THe Republican Party was founded in the State of Wisconsin in Ripon.
LOL! The Michigan origination claim I read was cited by Hillsdale College, which is in Michigan! No bias there, right? /sarc
“The founding event of the Republican Party is a matter of some dispute. Some point to a mass meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin in March 1854; others cite a later gathering in Jackson, Michigan. In any event, there appeared to be a spontaneous outpouring of anger following passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Large public meetings were held in numerous Northern communities, some of which used the term “Republican.””
The above is per an internet site: United States History
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h141.html
Where ever the GOP originally sprung-up, it was certainly driven by the horrors of slavery.