Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Edith Nourse Rogers, born March 19th 1881. She studied in Paris, then volunteered with the American Red Cross during WWI. President Warren Harding named her inspector of veterans hospitals. Rogers cast an electoral vote for Calvin Coolidge. In 1925, her husband, a Massachusetts Republican Congressman, died, and she won a special election for the vacant seat. There followed seventeen more terms. Representative Rogers opposed most of the New Deal. During WWII, she wrote a bill establishing the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps and co-wrote the G.I. Bill. Later years, she voted for both the GOP’s 1957 Civil Rights Act and its 1960 Civil Rights Act. Constituents knew her to be "capable, hard-working and intelligent." Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I denounce Democrat collaboration with the Confederacy. March 18th 1867, the GOP-controlled 40th Congress refused to seat a Senator-elect from Maryland. This former Democrat Governor was accused of providing "aid, countenance, and encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility to the United States." Philip Thomas had allowed his teenage son to join the rebel army and had given him money for expenses. 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  Subs...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute William O'Connell Bradley, born in Kentucky March 18th 1847. Twice during the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union army but was dismissed for being underage. The young patriot studied law and was elected county prosecutor. Impressive oratory skills made  Billy O' B  the state's leading Republican. Over the years, the GOP nominated him – unsuccessfully – for Representative and Senator and Governor.  President Benjamin Harrison offered to name him ambassador to Korea. Six years, Bradley served on the Republican National Committee, and he was delegate at six GOP national conventions. With strong support from African-Americans, he won the governorship on his second try. A decade after leaving office, the legislature elected him U.S. Senator. "Kentucky never gave to her country a son who possessed finer courage, more exalted...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Estevan Ochoa, born in Chihuahua, March 17th 1831. His family business hauled goods across the border along the Santa Fe Trail. After the Mexican war, he decided to remain in the United States. Ochoa was delegate for a convention that advocated splitting Arizona from New Mexico Territory. In 1860, the entrepreneur relocated from Las Cruces to Tucson. During the Civil War, he gave up his commercial holdings rather than pledge allegiance to occupying Confederates. Ochoa returned when Union troops regained control over the region. His freight business prospered again, supplying army posts and Indian reservations. He also invested in mining and wool. Ochoa was a Republican. He donated land and paid for constructing Tucson’s first school. Grateful residents elected him mayor. While serving in the legislature, he introduce...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Tobias Plants, born in Pennsylvania, March 17th 1811. He apprenticed as a saddle maker, then attended a local college and studied law. The anti-slavery activist co-founded the Liberty Party. Plants joined the Ohio GOP at its formation and served in the state house. In 1864, he won first of two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican initiatives such as the 1866 Civil Rights Act and the 14th Amendment received his support. He cast an electoral vote for the Garfield/Arthur ticket. Later years focused on managing a bank. 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...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute William Prosser, born near Harrisburg, March 16th 1834. Age twenty, he led a team of oxen to California and engaged in mining. While serving with the militia, Republicans nominated him for the legislature. Outbreak of civil war, Prosser returned home to enlist, fighting at Shiloh. Transferred from the 15th Pennsylvania Infantry, he was commissioned major of the 2nd (U.S.) Tennessee Cavalry. His regiment battled at Stone River and Knoxville. Mustered out as colonel, the patriot bought a farmstead near Nashville. Prosser won election to the state house in 1867 and to Congress the following year. His term focused on improving infrastructure and schools. He published the  Nashville Republican  newspaper. President Ulysses Grant appointed him the city's postmaster, then commissioner to the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia and to the World Fai...