Important supporters of the Republican Party in the late 19th century?

Answer 1

Northern Protestants and anti-slavery abolitionists who by all accounts were also Northern Protestants were supportes of the Republican Party from at least the middle of the 19th century and as the first one to answer the question Northern Protestants were in fact early supporters into the late 19th century. In reviewing the 1860 election campaign of Abraham Lincoln, the New York news media and what can be considered "radical" Protestants were major players in the Party. As an example, during the US Civil War, radical Republicans and close political allies, created the successful movement to place the words "In God We Trust" on coins & currency. Lincoln however, resisted all attempts to have the US Constitution read that the United States was a Protestant nation.