Posts

Anson Safford – "Father of the Arizona Public Schools"

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Anson Safford, born February 14th 1830. After mining for gold in California, he won two state house terms. Outbreak of civil war, patriotism led him to become a Republican. Early 1862, Safford relocated to Nevada and was elected county commissioner. He chaired the first territorial GOP convention. There followed two years as state surveyor. President Ulysses Grant named him Governor of Arizona Territory. Highlights of his eight years in office were establishing public schools and reducing crime While in the private sector, Safford financed several mines and opened a bank. He was delegate for the 1880 Republican National Convention. 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 th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ben Blaz, exemplary Marine Corp General and Guam Republican Congressman

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Vicente Tomás Blaz, born on Guam, February 14th 1928. Known as Ben, the teenager did three years forced labor under Japanese occupation during WWII. Peace restored, University of Notre Dame provided him a scholarship.  After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree, Blaz attended Marine Corps Officer Candidate School. He saw combat in the Korean and Vietnam, retiring in 1980 as a Brigadier General. In 1984, while a professor with the territory's university, Blaz won first of four congressional terms. This resolute Republican was on the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees. His grave is at Arlington National Cemetery. 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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

the USS Abraham Lincoln

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate Republican commitment to national defense. February 13th 1988, the navy launched its fifth Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln. Dick Cheney delivered the event’s keynote address. Officially naming the ship and christening it with a champagne bottle was JoAnn Webb, wife of the Reagan administration Navy Secretary. She said: "Reflecting back on the passage of the last 25 years, I remember the thousands who gathered to experience the commissioning of the Lincoln and thought of what the future would bring to the thousands of men and women who have proudly served her. I am so proud to be the sponsor of the USS Lincoln. I wish her and her crew calm seas and safe passage wherever they may sail." Back to Basics for the Republican Party  is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the boo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Republicans passed the Judiciary Act of 1925

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate the Judiciary Act of 1925. This law was passed by the GOP-controlled 68th Congress and signed by President Calvin Coolidge on February 13th. Previously, all sorts of cases, whether significant or not, were automatically appealable to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice William Howard Taft, a former Republican President, had been concerned about a five-year backlog. In his view: "Cases should not go to the Supreme Court of the United States simply because of the amount of money involved, because of the character or prominence of the parties, or because of the counsel... When it comes to a further review by the Supreme Court of the United States, the higher principle of importance to the public at large is involved." He named three Justices – James McReynolds, William Day, Willis Van Devanter – to draft a legislative remedy....
Post a Comment
Read more

David Patterson Dyer, from Union Army Colonel to Republican Congressman and Federal Judge

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute David Patterson Dyer, born February 12th 1838. Outbreak of civil war, this young attorney enlisted with the 49th Missouri Volunteers. Battlefield success merited promotion to Colonel. Dyer won two terms in the state house and was delegate for the 1868 Republican National Convention. There followed a term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Banning the Ku Klux Klan received his vote. President Ulysses Grant named him federal prosecutor. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him federal judge. His nephew, Leonidas Dyer, became a Republican Congressman and anti-lynching activist. 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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Myra Blackwell, pioneering Republican Attorney

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Myra Blackwell, born in Vermont, February 12th 1831. She relocated to Illinois with her family at age twelve and received a good education. During the Civil War, she fundraised for the Union cause. Peace restored, her husband, a Republican judge, won two terms in the state house. Blackwell studied law while apprenticing at her husband's office. She also published the  Chicago Legal News . In 1869, she passed the bar exam. A federal judge and a state's attorney asked the state supreme court to issue her a law license, but were refused. In an unsuccessful appeal of that decision, a Republican U.S. Senator argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that her 14th Amendment rights had been abridged. Despite this setback, Blackwell remained active. She was a leader of the suffrage movement, and a Republican Governor named her to represent Illinois ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Montgomery Blair, co-founder of the GOP, defended Dred Scott at the Supreme Court

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I highlight Republican opposition to slavery. February 11th 1857, Montgomery Blair presented an argument at the Supreme Court in defense of a slave. Dred Scott, he claimed, should be considered emancipated after residing in free territory. Blair had co-founded the GOP. He went on to be Postmaster General in the Abraham Lincoln administration. Lamentably, all seven Democrat Justices ruled, not only was Dred Scott still a slave, but that African-Americans could not be citizens. 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 artic...
Post a Comment
Read more