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John Beveridge, from Congressman to Lieutenant Governor to Governor in three weeks

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute John Beveridge, born in update New York, July 6th 1824. His family later relocated to northern Illinois. Six years he taught school in Tennessee before returning for law studies. During the Civil War, Beveridge enlisted as captain with the state’s 8th Cavalry and was promoted to major. His regiment fought at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He then recruited the 17th Illinois Cavalry, being commissioned its colonel by a Republican Governor. This new regiment served in Missouri. Peace restored, Beveridge was elected Cook County sheriff. The ambitious Republican won a seat in the state senate in 1870, and a year later, a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives. A year after that, he was elected Lieutenant Governor. Ten days after his inauguration, the legislature elected his running mate a U.S. Senator, making Beve...
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Abraham Lincoln's personal assistant, John Hay, commemorated the Republican Party's fiftieth anniversary

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate the Republican Party's glorious heritage of achievement. July 6th 1904 – at Jackson, Michigan – John Hay delivered a classic address on the GOP fiftieth anniversary. Hay was Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of State and had been Abraham Lincoln's personal assistant. "A party was brought into being and baptized, which ever since has answered the purposes of its existence with fewer follies and failures and more magnificent achievements than ordinarily fall to the lot of any institution of mortal origin. And even the beginning of the end is not yet. This historic party is only now in the full maturity of its power and its capacity for good. We look back upon a past of unparalleled usefulness and glory with emotions of thankfulness and pride; we confront the future and its exacting problems with a confidence born of the exp...
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Parker Robbins, from "free black" to Union Soldier and Republican Legislator and Skilled Mechanic

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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...
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Joseph Foraker, from Boy Soldier to Republican Governor and Senator

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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 ...
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Florence Dwyer, relentless Republican Congresswoman and Civil Rights Advocate

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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...
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Lysander Hill, first Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party

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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...
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