Which political party did Abraham Lincoln belong to?

Abraham Lincoln belonged to the Republican Party.

Lincoln became a leading Republican during the 1850s, when the party was formed by opponents of slavery’s expansion into western territories. The new party brought together former Whigs, antislavery Democrats, Free Soilers, and other groups concerned about the growing power of slaveholding interests.

Before joining the Republicans, Lincoln had been a member of the Whig Party. He first ran for president as the Republican nominee in 1860 and won the election by carrying every free state except New Jersey. His victory prompted several Southern states to secede, helping trigger the Civil War.

Lincoln’s Republicanism was centered on stopping slavery’s expansion, not initially on immediate abolition everywhere. During the war, his views developed, and he issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 before supporting the constitutional abolition of slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment. The modern Republican Party shares the same name but has changed substantially since Lincoln’s era.