A favorite of headline writers, "G.O.P." dates back to the 1870s and 80s. The abbreviation was cited in a New York Herald story on October 15, 1884: "The G.O.P. Doomed," shouted the Boston Post: "The G.O.P. is in position to inquire..."
But what G.O.P. stands for has changed with the times. In 1879, there was a citation in the Congressional Record referring to "this gallant old party," and according to Harper's Weekly, a reference in the Cincinnati Commercial in 1876 to "Grand Old Party."
Perhaps the use of the "G.O.M." for Britain's Prime Minister William E. Gladstone in 1882 as "the Grand Old Man" stimulated the use of GOP in the United States soon after.
In early motorcar days, GOP took on the meaning of "get out and push." During the 1964 presidential campaign, "GO-party" was used briefly, and during the Nixon Administration, frequent references to the "generation of peace" had happy overtones. In line with moves in the 70's to modernize the party, Republican leaders took to referring to the "grand open party," harkening back to 1971 speech by President Nixon at the dedication of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Center in Washington, D.C.: "The Republican Party must be the Party of the Open Door."
Indeed the "Grand Old Party" is an ironic term since the Democrat Party was organized some 22 years earlier in 1832.
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