His name was Hiram Fong, and yes, he was a Republican.

In addition, the Republican Party can pride itself on a number of liberating achievements. The Republican Party’s first-nominated and first-elected president was Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Emancipation Proclamation. It was a Republican-controlled Congress – the 38th – that passed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery. In 1866, a Republican-controlled Congress passed the 14th Amendment, guaranteeing birthright citizenship and “equal protection of the laws” to all its citizens. A bit more than half a century later, the 66th Congress, controlled by Republicans, passed the 19th Amendment to allow women’s suffrage. In 1924, a Republican-controlled Congress and a Republican president, Calvin Coolidge, passed the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted United States citizenship to Native Americans.

If it hopes to do well in the future, the Republican Party needs to reactivate its heritage as a champion against oppression and a supporter of the fundamental human rights.

The Gazette