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Theodore Roosevelt's African Safari

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I memorialize the adventures of Theodore Roosevelt. March 23rd 1909, the former president departed New York City for Africa. He was accompanied by son Kermit and several employees of the Smithsonian Institution. Their purpose was to provide exhibits for the Museum of Natural History, then under construction.  They collected eleven thousand animal specimens and ten thousand other items of scientific interest. The ten-month safari visited Kenya, Congo, South Sudan and Uganda. The event was popularized with toys and knickknacks. Responding to criticism for shooting so many animals, he said: "I can be condemned only if the existence of the National Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, and all similar zoological institutions are to be condemned." Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of ...
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John Kelso, patriotic Union Army Officer and Missouri Republican Congressman

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute John Kelso, born near Columbus, March 23rd 1831. He relocated as a child to Missouri. His profession was schoolteacher.  Outbreak of civil war, the young Republican enlisted in a Unionist militia regiment and scouted rebel positions. Captain Kelso fought in several battles. In 1864, he won a term in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 13th Amendment and the 1866 Civil Rights Act received his vote. 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. H...
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Tom McCall, beloved Republican Governor of Oregon

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Tom McCall, born March 22nd 1913. After earning a journalism degree from the University of Oregon, he worked as a newspaper reporter and radio announcer. He served aboard a cruiser in the Pacific during WWII. McCall entered the political arena with three years working for a Republican governor. A decade after losing for Congress, he was elected secretary of state. In 1966, he won first of two terms as governor. His administration successfully balanced conservatism and environmentalism. McCall chaired the state delegation at the GOP's 1972 National Convention. Ronald Reagan called him "an effective, dynamic and constructive force for Oregon and the nation."  Tom McCall Waterfront Park and other sites are named in his honor. By act of the legislature, every March 22nd is  Tom McCall Day . Back to Basics ...
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origin of the modern-day Mississippi Republican Party

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate origin of the modern-day Mississippi Republican Party. Ever since Reconstruction, the state GOP had been divided between two factions. And both were small and ineffectual. This sad situation ended March 22nd 1956, at a convention held in the Hinds County Courthouse. Delegates from the Young Republicans united with delegates from Citizens for Eisenhower to gain control over the central committee. This achievement "brought the organization home, for the first time putting responsibility for the party’s management into the hands of those who lived, worked, and raised their families in Mississippi." Elected chairman was businessman Wirt Yerger. He called his victory "the ultimate break with the old-line, racist Southern Democrats who didn't know whether they wanted to be liberal or conservative, but were vocally committed to keeping lo...
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Alaska Republicans granted Voting Rights to Women

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I congratulate the Republican Party for granting voting rights to women. March 21st 1913, Governor Walter Clark, appointed by President Taft, signed a law to "extend the elective franchise to women in the Territory of Alaska." This was the first legislation passed by its legislature. The bill had been written by Republican representative Arthur Shoup, from Sitka. Republican state house speaker, Earnest Collins, from Fairbanks, introduced it, along with the Republican senate president, LeRoy Ray, from Seward. 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 art...
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Philadelphia Congressman Charles O’Neill: "faithful, earnest, watchful and true – so he was always and everywhere"

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"faithful, earnest, watchful and true – so he was always and everywhere" Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Charles O’Neill, born in Philadelphia, March 21st 1821. The attorney served in both legislative houses as a Whig, then a Republican. In 1862, O’Neill won first of four congressional terms. He backed the Union war effort and voted for the GOP’s civil rights agenda, including the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. Out of office two years, O'Neill returned to Congress for another eleven terms. Also receiving his vote were the 1875 Civil Rights Act, the Land-Grant Colleges Act and the Forest Reserve Act. 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.gra...
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the Democratic Party’s Racial Integrity Act

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I denounce Democrat racism. March 20th 1924, the Democrat Governor of Virginia, Elbert Trinkle, signed the Racial Integrity Act. It had been passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature, in order "to purify the white race." The law banned interracial marriage and defined as white a person "who has no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian." This so-called ’one-drop rule’ remains popular among Democrats today. 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 a...
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