Democrat? Republican?

What follows is a rumination on US political history - not, I emphasize, on current politics.

( Lineages )

Gentian

In honor of National Poetry Month, I present this gem, by the divine Emily:

God made a little Gentian -
It tried - to be a Rose -
And failed - and all the Summer laughed -
But just before the Snows

There rose a Purple Creature -
That ravished all the Hill -
And Summer hid her Forehead -
And Mockery - was still -

The Frosts were her condition -
The Tyrian would not come
Until the North - invoke it -
Creator - Shall I - bloom?