Grand Old Partisan

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...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute George Robeson, born in New Jersey, March 16th 1829. After graduation from Princeton, he was a county prosecutor. During the Civil War, a governor commissioned the young Republican to recruit and train military volunteers. Peace restored, another governor named him attorney general. President Ulysses Grant appointed Robeson the Navy Secretary. Among highlights of his eight years in office were re-asserting civilian control and developing new technologies and upholding Republican policies for protecting African-Americans from Democrats. Robeson later won two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. At his initiative, the first all-steel warships were built. He chaired the Republican Conference. 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 mor...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor George Perkins Marsh, born in Vermont, March 15th 1801. After graduating from Dartmouth, he practiced law and edited a book on ancient Native American monuments of the Mississippi valley. While serving three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, this erudite Whig helped establish the Smithsonian Institution. Marsh was first to acknowledge the effect of human activity on the environment, writing in 1847: "It is certain that climate itself has in many instances been gradually changed and ameliorated or deteriorated by human action." His book on ecology,  Man and Nature: Or, Physical Geography as Modified by Human Action , inspired early conservationism and led to establishment of the national forest system. President Zachary Taylor named him ambassador to Turkey. Returning after nearly four years, Marsh was elected to the American...