The Moderate Republicans were a faction of American politicians within the Republican Party from the party founding from before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...

in 1854 until the end of Reconstruction in the

Compromise of 1877 The Compromise of 1877, also known as the Wormley Agreement or the Bargain of 1877, was an unwritten deal, informally arranged among members of the United States Congress, to settle the intensely disputed 1876 presidential election between Ruth ...

. They were known for their loyal support of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

's war policies and expressed antipathy towards the more militant stances advocated by the

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans (later also known as "Stalwarts") were a faction within the Republican Party, originating from the party's founding in 1854, some 6 years before the Civil War, until the Compromise of 1877, which effectively ended Reco ...

.The Radical Republicans
''American Battlefield Trust''. Retrieved February 5, 2022. According to historian

Eric Foner Eric Foner (; born February 7, 1943) is an American historian. He writes extensively on American political history, the history of freedom, the early history of the Republican Party, African-American biography, the American Civil War, Reconst ...

, congressional leaders of the faction were James G. Blaine,

John A. Bingham John Armor Bingham (January 21, 1815 – March 19, 1900) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican representative from Ohio and as the United States ambassador to Japan. In his time as a congress ...

William P. Fessenden William Pitt Fessenden (October 16, 1806September 8, 1869) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Maine. Fessenden was a Whig (later a Republican) and member of the Fessenden political family. He served in the United States House o ...

Lyman Trumbull Lyman Trumbull (October 12, 1813 – June 25, 1896) was a lawyer, judge, and United States Senator from Illinois and the co-author of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Born in Colchester, Connecticut, Trumbull esta ...

, and

John Sherman John Sherman (May 10, 1823October 22, 1900) was an United States, American politician from Ohio throughout the American Civil War, Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Par ...

.Foner, Eric (1988). ''Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863–1877'', pp. 241–47. New York: Harper & Row. Their constituencies were primarily residents of states outside

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

, where Radical Republicanism garnered insufficient support. They included " Conservative Republicans" and the moderate Liberal Republicans, later also known as " Half-Breeds". During the

1864 United States presidential election The 1864 United States presidential election was the 20th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easily ...

, amidst the backdrop of the ongoing Civil War, Moderate Republicans supported merging the Republican Party with the War Democrats ( Democrats who supported the continuation of the Union war effort) to form the

National Union Party National Union may refer to: Political organisations *National Union (Chad), a political party *National Union (Chile), an alliance during the Government Junta of Chile (1924) *National Union Movement, a pro-Pinochet political party from 1983 to 1 ...

alliance. At the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

(which operated under the name of the " National Union National Convention" that year), they spearheaded the effort to replace Lincoln's vice president

Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin (August 27, 1809 – July 4, 1891) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 15th vice president of the United States from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republica ...

with Tennessee Democrat

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a D ...

, acting out of the belief that placing a War Democrat on the presidential ticket would solidify support to ensure Lincoln's re-election.McPherson, James M. (December 1996)
"Lincoln Speaks"
''The Atlantic''. Retrieved February 5, 2022. In contrast to Radicals, Moderate Republicans were less enthusiastic on the issue of black suffrage even while embracing civil equality and the expansive federal authority observed throughout the

. They were also skeptical of the lenient, conciliatory Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson. Members of the Moderate Republicans comprised in part of previous Radical Republicans who became disenchanted with the alleged corruption of the latter faction.

Charles Sumner Charles Sumner (January 6, 1811March 11, 1874) was an American statesman and United States Senator from Massachusetts. As an academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the anti-slavery forces in the state and a leader of th ...

, a

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

senator who led Radical Republicans in the 1860s, later joined reform-minded moderates as he later opposed the corruption associated with the

Grant administration The presidency of Ulysses S. Grant began on March 4, 1869, when Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated as the 18th president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1877. The Reconstruction era took place during Grant's two terms of office. The ...

References

Factions in the Republican Party (United States) Moderate Republicans (Reconstruction era) {{Reconstruction era

See also

References