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Republican

Specialty Definition: British republicanism

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

British republicanism is a movement to remove the monarchy, the remaining hereditary peers in the House of Lords and all forms of hereditary privilege. Most, though not all, British republicans support a fully elected second chamber, an elected head of state and a written constitution. Famous British Republicans include Tony Benn, and Lord Dormand of Easington.

England was a republic, ruled successively by Oliver Cromwell and his son, Richard, for a few short years in the seventeenth century, after the English Revolution.

External Links

• Republic (Britain's oldest republican group)
• British Republic, information and campaign site for the abolition of the monarchy
• Centre for Citizenship
• Yahoo Group for British Republicans
• Res Publica : Britain (an international anti-monarchy Web directory)

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "British republicanism."

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Republic

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A republic is a form of government (and a state so governed) where a monarch is not the head of state. The word is derived from the Latin res publica, or "public affair", and suggests an ownership and control of the state by the population at large. The concept of democracy, however, is not implicit to that of a republic. The republican form of government may involve a limited democracy, where such rights are available only to a limited group of people, as is the case in many of today's dictatorial or totalitarian states. The term is also broad enough to include many of today's advanced democracies.

The use of a republic goes back at least as far as ancient Akkad. The best known ancient republic was the Roman Republic, which lasted from 509 BC until 44 BC. In the Roman Republic, the principles of annuality (holding office for a term of only one year) and collegiality (holding office with at least two men at the same time) were usually observed.

In modern times, the head of state of a republic is usually formed by only one person, the president, but there are some exceptions such as Switzerland, which has a seven-member council as its head of state, called the Bundesrat, and San Marino, where the position of head of state is shared by two people.

It is rather difficult to draw a precise line between republics and monarchies and there is certainly nothing that says one is necessarily more democratic than the other, (although an elected head of state within a democratic system is generally considered more democratic than a monarchy). Monarchs generally reign for life, and when they die they are succeeded by a relative, either chosen by themselves or determined according to set rules. The presidents of republics, by contrast, are generally elected for a limited term, and their successors are chosen by the body that elected them. These days even non-democratic republics generally claim to be democratic, though the outcome of the election may be assured, and still maintain the ritual of regularly electing their head of state; and frequently in these states heads of states have left office voluntarily (through resignation or retirement) or been forced out (through constitutional means) by other members of the ruling elite. But there are still some exceptions -- each new Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, for instance, was elected by the chief princes of the empire, though over the centuries the custom developed of always electing successive members of a particular family to that office. Perhaps the most significant exception among the forms of today's monarchies is, the oligarchical form of election used in the United Kingdom (described under Privy Council).

Another, older definition of the term uses the term "republic" to describe what is commonly called a representative democracy; it restricts the term "democracy" to refer only to direct democracy. See democracy for further discussion of this term usage and its history. Even this usage does not cover the many republics, past and present, that are not democratic at all (though few modern ones admit their lack of democracy).

Using this older meaning, it is said that the United States is a federal republic, not a democracy. (Although most people, including most Americans, call it a democracy, they are using the modern definition, not the older one referred to here). This usage of the term republic was particularly common around the time of the American Founding Fathers. The authors of the United States Constitution intentionally chose what they called a republic for several reasons. For one, it is impractical to collect votes from every citizen on every political issue. In theory, representatives would be more well-informed and less emotional than the general populace. Furthermore, a republic can be contrived to protect against the "tyranny of the majority." The Federalist Papers outline the idea that pure democracy is actually quite dangerous, because it allows a majority to infringe upon the rights of a minority. By forming what they called a Republic, in which representatives are chosen in many different ways (the President, House, Senate, and state officials are all elected differently), it is more difficult for a majority to control enough of the government to infringe upon a minority

Other examples of republics include Revolutionary England, France, and Germany.

See also republicanism, presidential system, congressional system, British republican movement See Plato's Republic

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Republic."

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Republic of China

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

zh-cn:中华民国 zh-tw:中華民國

The Republic of China (中華民國 ; Wade-Giles: Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo² ; pinyin: Zhōnghuá mínguó) is a state that consists of Taiwan and several outlying islands of Fujian, namely Quemoy and Matsu. The term Taiwan is normally used synonymously with the Republic of China and "China" is used to mean the People's Republic of China.

Succeeding the Qing Dynasty in China, the Republic of China (ROC) administered Mainland China from 1911 to 1949, until it was defeated by the Chinese Communists, and has administered Taiwan from 1945 until the present. The provisional capital is Taipei and official capital remains the city of Nanjing in Mainland China. (See also: Min Guo)

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China on the mainland, the political status of the Republic of China has been a controversial issue. After losing control over Mainland China, the ruling Kuomintang authorities actively claimed sovereignty over mainland China (including Tibet) and outer Mongolia. In 1991, President Lee Teng-hui stated that the government will no longer challenge communist rule on the mainland. The current administration of President Chen Shui-bian has left the issue of sovereignty somewhat ambiguous, although the government has stopped mentioning Mainland China and its websites feature maps and pictures of Taiwan. However, the National Assembly has not formally renounced the ROC's jurisdiction over mainland China and outer Mongolia, as this would be seen as a precursor to Taiwan independence.

中華民國
Chung¹-hua² Min²-kuo²

(In Detail)
National motto: None
Official language	Mandarin Chinese
Capital	Taipei¹
Largest City	Taipei
President	Chen Shui-bian
Premier	Yu Shyi-kun
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 134th 35,980 km² 10.3%
Population  - Total (2002)  - Density	Ranked 47th 22,548,009 627/km²
Establishment  - Declared  - Established	Wuchang Uprising October 10, 1911 January 1, 1912
Currency	New Taiwan dollar
Time zone	UTC +8
National anthem	Three Principles of the People
Internet TLD	.TW
Calling Code	886
(1) Provisional; official ROC capital remains the city of Nanking in Mainland China

History

Main articles: History of China, History of the Republic of China

The Republic of China developed out of the Wuchang Uprising against the Qing Dynasty which began on October 10, 1911 and was declared on January 1, 1912, with Sun Yat-sen elected the first president. As part of the agreement to have the last emperor Puyi abdicate, Yuan Shikai was officially elected president in 1913. However, Yuan dissolved the ruling Kuomintang and declared himself emperor in 1915.

Many provinces declared independence and became warlord states. Yuan Shikai died of natural causes in 1916. Sun Yat-sen gained control of Guangdong province with the help of southern warlords in 1917, and set up a rival government. Sun reestablished Kuomintang in October 1919.

After Sun's death in 1925, General Chiang Kai-shek gained control of the KMT and, with the help of the Soviet Union, led the successful Northern Expedition which effectively defeated the warlords and united China. However, Chiang soon dismissed his Soviet advisors, and purged communists and leftists from the KMT, inciting the Chinese Civil War.

Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and made massive territorial gains in the Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). With Japan's surrender in 1945, the Republic of China emerged victorious and became one of the founding members of the United Nations.

The civil war resumed and intensified after the Japanese surrender, and when it ended in the Communist Party of China's favor in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek evacuated the government to Taiwan, which had been recovered from Japan in 1945, and declared Taipei as the temporary capital of China, bringing some 2 million refugees from Mainland China. Because of the Cold War, until the 1970s, the Republic of China was recognized as the sole legitimate government of both Mainland China and Taiwan by the UN and most Western nations.

Taiwan remained under martial law for 4 decades until 1987 and one-party rule until 1991 when President Chiang Ching-kuo gradually liberalized and democratized the system. In 2000, Chen Shui-bian was elected president, ending KMT rule.

See also: History of Taiwan, Timeline of Chinese history

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Republic of China

The Republic of China has undergone a process of democratisation since its constitution was reformed in the early 1990s. The head of state is the president, who is elected by popular vote for a four-year term on the same ticket as the vice-president. The president has authority over the five administrative branches (Yuan): the Executive Yuan, Legislative Yuan, Control Yuan, Judicial Yuan, and Examination Yuan. The president appoints the members of the Executive Yuan as his cabinet, including a premier who is officially the President of the Executive Yuan; members are responsible for policy and administration.

The main legislative body is the unicameral Legislative Yuan with 225 seats, of which 168 are elected by popular vote. Of the remainder, 41 are elected on the basis of the proportion of nationwide votes received by participating political parties, eight are elected from overseas Chinese constituencies on the same principle, as are the eight seats for the aboriginal populations; members serve three-year terms. Originally the unicameral National Assembly, as a standing constitutional convention and electoral college, held some parliamentary functions, but this has now become a non-standing body of 300 members that has seen most of its powers transferred to the Legislative Yuan.

The relationship with the People's Republic of China and the related issues of either Taiwan independence or Chinese reunification continue to dominate Taiwanese politics. The political scene in the ROC is divided into two camps, with the pro-reunificationist Kuomintang, People First Party, and New Party forming the Pan-Blue Coalition, while the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party and Taiwan Solidarity Union forms the Pan-Green Coalition.

Political divisions

Main article: Political divisions of the Republic of China

Current jurisdiction of the ROC

The Republic of China retains administration of two of the historic provinces of China and centrally administers two municipalities:

• Taiwan Province: completely (all but one county are on the Taiwanese main island.)
  • Sixteen counties,
  • Five provincially administrated cities.
• Fujian Province: partially
  • Two counties (under the jurisdiction of the ROC)
• Two Municipalities
  • Kaohsiung
  • Taipei

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of the Republic of China

The Republic of China continues to be officially recognized by 27 nations, mostly small countries in Central America and Africa but also including the Holy See. The People's Republic of China has a policy of not having diplomatic relations with any nation which recognizes the Republic of China and insists that all nations with which it has diplomatic relations make a statement which recognizes its claims to Taiwan. In practice, most major nations maintain unofficial semi-diplomatic relations with Taiwan and the statement which is required by the PRC is couched in extremely carefully worded ambiguity.

The Republic of China, as one of its founding members was in the United Nations and held China's seat on the Security Council until 1971, when it was expelled by General Assembly Resolution Resolution 2758 and replaced in all UN organs with the People's Republic of China government. Multiple attempts by the Republic of China to re-join the UN have not made it past committee. (See China and the United Nations)

Besides the dispute with the PRC over the mainland, the ROC also has a controversial relationship with Mongolia. Until 1945, the ROC claimed jurisdiction over Mongolia, but under Soviet pressure, it recognized Mongolian independence. Shortly thereafter, it repudiated this recognition and continued to claim jurisdiction over Mongolia until recently. Since the late 1990s, relationship with Mongolia has become a controversial topic. The DPP is attempting to establish diplomatic relations with Mongolia, but this move is controversial because it is widely seen as a prelude for renouncing ROC sovereignty over Mainland China thereby declaring Taiwan independence.

Military

Main article: Military of the Republic of China

The Republic of China maintains a large military establishment, mainly as defense against invasion by the People's Republic of China, which is seen as the predominant threat and which has not renounced the use of force against the ROC. Until the 1970s, the military primary mission was to retake the Mainland.

The ROC's armed forces number approximately 430,000, and reserves reportedly total 3,870,000. The ROC has implemented a force reduction program to scale down its military to a level of 400,000 by FY 2001. Conscription remains universal for qualified males reaching age 18.

A significant amount of military hardware is supplied by the United States.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Taiwan

Although the PRC objects with having other countries maintain diplomatic or official relations with the ROC, it does not object to having the ROC maintain economic relations. Consequently, the Republic of China is a member of governmental trade organizations such as the WTO and APEC under the name Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu (台灣、澎湖、金門及馬祖個別關稅領域).

The Republic of China on Taiwan has a dynamic capitalist economy with gradually decreasing guidance of investment and foreign trade by government authorities. In keeping with this trend, some large government-owned banks and industrial firms are being privatised. Real growth in GDP has averaged about 8% during the past three decades. Exports have provided the primary impetus for industrialisation. The trade surplus is substantial, and foreign reserves are the world's third largest.

Agriculture contributes 2% to GDP, down from 35% in 1952. Traditional labour-intensive industries are steadily being moved offshore and replaced with more capital- and technology-intensive industries. Taiwan has become a major investor in Mainland China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam; 50,000 Taiwanese businesses are established in Mainland China.

Because of its conservative financial approach and its entrepreneurial strengths, Taiwan suffered little compared with many of its neighbours from the Asian financial crisis in 1998-1999. The global economic downturn, however, combined with poor policy coordination by the new administration and increasing bad debts in the banking system, pushed Taiwan into recession in 2001, the first whole year of negative growth since 1947. Unemployment also reached a level not seen since the 1970s oil crisis, and this became a major issue in the presidential election of 2004.

See also: East Asian Tigers

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Taiwan

The aboriginal population of Taiwan, divided into ten main tribes, now makes up 2% of the ROC's jurisdiction. The remainder consists of Han Chinese, who themselves consist of early Han immigrants who are referred to as "Bensheng ren" (84%) and later immigrants which are referred to as "Waisheng ren" or "Mainlanders" (14%) that fled the mainland in 1949. The Bensheng ren consist of descendants of migrants from Southern Fujian, as well as the Hakka, who are concentrated in several counties throughout Taiwan, with extensive intermarriage with Taiwanese aborigines.

The majority of people in the Republic of China on Taiwan speak Mandarin Chinese, which has been the medium of instruction in the schools for more than four decades. A large fraction of people in also speak one of the Southern Fujianese dialects, Min-nan, also known as Taiwanese. The Hakka have a distinct Hakka dialect. Between 1900 and 1945 the population also spoke Japanese. Chinese romanisation on Taiwan remains chaotic with many different systems, some ad-hoc, in use. In 2002, the government announced adoption of Tongyong pinyin, but this has not resolved the chaos as there is a large and mostly political controversy about which pinyin system to use, with different localities now using different systems. Wade-Giles, and its various variants, remain the most popular systems.

About half of the ROC population can be considered religious believers, most of whom identify themselves as Buddhists or Taoists. At the same time there is a strong belief in folk religion. These are not mutually exclusive, and many people practice a combination of the three. Confucianism also is an honored school of thought and ethical code. Christian churches have been active on Taiwan for many years, a majority of which are Protestant and with Presbyterians playing a particularly significant role.

Culture

Main article: Culture of China, Culture of Taiwan

The early years of the Republic of China saw the New Cultural Movement, with the gradual liberalization of society. Old imperial practices such as footbinding were discontinued. In accordance with the tradition of changing the style of dress for successive dynasties, Sun Yat-sen popularized the changshan (female equivalent being qipao). Mao Zedong would later adapted the upper part of changshan and wear the style become known to westerners as the Mao suit.

After the retreat to Taiwan, the Nationalists took many steps to preserve traditional Chinese culture. The government launched a program promoting Chinese calligraphy, traditional Chinese painting, Chinese folk arts, and Chinese opera. The National Palace Museum opened in Taipei, housing over 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting, and porcelain moved from the mainland in 1949 and accounting for 10% of China's cultural treasures.

Over the years, Taiwan gradually developed a distinct cultural identity (see Taiwan localization movement). Western ideas began to influence local culture, as western dress became popular and western words entered into the Chinese vocabulary.

Until the 1970s, sports teams from the Republic of China contined to play under the name "China," as the communists largely stayed away from the international sporting scene, due mainly to the Cultural Revolution. However, along with the switch in diplomatic recognition, the titles of sports teams were also transferred. Today, sports teams from the Republic of China usually play under the name Chinese Taipei (中華台北 Zhonghua Taipei) and fly a specially designed non-political flag in place of the flag of the Republic of China.

The ROC might be the first country in Asia to legally support same-sex marriage [1].

• Taiwanese cuisine
• Taiwanese language
• Festivals in Taiwan

• Chinese language
• Chinese written language
• List of famous Chinese people
• Chinese art
• Music of Taiwan
• Chinese cuisine

Public Holidays

Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	Founding Day	開國紀念日	Founding of the ROC on January 1, 1912
February 28	Peace Memorial Day	和平紀念日	February 28 Incident on February 28, 1947
April 5	Tomb Sweeping Day	清明節	Passing of Chiang Kai-shek on April 5, 1975
October 10	Double Tenth Day	國慶日	Wuchang Uprising on October 10, 1911
1st day of 1st lunar month	Chinese New Year	春節	Based on Chinese calendar
5th day of 5th lunar month	Dragon Boat Festival (Dragon Festival)	端午節	Based on Chinese calendar
15th day of 8th lunar month	Mid-autumn Festival (Moon Festival)	中秋節	Based on Chinese calendar

Miscellaneous topics

• Chinese law
• List of China-related topics
• Republic of Taiwan

External Links

Government websites

• Government Information Office
• Office of the President
• National Assembly
• Executive Yuan
• Legislative Yuan
• Judicial Yuan
• Examination Yuan
• Control Yuan

Other

• Map of ROC's current jurisdiction
• Maps (also showing counties)
• Taiwan Documents Project

---

Countries of the world  |  Asia

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Republic of China."

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Republican

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

In political science, a republican is a person who advocates the establishment of a republic as a form of government, in contrast to a monarchist.

In politics a Republican is a member, delegate or supporter of a Republican Political party; for example the United States Republican Party, Fianna Fáil the Republic Party in the Republic of Ireland, etc. The politics of these parties varies widely with the context, although there is a common thread of support for an "independent" state.

See also: republicanism

In the Spanish Civil War Republican was the name given for the side which fought unsuccessfully in defence of the Second Spanish Republic, and which were defeated by the forces of General Francisco Franco.

A republican in the context of Northern Ireland is someone who supports a range of Northern Irish parties, most notably Sinn Féin, from the nationalist community who possess an armed wing and engaged in what are seen as terrorist activity. Republican can also mean a supporter of the military organisation, such as the Irish Republican Army or the Irish National liberation Army. Many of these organisations claim descent from earlier Irish republican movements such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood or the Easter Rising mounted in 1916.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Republican."

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Republican Generation

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Republican Generation is the name given to that generation of Americans born from 1742 to 1766 by William Strauss and Neil Howe in their book Generations. They grew up as the precious object of adult protection during the French and Indian Wars, an era of rising crime and social disorder. They came of age highly regarded for their secular optimism and spirit of cooperation. As young adults, they achieved glory as soldiers in the American Revolutionary War, brilliance as scientists, order as civic planners, and epic success as state-crafters. Trusted by elders and aware of their own role in history, they led the campaign to ratify the United States Constitution and filled all the early cabinet posts. In midlife, they built canals and acquired territories, while their orderly Federalist and rational Republican leaders made America a "workshop of liberty". As elders, they chafed at passionate youths bent on repudiating much of what they had built.

The Republicans' typical grandparents were of the Enlightenment Generation. Their parents were of the Awakening Generation and Liberty Generation. Their children were of the Compromise Generation and Transcendental Generation and their typical grandchildren were of the Gilded Generation.

Altogether, about 2.1 million Americans were born from 1742 to 1766. 17 percent were immigrants and 17 percent were slaves at any point in their lives.

A list of sample Republicans includes the following, with birth and death dates as this generation is fully ancestral:

• 1742 Nathaniel Greene (1786)
• 1744 Abigail Adams (1818)
• 1745 John Jay (1829)
• 1745 Benjamin Rush (1813)
• 1747 John Paul Jones (U.S. Navy captain, not the Led Zeppelin bassist) (1792) (immigrant)
• 1750 Kunta Kinte (c. 1815) (immigrant)
• 1752 Gouverneur Morris (1816)
• 1752 Timothy Dwight (1817)
• 1754 Pierre L'Enfant (1825) (immigrant)
• 1754 Joel Barlow (1812)
• 1754 "Molly Pitcher" (1832)
• 1755 Nathan Hale (1776}
• 1755 John Marshall (1835)
• 1757 Alexander Hamilton (1804) (immigrant)
• 1758 Noah Webster (1843)
• 1761 Albert Gallatin (1849) (immigrant)
• 1763 John Jacob Astor (1848) (immigrant)
• 1765 Robert Fulton (1815)
• 1765 Eli Whitney (1825)
• 1766 Sam Wilson (1854)

The Republicans had three U.S. Presidents: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe. They held a plurality in the House of Representatives from 1789 to 1813, a majority of the U.S. Senate from 1789 to 1813, and a majority of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791 to 1826. In addition, John Jay (1778-1779), Thomas Mifflin (1783-1784), and Cyrus Griffin (1788-1789) held the Presidency of the Continental Congress before the Constitution was ratified.

Prominent foreign-born peers of the Republicans include Marie Antoinette, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Marquis de Lafayette, Maximilien Robespierre, and Horatio Nelson.

Sample cultural endowments of the Republicans include the following:

• United States Declaration of Independence
• United States Constitution
• Plan for the Virginia state capitol, Thomas Jefferson
• The Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
• American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster
• Modern Chivalry, Hugh Henry Brackenridge
• The Columbiad, Joel Barlow
• Plans for Washington, D.C, Pierre L'Enfant
• The Battle of Bunker Hill, painting, John Trumbull
• The Conquest of Canaan, Timothy Dwight

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Republican Generation."

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Republicanism

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

Republicanism is the political theory that holds that the best form of government is a republic as opposed to a monarchy. Unlike proponents of democracy, socialism, or communism, modern republicans rarely argue on the basis of universal principles that a republic is the best form of government in all nations. Rather republicanism is generally a local political movement that argues for the abolition of the monarchy in a particular nation. Because most monarchs in constitutional monarchies have limited power, arguments over republicanism in the late 20th and early 21st century are more often about symbolism than about actual transfers of power.

The term republic most commonly means the system of government in which the head of state is elected for a limited term, as opposed to a constitutional monarchy. Republicanism in this sense is support for the abolition of constitutional monarchies. This sense is particularly important in countries such as Australia, where the abolition of the monarchy is a major political issue and is largely about the nature of the relationship between Australia, the United Kingdom, and Asia; and also countries such as the United Kingdom, where republicanism has never experienced much popular support, but nonetheless has been a significant minority position.

Republican movements have been successful in France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, Ethiopia, China and Russia. In the case of Italy and Greece, the abolition of the monarchy was intended because the monarchy had become discredited for cooperations with Mussolini in the former case, and the Greek generals in the latter.

In the case of China, Russia, and Ethiopia, the overthrow of the monarchy was in the context of a general Marxist revolution.

Spain has been a rare example in which a monarchy has been restored in the 20th century.

Another, older and less commonly used definition of the term, uses the term "republic" to describe what is more commonly called a representative democracy; it restricts the term "democracy" to refer only to direct democracy. See democracy for further discussion of this term usage and its history.

See:

• Australian republicanism
• British republicanism

Republicanism in the United States

According to the older definition of the term, the United States of America is a republic, not a democracy. (Although most people, including most Americans, call it a democracy, they are using the modern definition, not the older one referred to here). This usage of the term republic was particularly common around the time of the American Founding Fathers. The authors of the U.S. Constitution intentionally chose what they called a republic for several reasons. For one, it is impractical to collect votes from every citizen on every political issue. In theory, representatives would be more well-informed and less emotional than the general populace. Furthermore, a republic can be contrived to protect against the "tyranny of the majority." The Federalist Papers outline the idea that pure democracy is actually quite dangerous, because it allows a majority to infringe upon the rights of a minority. By forming what they called a Republic, in which representatives are chosen in many different ways (the President, House, Senate, and state officials are all elected differently), it is more difficult for a majority to control enough of the government to infringe upon a minority.

Republicanism in Northern Ireland

The term "republican" is used in the context of Northern Ireland to refer to nationalist groups such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Irish National Liberation Army the Real IRA and their political wings Sinn Féin, the Irish Republican Socialist Party some of whom support violence as a means of establishing a republic (in the more common sense) encompassing the whole of the island of Ireland. This is in contrast to democratic nationalist groups such as the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). During the decades of The Troubles the democratic nationalist have had more support than the republicans among the minority Catholic electorate. With the recent, albeit shaky, development of a peace process, Sinn Féin's move away from violence has resulted in increased support and in the recent elections they received slightly more votes than the SDLP.

Republicanism can also mean the doctrines of the Republican Party of the United States.

External link

Res Publica: an international anti-monarchy Web directory

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Republicanism."

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Roman Republic

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

See also Roman Republic (19th century).

The Roman Republic traditionally lasted as a representative government of Rome and its territories from 509 BC until the establishment of the Roman Empire, typically placed at 44 BC or 27 BC.

The city of Rome stands on the Tiber River very near the west coast of Italy. It marked the northernmost border of the territory in which the Latin language was spoken and the southern edge of Etruria, the territory in which the Etruscan language was spoken.

Government Institutions

The Romans observed two principles for their officials: annuality or the observation of a one-year term and collegiality or the holding of the same office by at least two men at the same time. The supreme office of consul, for instance, was always held by two men together, each of whom exercised a power of mutual veto over any actions by the other consul. If the Roman army took the field under the command of the two consuls they alternated days of command. Most other offices were held by more than two men - in the late Republic there were 8 praetors a year and 20 quaestors.

The dictators were an exception to annuality and collegiality, and the censors to annuality. In times of emergency (always military) a single dictator was elected for a term of 6 months to have sole command of the state. On a regular but not annual basis two censors were elected: every five years for a term of 18 months.

The legion formed the backbone of Roman military power.

History of the Republic

The Legendary Founding of Rome - 753 BC

The Romans were very much convinced that their city was founded in the year 753 BC. Rome has often been said to have been started by Romulus and Remus. It was then, tradition had it, ruled by kings for several centuries.

The Foundation of the Republic - 509 BC

Livy's version of the establishment of the Republic states that the last of the Kings of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (superbus, "the proud") had a thoroughly unpleasant son, Sextus Tarquinius, who raped a Roman noblewoman named Lucretia. Lucretia compelled her family to take action by gathering the men, telling them what happened, and killing herself. They then were compelled to avenge her, and led an uprising that drove the royal house, the Tarquins, out of Rome to take refuge in Etruria.

Lucretia's husband Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus and Lucius Junius Brutus gained election as the first two consuls, the chief officers of the new Republic. (The Marcus Junius Brutus who assassinated Julius Caesar claimed descent from this first Brutus).

The early consuls took over the roles of the king with the exception of his high priesthood in the worship of Jupiter Optimus Maximus at the huge temple on the Capitoline Hill. For that duty the Romans elected a Rex sacrorum or "king of holy things." Until the end of the Republic the accusation that a powerful man wanted to make himself king remained a career-shaking charge. (Julius Caesar's assassins claimed after they acted that they were preserving Rome from the re-establishment of an explicit monarchy.)

Patrician and Plebeian

The people of Rome were divided into patricians and plebeians. These words have taken on such different connotations of wealth and ordinariness in modern English that they must be examined in their Roman context. The two classes were ancestral and inherited. One's class was fixed by birth rather than by wealth, and though patricians had in the early Republic monopolized all political offices and probably most of the wealth, there are always signs of wealthy plebeians in the historical record, and many patrician families had lost both wealth and any political influence by the later Republic. One could move from one class to the other by adoption, as did the political operator Clodius, who managed to have himself adopted into a plebeian branch of his own family for political purposes in the late Republic, but this rarely occurred. By the 2nd century BC the classifications had meaning predominantly in religious functions - many priesthoods remained restricted to patricians.

The relationship between the plebeians and the patricians sometimes came under such a strain that the plebeians would secede from the city - they literally left the city, took their families and movable possessions, and set up camp on a hill outside the walls. These secessions happened in 494, 450, and around 287 BC. Their refusal to co-operate any longer with the patricians led to social changes on each occasion. In 494 BC, only about 15 years after the establishment of the Republic, the plebeians for the first time elected two leaders, to whom they gave the title Tribunes. The "plebs" took an oath that they would hold their leaders 'sacrosanct' or inviolate during their terms of office, and that the united plebs would kill anyone who harmed a tribune. The second secession led to further legal definition of their rights and duties and increased the number of tribunes to 10. The final secession gave the vote of the Concilium Plebis or "Council of the Plebeians" the force of law - we call this a "plebiscite".

The end of the Republic - 133-31 BC

Rome's military and diplomatic successes around the Mediterranean resulted in new and unaccustomed pressures on the structures of the old city-state. While factional strife had become a traditional part of Roman life, the stakes were now far higher; a corrupt provincial governor could enrich himself far beyond anything his ancestors imagined possible, and a successful military commander needed only the support of his legions in order to rule vast territories. In addition, small landowners were displaced in favor of large slave-run estates, resulting in large numbers of unemployed urbanites.

Beginning with the agrarian reform of Tiberius Gracchus in 133, the political convulsions became more and more severe, resulting in a series of dictatorships, civil wars, and temporary armed truces during the next century. Much of the political record of this period has survived, and we are able to understand it in some depth.

Gracchus' reform was simply to put more land in the hands of veterans, but ominously, his Senatorial opponents responded to his political machinations by killing him in the street. His younger brother Gaius Gracchus continued the reform efforts, promoted the extension of the franchise to all the cities of Italy, and established the equites as a new force in Roman politics.

A conservative reaction brought power back to the Senate, but they prosecuted the Jugurthine War of 112-105 so poorly, on top of a Slave War in Sicily, and losses at the hands of Germanic tribes, of whom the Cimbri destroyed consular armies at Arausio in 105. Rome was saved by Marius, who held multiple consulships 103-101 while defeating the Teutones at Aquae Sextiae (102) and the Cimbri near Vercellae in the following year. But Marius' military reforms had resulted in an army of proletarian volunteers with no special love for the Senate, and Marius' political allies used the army to threaten the Senate into passing laws reducing the Senate's power. Marius curbed his own allies, and took himself into lesser positions.

Again the Senate proved itself unequal to its role, and failed to deal with the growing discontent of the allies in Italy. After the reformer Livius Drusus was assassinated in 91, almost all of the Italian allies of Rome rebelled in what the Romans called the Social War (allies = Socii, related to the English "associates"). The Romans were only able to end the war in 88 by granting citizenship to all Italians living south of the Po River.

At the same time, Mithridates VI of Pontus overran Bithynia, the latest of several provocations which, this time, forced Rome to act. But Marius and Sulla contended over the command of the army, ending with Sulla marching on Rome with several legions, outlawing his opponents and passing laws favoring the Senate. Sulla then went to Greece, defeated Mithridates at Chaeronea in 86, then returned in 83 to overthrow Marius' ally Cinna. In the following year, Sulla secured appointment as dictator and used the post to reduce the power of the tribunes and the army, although the changes did not long survive his voluntary retirement in 79.

The Spartacist Rebellion - 73 - 71 BC

Large-scale agriculture in the Italian peninsula came to depend on slavery in the latifundia system, and was rocked by a severe slave revolt led by Spartacus that lasted from 73 BC to 71 BC

Spartacus was a Thracian slave, and was trained as a gladiator. In 73 BC he and some of his comrades rebelled at Capua and fled towards mount Vesuvius. The rebel numbers quickly grew to about 70000, comprising mainly Thracian, Gaul and German slaves.

Initially, Spartacus and his second in command Crixus succeeded in defeating several legions sent against them piecemeal. Once a unified command was established under Licinius Crassus who had six legions, the rebellion was crushed in 71 BC. About 10000 slaves fled the battlefield.

The fleeing slaves were intercepted by Pompey who was returning from Spain, and 6000 were crucified along Via Apia from Capua to Rome. Although Crassus did most of the fighting against the rebels, Pompey claimed the victory. This was a source of tension between the two men.

In the final analysis, once the Romans found the right leadership the rebels were quickly defeated. This does not subtract from the achievement Spartacus, who was able to unite a band of slaves into a fighting force capable of defeating several legions.

The whole incident showed the weakness of the Senate and the regime of the late Roman Republic.

The end of the Republic

In the end, the Roman world became too large and complicated for the structures of the republic to cope, and after a period of civil war ended by the Battle of Actium (31 BC), Augustus Caesar established the Roman Empire.

• political bodies of the Republic

Roman Senate

various other Roman assemblies

• political institutions of the Republic

Dictator

Consul

Praetor

Aedile

Quaestor

Tribune

Censor

Pontifex Maximus

Princeps Senatus

Lictor

Cursus honorum

• figures of the Republic

Early Republic

Lucretia

Lucius Junius Brutus

Cincinnatus

Appius Claudius the Censor

Samnite wars 327 - 290 BC

Punic wars

Hannibal - see Carthage

Scipio Africanus Major

Scipio Aemilianus

Cato the Censor

Late Republic

Ahenobarbus family

Julius Caesar

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus

C. Marius

L. Cornelius Sulla

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Tullius Cicero

Spartacus

Latin Literature of the Republic

Catullus

Cicero

Plautus

Terence

Ennius

Fabius Pictor

Naevius

References

William G. Sinnigen & Arthur E. R. Boak, A History of Rome to 565 A.D. (Macmillan)

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Roman Republic."

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United States Democratic-Republican Party

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Democratic-Republican party was a United States political party, which evolved early in the history of the United States. In addition, some refer to the party as the Jeffersonian Republicans since Thomas Jefferson belonged to the party and had a major influence on its ideology; it is also refered to as simply the Republican Party, not to be confused with the modern Republican Party. This party should not be confused with Jeffersonian democracy, a term used to indicate the period when the government was run by aristocratic learned men, as opposed to the period of Jacksonian democracy where the common man ran the government.

The origins of this party lie in the Anti-Federalist Party, the group that opposed the adoption of the United States Constitution and insisted on the Bill of Rights. After the Federalist presidency of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson became the first Democratic-Republican President.

For a brief period, the Democratic-Republican Party was the sole dominant party in U.S. politics. At its apex, James Monroe ran virtually unopposed in the 1820 presidential election. This period was known as the Era of Good Feeling. Shortly afterward, the party would split into two factions: the Democratic Party, led by Andrew Jackson, and the Whig Party, which was formed from the anti-Jackson coalition.

The following United States Presidents were members of the Democratic-Republican party:

1. Thomas Jefferson (1801 - 1809)
2. James Madison (1809 - 1817)
3. James Monroe (1817-1825)
4. John Quincy Adams (1825-1829)

Modern Claims To Democratic-Republican Heritage

The stature of the Presidents who identified themselves with the Democratic-Republican Party during its heyday makes it an enviable institution for modern political parties to identify themselves with. As a result, both major political parties today identify themselves with the party.

As noted above, the Democratic Party is a direct descendant of the Democratic-Republican Party. The Republican Party also sees itself as a spiritual descendant of the Democratic-Republicans, though it has much looser ties from their broad base of former Whig voters and politicians. Neither the modern-day Democratic nor Republican party has identifiable ties to the Federalist Party, which was the only opposition party to the original Democratic-Republican party.

See also: List of political parties in the United States

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "United States Democratic-Republican Party."

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United States Republican Party

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

The Republican Party (often GOP for Grand Old Party) is a United States political party that was organized in Ripon, Wisconsin on February 28, 1854, as a party against the expansion of slavery. It is not to be confused with the Democratic-Republican party of Thomas Jefferson. The first convention of the U.S. Republican Party was held on July 6, 1854, in Jackson, Michigan. Many of its initial policies were inspired by the defunct Whig Party. Since its inception, its chief opponent has been the United States Democratic Party.

The official symbol of the Republican Party is the elephant. Although the elephant had occasionally been associated with the party earlier, a cartoon by Thomas Nast, published in Harper's Weekly on November 7, 1874, is considered the first important use of the symbol [1].

History

John C. Frémont ran as the first Republican for President in 1856, using the political slogan: "Free soil, free labor, free speech, free men, Fremont."

The party of Lincoln was originally characterized by its opposition to the expansion of slavery. During the Reconstruction era, the Republicans benefitted from the Democrats' association with the Confederacy and dominated national politics virtually without opposition for several years. With the two-term presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, the party became known for its strong advocacy of commerce, industry, and veterans' rights, which continued through the end of the 19th century.

The assassination of William McKinley and subsequent ascendance of Theodore Roosevelt led to a brief dominance of Progressivism for the party. However, that gave way to the laissez faire economic policies of the 1920s with Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. Following Hoover's sound defeat by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932, the Republican Party was driven into the opposition for two decades. The Republicans finally regained the presidency in 1952 with the election of the former Supreme Allied Commander Dwight Eisenhower.

The party was still split between a conservative wing (dominant in the western U.S.) and a liberal wing (dominant in the northeastern U.S.). The seeds of conservative dominance in the Republican party were planted in the nomination of Barry Goldwater over Nelson Rockefeller as the Republican candidate for the 1964 presidential election. Goldwater represented the conservative wing of the party, while Rockefeller represented the liberal wing.

The party's current position as firmly to the right of the Democrats was cemented by the "Southern strategy" employed by Richard Nixon in the 1968 presidential election, followed by the Goldwater-inspired candidacy and election of Ronald Reagan in the 1980 election. Today, "conservative" and "Republican" are practically synonymous.

In 1994, Georgia Representative Newt Gingrich led the Republican Party in taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in midterm congressional elections on November 8. That was the first time in 40 years that the Republicans secured control of both houses of Congress.

After the 1994 sweep of Congress by the Republicans, the GOP began to engage in supporting major reforms of government with measures such as a balanced budget amendment and welfare reform. These measures and others formed the famous, "Contract with America" which was passed by Congress, but with a Democrat, Bill Clinton, as President, only certain provisions such as welfare reform were enacted after bitter fighting.

With the election of George W. Bush in 2000, the Republican party controlled both the presidency and both houses of Congress for the first time since 1952. The party solidified its Congressional margins in the 2002 midterm elections, bucking the historic trend. It marked just the third time since the Civil War that the party in control of the White House gained seats in both houses of Congress in a midterm election (others were 1902 and 1934).

Republican Party Presidents

1. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)
2. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
3. Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881)
4. James Garfield (1881)
5. Chester A. Arthur (1881-1885)
6. Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)
7. William McKinley (1897-1901)
8. Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
9. William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
10. Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
11. Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929)
12. Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
13. Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961)
14. Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
15. Gerald R. Ford (1974-1977)
16. Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
17. George H. W. Bush (1989-1993)
18. George W. Bush (2001-present)

Presidential candidates

• John C. Fremont (Lost: 1856)
• Abraham Lincoln (Won: 1860, 1864)
• Ulysses S. Grant (Won: 1868, 1872)
• Rutherford B. Hayes (Won: 1876)
• James Garfield (Won: 1880)
• James G. Blaine (Lost: 1884)
• Benjamin Harrison (Won: 1888, Lost: 1892)
• William McKinley (Won: 1896, 1900)
• Theodore Roosevelt (Won: 1904)
• William Howard Taft (Won: 1908, Lost: 1912)
• Charles Evans Hughes (Lost: 1916)
• Warren G. Harding (Won: 1920)
• Calvin Coolidge (Won: 1924)
• Herbert Hoover (Won: 1928, Lost: 1932)
• Alfred M. Landon (Lost: 1936)
• Wendell L. Wilkie (Lost: 1940)
• Thomas Dewey (Lost: 1944, 1948)
• Dwight D. Eisenhower (Won: 1952, 1956)
• Richard M. Nixon (Lost: 1960, Won: 1968, Won: 1972)
• Barry Goldwater (Lost: 1964)
• Gerald R. Ford (Lost: 1976)
• Ronald Reagan (Won: 1980, 1984)
• George H. W. Bush (Won: 1988, Lost: 1992)
• Bob Dole (Lost: 1996)
• George W. Bush (Won: 2000)

Other noted Republicans

Joseph Gurney Cannon

Newt Gingrich

Thomas Brackett Reed

Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller

Robert Alphonso Taft

External links

• Republican National Committee
• Young Republican National Federation

  Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "United States Republican Party."

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Synonyms within Context: Republican

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Modern Usage: Republican

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Commercial Usage: Republican

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Image Slideshow: Republican

Photos: Republican More pictures...

Illustrations: Republican More pictures...

Computer Images: Republican More pictures...

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Photo Album: Republican

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	The camp at McCook during the floods along the Republican River Geodetic crew helped in relief efforts Triangulation party of Wilbur Porter. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection.		A cure for Republican lockjaw. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Abraham Lincoln, Republican candidate for president of the United States. Credit: Library of Congress.		The Republican drag "Free Whiskey". Credit: Library of Congress.
	Rival Republican reports. Credit: Library of Congress.		Indiana G.O.P. serves dinner of hammer and ax, Republican platform, to Hoosier voters. Credit: Library of Congress.
	John Phillips Saylor, Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania, head-and-shoulders portrait, facing left] / Fabian Bachrach. Credit: Library of Congress.		Hoover invades democratic stronghold--thousands come out to cheer republican nominee in New Jersey. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Margaret Speaks, daughter of Rep. John C. Speaks of Ohio, snapped while selling peanuts to Rep. Edith N. Rogers of Mass. and Senator F.H. Gillett at the game today between the Democratic and Republican teams of the House of Representatives. Credit: Library of Congress.		President and Mrs. Coolidge with members of Republican Businessmen's Association of New York. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Republican

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Historic Usage: Republican

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Use in Literature: Republican

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Non-Fiction Usage: Republican

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Spoken Usage: Republican

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Speeches: Republican

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Usage Frequency: Republican

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Republican

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Republican

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Modern Translation: Republican

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Derivations & Misspellings: Republican

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Rhyming with "Republican"

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Anagrams: Republican

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