171 years ago today, on February 28, 1854 (February 2, 1854 lunar calendar), the Republican Party of the United States was established. The Republican Party, often referred to simply as the GOP (Grand Old Party), is one of the two major political parties of contemporary America, the other being the Democratic Party. Since its founding in 1856, the Republican Party has won 23 of 39 presidential elections, including 6 of the last 10; since then, 18 of the 29 U.S. presidents have been Republicans. The Republican Party was founded in 1854, combining political forces that opposed the expansion of slavery at the time. In modern politics, the Republican Party is seen as a party of social conservatism and economic classical liberalism. The Republican Party was founded in 1854 as a coalition of former Whigs, Northern Democrats, and emancipation activists who opposed the expansion of slavery and advocated for the modernization of the United States. The new party was founded to counter the slave-owning forces of the time - the wealthy southern classes who tried to control the federal government and expand slavery. The party's founders chose the name "Republican" to reflect the republican values of the founding of the United States in 1776, emphasizing civil conscience and resistance to aristocracy and corruption. The new Republican Party advocated modernizing higher education, banking, railroads, industry, and cities, and promised to give farmers the right to farm freely. They argue that free employment is superior to forced slavery, and that it is also the true morality and values of the United States - the so-called principle of "free soil, free labor, free man". Comment: Compared with the Democrats, the Republicans tend to be conservative on social issues and close to libertarianism on the economy