He was the first Republican president, but do you think the guy could get elected as the Republican nominee today (or any time since at least Reagan?).
He raised taxes during his term, expropriated property (slaves) that had up until then been justly acquired under the laws of the United States at the time. He suspended the writ of habeas corpus.
Except for that last thing, which was closer to a Dick Cheney move, he sounds like what you are accuse the Democrats of doing.
That was what Yayyywork was talking about.
Up to Reagan, you could make an argument that the Democrats were pro-segregation and regressive on a lot of social issues. The Democrats emerged in the 1800s as a party dominating the South, and after the Civil War, they were the ones who tried to stand for antebellum southern values. During the Regan revolution, the Repubicans and Democrats basically switched sides on social issues (but not economic ones), which is why the Republicans are where Ted Cruz and Trump’s message finds a home.
So basically, the days when Republicans achieved great things are basically the days when their views were more like what Democrats are today (Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt). Though, admittedly, they never liked the New Deal, although Eisenhower learned to live with it, and even Nixon said “We are all Keynsians now.”