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the National League of Republican Clubs

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Grand Old Partisan commemorates the National League of Republican Clubs. December 15th 1887, local Republican organizations formed a countrywide organization. One thousand three hundred fifty-three delegates, representing three hundred fifty local clubs, convened at Manhattan's Chickering Concert Hall.  Senator William Evarts, formerly Secretary of State in the Rutherford Hayes administration, keynoted the event. Elected president was a New Yorker whose idea the league had been. Focusing on younger voters, the NLRC helped elect Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and William McKinley in 1896. The league faded soon after due to conflicts with the Republican National Committee. It would eventually be replaced by the Young Republican National Federation. 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 f...
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Harrison Havens – Iowa Infantry Officer and Missouri Republican Congressman

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Grand Old Partisan salutes Harrison Havens, born near Columbus, December 15th 1837. After studying law, he settled in Iowa to set up a practice and edit a newspaper. During the Civil War, he enlisted as captain with that state’s 47th Volunteer Infantry. "The bravest and best men of all times have perished in the struggles against tyranny and despotism, and free government has never secured even a feeble existence save at a most fearful cost. The experiment of republican government in our own country is similar to that of all others. Here, however, liberty has won her grandest triumphs. Here freedom is enthroned securely and is the unchallenged boon of every inhabitant. But we contemplate the cost of victory with mournful and pitying hearts." Peace restored, Havens relocated to Missouri and edited a newspaper, the Springfield Patriot . This enterprising Republican won two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was delegate for his party's 1884 national...
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Thomas Young – a "manly man" Republican Governor of Ohio

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"His whole career is another signal example of what energy, courage, and patriotism will enable a man to accomplish."  Grand Old Partisan salutes Thomas Young, born in Ireland, December 14th 1832. Immigrating with his parents as a child, he enlisted in the army at age sixteen and served ten years. He then taught at a school in Cincinnati. Outbreak of civil war, Young re-enlisted, rising to command the 118th Ohio Infantry. His regiment battled through Tennessee and Georgia. After studying law, he won a term in the state house and was delegate for the 1868 Republican National Convention. Next came a term in the state senate and voting for the 15th Amendment.  In 1875, Young was elected Lieutenant Governor. Rutherford Hayes winning the presidency made him Governor. He later served two congressional terms.  Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know ...
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Terry Branstad, the nation's longest-serving Governor

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Grand Old Partisan  honors Terry Branstad, the nation's longest-serving Governor. December 14th 2015, the accomplished Republican served his 7,642nd day in office as Governor of Iowa. This tenure surpassed the 7,641 days in office of George Clinton, Governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and from 1801 to 1804. Branstad studied at the University of Iowa and Drake University Law School. After two years serving as a military policeman, he won election to the state house. In 1978, the respected Republican was elected Lieutenant Governor. His lengthy governorship began in 1983. December 2017, President-elect Donald Trump named him Ambassador to China. 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...
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George Washington Steele – Union Soldier and Indiana Congressman and Oklahoma Governor

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Grand Old Partisan salutes George Washington Steele, born in Indiana, December 13th 1839. He studied law at Ohio Wesleyan University. Outbreak of civil war, Steele recruited volunteers and was commissioned Captain with the 12th Indiana Infantry. He later served as Lieutenant Colonel of the 101st Indiana Infantry. Peace restored, he remained in the army another ten years. Subsequent business activities included banking, livestock and farming. In 1880, this entrepreneurial Republican won first of four congressional terms. Impressed by his military background, President Benjamin Harrison named him Oklahoma Territory's first Governor. Steele imposed order on this unruly frontier and promoted development of its educational system, including the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University. He later served another four congressional terms from Indiana. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we...
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the first Army-Navy football game

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Grand Old Partisan cheers for the annual Army-Navy football game. The cadets of West Point and the midshipmen of Annapolis held their first gridiron matchup in 1890. It had been arranged by President Benjamin Harrison's Secretary of War, Redfield Proctor, and his Secretary of the Navy, Benjamin Tracy. Many games were played thereafter but not until 1930 did they become an annual tradition. December 13th that year, seventy thousand fans, including President Herbert Hoover's Secretary of War, Patrick Hurley, and his Secretary of the Navy, Charles Adams, watched Army defeat Navy 6-0. Ticket proceeds from the game, at Yankee Stadium, benefited the unemployed. 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 . ...
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a Republican President hosted the first White House Dinner for a foreign Head of State

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than SEVENTEEN decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate the first White House visit by a foreign head of state. December 12th 1874, President Ulysses Grant hosted the King of Hawaii, David Kalakaua. At a splendid dinner, thirty-six guests enjoyed French cuisine — soup, vegetables, fish, roasts, dessert, coffee and wine. The event had been arranged by Mark Twain, friend of the President who had met the King while visiting Hawaii. Days later, congressional leaders met with the royal entourage. King Kalakaua succeeded in negotiating a treaty allowing his nation's sugar and other agricultural products to enter the United States without tariffs. As a result, Hawaii's annual exports soared 1200%. In addition to Washington, the King visited San Francisco, New York, Boston, Omaha, St. Louis and New Haven. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more...
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