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

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1854 until the end of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

in the

Compromise of 1877 The Compromise of 1877, also known as the Wormley Agreement, the Tilden-Hayes Compromise, the Bargain of 1877, or Corrupt bargain, the Corrupt Bargain, was a speculated unwritten political deal in the United States to settle the intense dispute ...

. They were known for their loyal support of President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's war policies and opposed the more militant stances advocated by the Radical Republicans. 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, Reconstr ...

, congressional leaders of the faction were James G. Blaine, John A. Bingham, William P. Fessenden, Lyman Trumbull, and John Sherman. Their constituencies were primarily residents of states outside

New England New England is a region consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, 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 United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 1864, near the end of the American Civil War. Incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party (United States), National Uni ...

, 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 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 Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

(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 politician and diplomat who was the 15th vice president of the United States, serving from 1861 to 1865, during President Abraham Lincoln's first term. He was the first Republi ...

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. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

, acting out of the belief that placing a War Democrat on the presidential ticket would solidify support to ensure Lincoln's re-election. Moderate Republicans were less enthusiastic than Radical Republicans about Black suffrage, even though they otherwise embraced civil equality and the expansion of federal authority during the

. They were also skeptical of the lenient, conciliatory Reconstruction policies of President Andrew Johnson. Some moderate Republicans were previously 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 lawyer and statesman who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1851 until his death in 1874. Before and during the American Civil War, he was a leading American ...

, a

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

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

References

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

See also

References