Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Lafayette Head, born April 9th 1825. He settled in New Mexico after fighting several battles along with the 2nd Missouri Infantry during the Mexican war. President Millard Fillmore appointed him a U.S. Marshal. He later served in the territorial legislature. Establishment of Colorado in 1861 placed his ranch and flour mill in that territory. Head accompanied a delegation of Utes and Apaches to meet President Lincoln. He helped build the state’s oldest Catholic church. Head won election to the Colorado territorial legislature and wrote part of the state constitution. Upon statehood in 1876, this Republican businessmen was elected Lieutenant Governor. He attended the GOP’s 1880 national convention. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about t...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Walter Harriman, born in New Hampshire, April 8th 1817. He became a preacher after five years teaching school. The young Democrat served in both houses of the legislature. During the Civil War, a Republican Governor commissioned him Colonel of the state’s 11th Volunteer Infantry. He led his regiment at many battles in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia. Peace restored, Harriman joined the GOP and was elected secretary of state. In 1867, he won first of two gubernatorial terms. Priorities of his administration were economic development, public education and fiscal responsibility. President Grant named him Naval Officer for the Port of Boston. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the futu...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate Republicans who established the oldest hospital in the nation's capital, Providence. Battlefield casualties filling up the Washington Infirmary during the Civil War, there was need for a civilian hospital. Invited by President Lincoln, nuns from the Daughters of Charity began tending to District residents in June 1861. The GOP-controlled 37th Congress appropriated initial funding. The GOP-controlled 38th Congress passed a charter for Providence Hospital, and President Lincoln signed it into law on April 8th 1864. Site of the original building, razed decades ago, is now Providence Park on Capitol Hill. The more recent facility, from 1956, is in DC's Brookland neighborhood. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about th...

Grand Old Partisan spotlights an incident unreported by the media at the time. April 7th 1968, Richard Nixon met with Coretta Scott King to offer his condolences. Her husband, Martin Luther King, had been murdered three days earlier. A family member took photographs, then the two chatted privately fifteen minutes. They had known each other since meeting in 1957. Nixon attended the funeral later that day. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see  www.grandoldpartisan.com .  Here is a  YouTube Video  about this article. Here is a  TikTok Video  about this article. Here is an  Instagram Video  about this article. Here is my  Substack  about this article. Michael Zak is author of  Back to Basics...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commend the Republican Party for ending the trans-Atlantic slave trade. April 7th 1862, President Lincoln’s Secretary of State, William Seward, signed a treaty with the British ambassador. It committed the navies of both nations to patrol the African coast and intercept any ships carrying slaves or equipped for that purpose. Within weeks, the Senate of the GOP-controlled 37th Congress ratified the agreement. Importation of slaves having been already been banned by the U.S. Government, this endeavor focused on Latin America. More than a hundred slave ships were captured, with the captives returned to Africa. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know about the history of our party, the more Democrats will worry about the future of theirs. For more information, see  www....

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate that President Trump improved economic conditions for all Americans. April 6th 2018, the founder of Black Entertainment Network observed that unemployment for African-Americans was at its lowest level ever. Robert Johnson said: "You have to take encouragement from what’s happening in the labor force and the job market. When you look at African American unemployment, in over 50 years since the Bureau of Labor Statistics has been keeping the numbers, you’ve never had two things: African American unemployment this low and the spread between unemployment among whites and African Americans narrowing." "Why shouldn’t we, as Black voters, reject the notion that we are locked into one party which undoubtedly limits and dilutes our voting power? We should, instead, use the power of our vote to support and elect whichever party that best serves ou...