Posts

Parker Robbins, from "free black" to Union Soldier and Republican Legislator and Skilled Mechanic

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Parker Robbins, born in North Carolina, July 5th 1834. His parents being Chowanoke Indian and African-American, the state considered him a free black. He owned a 102-acre farm. During the Civil War, Robbins fled to Union-controlled Norfolk and enlisted to fight against the Confederacy. He rose to sergeant-major with the 2nd U.S. (Colored) Cavalry. Peace restored, Robbins became a fervent Republican. He won two terms in the state house and was delegate to the 1868 constitutional convention. He signed an Address to the Colored People of North Carolina that denounced Democrat depravities. President Ulysses Grant appointed Robbins local postmaster. Later years, the skilled mechanic invented machines for planting cotton and sharpening saw blades. He constructed a steam boat as well as many houses. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civi...
Post a Comment
Read more

Joseph Foraker, from Boy Soldier to Republican Governor and Senator

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Joseph Foraker, born July 5th 1846. The teenager marched with the Wide Awakes in support of Abraham Lincoln for president, then enlisted in the 89th Ohio Infantry. His regiment battled through Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas. Union restored, Foraker was among Cornell University's first graduating class. He relocated to Cincinnati for law studies. Eloquence at campaign rallies for Ulysses Grant's re-election caught the attention of Republican politicos. He went on to chair six GOP state conventions and attend six Republican National Conventions. In 1879, while a state judge, this "unobjectionable man" was touted for the governorship by the incumbent governor. He won the nomination but narrowly lost the election. Foraker won a re-match two years later. Among his achievements were repealing racialły discriminatory ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Florence Dwyer, relentless Republican Congresswoman and Civil Rights Advocate

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Florence Dwyer, born July 4th 1902. After studying law at Rutgers, she chaired the legislation committee for the New Jersey Federation of Business and Professional Women. She was delegate at two Republican National Conventions. After six years in the state house, in 1956 Dwyer won first of eight terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her career focused relentlessly on women’s rights. Also, she voted for the GOP’s 1957, 1960 and 1964 Civil Rights Acts, as well as the 24th Amendment and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. At her initiative, the Eisenhower Dollar coin was minted. 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.grandoldp...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lysander Hill, first Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Lysander Hill, born July 4th 1834. Law studies followed graduation from Bowdoin College. Outbreak of civil war, he recruited for the legendary 20th Maine Infantry and enlisted as captain. Peace restored, the young Republican set up a legal partnership in Alexandria, Virginia. To prepare the state for its first postwar election, Unionists established a state GOP central committee. Chairman Hill and five other committeemen issued a call for the first Virginia Republican convention. It met at Richmond's First African Baptist Church. One hundred sixty of two hundred ten delegates were former slaves. Hill was delegate for the 1868 Republican National Convention. Years later, he relocated to Chicago and became one of the nation's foremost patent attorneys. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Hubert Work, the first Doctor in a Presidential Cabinet

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Hubert Work, born July 3rd 1860. The young physician settled in Colorado and established a mental hospital. He was delegate to three Republican National Conventions and also state chairman. During the First World War, he served as lieutenant colonel with the medical corps. Peace restored, he was president of the American Medical Association. President Warren Harding named him Assistant Postmaster General, then Postmaster General. Work later was Interior Secretary for the Harding and Coolidge administrations. In 1928, the Republican National Committee elected him chairman. 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.c...
Post a Comment
Read more

William Lucas, indefatigable Union Army soldier and South Dakota congressman and Santa Cruz booster

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute William Lucas, born near Indianapolis, July 3rd 1835. Age twenty-one, he moved to Iowa and engaged in farming. Outbreak of civil war, this patriot enlisted with the state’s 14th Volunteer Infantry. His regiment battled at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and Shiloh. Union restored, Lucas was town mayor and county treasurer. He later edited newspapers, the Waverly Republican and the Cerro Gordo Republican. The state house named him its chief clerk. After a term as state auditor, he moved to South Dakota. He won a term in the U.S. House of Representatives and was delegate to the GOP's 1896 national convention. President William McKinley appointed him federal land agent. Lucas retired to California in 1904 and wrote: "I was impressed with Santa Cruz as being the prettiest location for a town or city of any I saw." He zealously promoted its economic development...
Post a Comment
Read more

Joe Biden lavished praise on Klansman Robert Byrd

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I despise Democrat devilry. July 2nd 2010, Joe Biden delivered a eulogy for Robert Byrd, who had been a high-ranking member of the Ku Klux Klan. He lavished praise on the Klansman, calling him one of his "mentors" and "compassionate" and a "dear friend". Biden said "the Senate is a lesser place for his going." Barack Obama heaped on equally abhorent paudits. Egad! 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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more