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John Routt, the First Governor of Colorado

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute John Routt, born April 25th 1826. Growing up in Illinois, he was a carpenter before being elected county sheriff. Outbreak of civil war, the patriotic Republican enlisted as captain with the state’s 94th Volunteer Infantry. His regiment fought at Vicksburg. Ulysses Grant promoted him to colonel. Peace restored, Routt won two terms as county treasurer. President Grant appointed him second assistant postmaster general, then U.S. Marshal. In 1875, he was named territorial governor of Colorado. The new governor oversaw preparations for statehood. Routt also promoted economic development and contended with lawlessness. In favor of women’s suffrage, he invited Susan B. Anthony on a speaking tour. Statehood achieved, Routt won the first two gubernatorial terms. He was delegate for three Republican National Conventions. Later, as a private citizen, investments in sil...
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Benjamin Franklin Tracy – "Father of the Modern American Fighting Navy"

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Grand Old Partisan salutes Benjamin Franklin Tracy, born in western New York, April 26th 1830. He began his career as a county prosecutor, and after establishing his local GOP, was re-elected. In 1862, Tracy won a state house seat. He recruited the 109th New York Infantry and commanded it at Battle of the Wilderness during the Civil War. He later commanded the 127th (Colored) Infantry and then a prisoner of war camp. Union restored, Tracy served eleven years as a U.S. Attorney. In 1881, a Republican Governor appointed him to the court of appeals. President Benjamin Harrison named him Secretary of the Navy. His foremost achievement was advocating a two-ocean navy that could conduct operations around the world. As a result, the GOP-controlled 51st Congress authorized construction of four modern battleships. In 1898, Tracy chaired the commission to create a five-borough Greater New York City. He lost the subsequent m...
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the Last Photo of Abraham Lincoln

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I contemplate the last photo of Abraham Lincoln. April 24th 1865, the President’s body was laid out in his coffin at City Hall in Manhattan. A local photographer was allowed to take pictures. An outraged Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, ordered all copies seized and destroyed. Not until 1952 was a copy discovered, at Springfield, Illinois. Stanton himself was the person who had saved it. Years later, his son gave the photo to Lincoln’s former aide, John Nicolay, who filed it away. 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 ...
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James Rogers, 1972 National Teacher of the Year

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor James Rogers, the first African-American to be named National Teacher of the Year. He taught American history and black studies in Durham, North Carolina. At a White House ceremony — April 24, 1972 — he received a plaque from President Nixon's daughter, Julie. For the rest of his life, Rogers treasured a photo from that fine day. It is inscribed: To James Rogers, Jr. With happy memories of the Teacher of the Year ceremony and with best wishes always, Julie Nixon Eisenhower 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 ...
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Founding of the North Carolina Republican Party

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I admire the North Carolina Republican Party. March 27th 1867, one hundred forty-seven delegates convened at Raleigh in the Capitol House Chamber to establish the state GOP. The one hundred one whites represented three factions: Unionists, ex-Confederates who had repudiated the rebellion, and northern arrivals. Most of the forty-six blacks were former slaves. William Holden, a newspaper editor appointed Provisional Governor for the six months immediately following the Civil War, organized the event. As he stated: "Let our loyal people, and especially the colored people, trust no man who will not promptly say he is a Republican." Boldly proclaimed: "We do this day with proud satisfaction unfurl the brilliant and glorious banner of THE REPUBLICAN PARTY and earnestly appeal to every true and patriotic man in the State to rally in its support." ...
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Paul Williams – Architect and Republican

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Paul Revere Williams, born February 18th 1894. Educated at University of Southern California and Los Angeles School of Art and Design, he became the first Black person to head the American Institute of Architects. This maestro designed the homes of many Hollywood celebrities as well as prestigious government facilities and high-visibility commercial buildings. Williams was delegate for the GOP’s 1952 and 1960 national conventions. Impressed by his integrity, a Republican mayor appointed him to the City Planning Commission and a Republican governor named him to the State Redevelopment Agency. He is the only Republican to have been awarded the NAACP’s Springarn Medal for Outstanding Achievement. 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 h...
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Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate Republican respect for the Jewish people. This day of 1981, President Ronald Reagan issued a proclamation,  Days of Remembrance of Victims of the Holocaust :  "The Congress of the United States established the United States Holocaust Memorial Council to create a living memorial to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust. Its purpose: So mankind will never lose memory of that terrible moment in time when the awful spectre of death camps stained the history of our world. When America and its allies liberated those haunting places of terror and sick destructiveness, the world came to a vivid and tragic understanding of the evil it faced in those years of the Second World War. Each of those names – Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau, Treblinka and so many others – became synonymous with horror. The millions of deaths, the gas chambers, the inhuman crematoria, and the t...
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