Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Alexander De Witt, born in Massachusetts, April 2nd 1798. He prospered with textile manufacturing and banking. While a Democrat, he served in both houses of the legislature. In 1852, switching to the Free Soil Party, he won first of two congressional terms. The noble Representative was one of six signatories for the  Appeal of the Independent Democrats . This anti-slavery manifesto denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act as "an atrocious plot to exclude from a vast unoccupied region immigrants from the Old World and free laborers from our own States, and convert it into a dreary region of despotism, inhabited by masters and slaves". De Witt served as militia colonel. He joined the GOP. During the Civil War, a Republican governor named him to coordinate military recruitment. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I applaud a classic denunciation of Democrat devilry. April 1st 1871, a former slave made his first speech in the U.S. House of Representatives. South Carolina Republican Joseph Rainey advocated passage of the [anti-] Ku Klux Klan Act. He said: "We love freedom more, vastly more, than slavery. Consequently, we hope to keep clear of the Democrats!" 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  about this article. Here is an  Instagram Video  about this article. Here is my  Substack  about this article. Michael Zak is author of...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate the National Federation of Republican Women. April 1st 1992, this venerable organization moved into its own headquarters, in Alexandria, Virginia. Dating from 1829, the brick house is on the National Register of Historic Buildings. In 1997, it was named the Marion E. Martin Center , to honor the NFRW’s founder. This tireless activist had been a Maine state legislator and RNC vice chair. 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  about this article. Here is an  Instagram Video  about this article. Her...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Alexander Boyd, a Republican civil rights activist. Born in South Carolina, he joined the Alabama GOP after the Civil War. Support from African-American voters helped elect him county attorney. Boyd's adherence to "equal protection of the laws" angered Democrats. March 31st 1870, masked gunmen shot him to death. They had intended to hang him in Eutaw's town square. His gravestone says "Murdered by Ku Klux". 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  about this article. Here is an  Instagram Video  about this article. Here is my...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Mary Abigail Dodge, born in Massachusetts, March 31st 1833. She rose to fame while working as governess for the family of a co-founder of the Republican Party, Gamaliel Bailey. Reporting for his anti-slavery newspaper about Washington politics made Dodge one of the nation’s first female political correspondents. Later years, she wrote essays about the need to develop greater education and employment opportunities for women. Her cousin was wife of James Blaine, the GOP’s 1884 presidential nominee. Dodge wrote campaign speeches for him and helped write his memoirs. Reacting to his defeat, she originated the idea for permanent Republican clubs, to maintain political involvement between election campaigns. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republi...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight the Architect of the Capitol. March 30th 1867, the GOP-controlled 40th Congress established this agency, replacing a Commissioner of Public Buildings and Grounds.  Previously, an 'Architect of the Capitol Extension' had overseen construction of the new dome and chambers. Edward Clark was the first such official with broadened responsibilities and his title was changed to 'Architect of the Capitol'. In 1921, the GOP-controlled 69th Congress made this name change permanent. Aside from the Capitol, the agency now has responsibility for congressional offices, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court building and other facilities. 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 abou...