The Republican Party is a major political party in the United States and an enforcer of the two-party system. Founded in 1854 as a reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the party is generally united by a push for conservatism. Originally, the party was created to oppose slavery, which was promoted by the rival Democratic Party. Following the American Civil War, Republicans led the push for racial equality and promoted small business. During the Cold War, however, the party was taken over by anti-Communist war hawks. Today, are several different brands of conservatism within the party, however. The dominant brand is neoconservatism, which promotes American imperialism and maintains the status quo of New World Order. In opposition to neoconservatism is paleoconservatism, which is generally more anti-imperialist and more skeptical of globalism. Within the paleoconservatives are the paleolibertarians, who are skeptical of big government and taxation.
The first Republican to be elected President of the United States (POTUS) was Abraham Lincoln, who led the country through crisis during the American Civil War. Following the Civil War, the Republicans dominated politics through the Reconstruction Era, the Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era. During the Great Depression, however, the Democrats managed to become the dominant force again. Republicans and Democrats frequently traded control through the Cold War, with some notable Republican Presidents being Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush. Republicans began the imperialist War on Terror under George W. Bush, though it was later taken over by Democrats, leaving Republicans more skeptical of it. The Tea Party Revolution and the birth of Make America Great Again propelled anti-imperialist Donald Trump to become one of the most famous Republican Presidents in 2017.