Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Henry Clay Whitney, born February 23rd 1831. The ambitious youth studied law in Cincinnati and Chicago, then set up his practice near Springfield. There, he became a close friend of Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, the President commissioned him Assistant Paymaster for the Union Army. Peace restored, Whitney settled in Kansas, editing a newspaper and winning a state senate term. Later years, he published  Life on the Circuit with Lincoln,  Lincoln the Citizen , and  Lincoln the President . 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....

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate patriotism. February 22nd 1922, Vice President Calvin Coolidge delivered a classic address,  The Purpose of Americ a: "Nations do not come into existence without a purpose. The world soon casts aside organizations which do not minister to its welfare. As we examine the course of known history, as we trace the progress of the race, as we see the problems of existence which had been met and solved by past civilization, and then as we learn of the discovery of a new continent and come to know the cause of its early settlement and mark the spirit of its institutions, there is disclosed to us the meaning and the purpose of our nation." "We are at peace with all peoples. We do not deny our duty to continue the making of sacrifices for the welfare of the world. It is not alone for their sake but for our own sake that we should pursue that cour...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Joseph McClurg, born near St. Louis, February 22nd 1818. He taught school in Louisiana and Mississippi after graduating from college. Back home, he operated a lead mine and managed a dry goods store. McClurg voted against secession at a state convention. Outbreak of civil war, he enlisted as colonel of the 8th Missouri Cavalry. In 1862, this patriot won first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He voted for the GOP's 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments and its 1866 Civil Rights Act. McClurg was elected governor in 1868. His administration promoting mining and agriculture, while halving government debt. Later, business activities were merchandising, manufacturing and steamboats. 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...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I admire the Washington Monument. February 21st 1885, Chester Arthur led its opening ceremony. Before eight hundred onlookers that bitterly cold day, the President said: "I do now, on behalf of the people, receive this monument and declare it dedicated from this time forth to the immortal name and memory of George Washington." The edifice – "simple in form, admirable in proportions, composed of enduring marble and granite, resting upon foundations broad and deep" – was completed two months earlier. Construction had been stalled for decades until the Rutherford Hayes took over the project. 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. ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight a civil rights milestone. February 21st 1838 was the first time a woman appeared before a state legislature. Angelina Grimke addressed the Massachusetts House of Representatives: "I stand before you as a southerner, exiled from the land of my birth, by the sound of the lash, and the pitious cry of the slave. I stand before you as a repentant slaveholder. I stand before you as a moral being, endowed with precious and inalienable rights, which are correlative with solemn duties and high responsibilities; and as a moral being I feel that owe it to the suffering slave, and to the deluded master, to my country and the world, to do all that I can to overturn a system of complicated crimes, built up upon the broken hearts and prostrate bodies of my countrymen in chains." Grimke delivered petitions signed by twenty thousand wo...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Angelina Grimke, born in South Carolina, February 20th 1805. Despite her childhood with a slave-holding family, she and sister Sarah became prominent abolitionists. The two relocated to Philadelphia. William Lloyd Garrison made Grimke famous by publishing in his newspaper The Liberator an anti-slavery letter she had written him based on her first-hand experiences. This she followed with Appeal to the Christian Women of the South . Angelina and Sarah delivered speeches in sixty-seven cities. Grimke largely retired from politics after having children with abolitionist husband Theodore Weld. She did campaign for Abraham Lincoln's first presidential campaign and lecture in support of the Union war effort. She later advocated for women’s suffrage. A eulogist described her as "a spotless dove in the tempest." Back to Basics...