Why I am Proud to be a Republican from Michigan

Today on July 6, 1854, the first State Republican Party was held in Jackson, Michigan.

From Grand Old Partisan.
celebrating the Republican Party's first state convention / Jackson, Michigan

• In 1854, the Democrats in control of Congress were moving toward passage of their Kansas-Nebraska Act, allowing slavery to expand into the western territories. The Democratic President at the time, Franklin Pierce, said he would sign the bill into law. The Democratic Party had chosen to promote slavery.
  Amid the intense reaction, a grassroots movement sprang up to oppose the extension of slavery. These town meetings and demonstrations coalesced into the Republican Party.
  On July 6, 1854, the Republican Party held its first state convention. It took place in Jackson, Michigan. So many people attended – over 10,000 – that the meeting had to be held outdoors, Under the Oaks. Read more.

God Bless from the Upper Peninsula in Michigan!