Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Jacob Benton, born August 19th 1814. He taught school, then studied law. His political career began in the New Hampshire state house. He was delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention. During the Civil War, Benton was a brigadier general with the militia. Peace restored, he won two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Receiving his vote were GOP achievements including the Reconstruction Acts, the 15th Amendment and the [anti-] Ku Klux Klan Act. 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 an Instagram Video about this article. Here is a TikTok Video about this ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I appreciate our party’s respect for women’s rights. After being arrested in 1872, Susan B. Anthony boasted that she had voted for "the Republican ticket – straight." This event is explained on page 119 of  Back to Basics for the Republican Party . August 18th 2000, Donald Trump hosted a ceremony on the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment. Introduced by a Republican Senator and passed by a GOP-controlled Congress, this landmark achievement guaranteed women the right to vote. There was a surprise: Today, President Donald J. Trump issued an Executive Grant of Clemency (Full Pardon) posthumously to Susan B. Anthony, a peerless advocate for women’s suffrage, for a wrongful and unjust conviction stemming from the only vote she ever cast in an election. As we commemorate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment—known as the ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Israel Lash, born in North Carolina, August 18th 1810. Early business successes were with merchandising and cigar manufacturing. He later established what became Wachovia National Bank. During the Civil War, Lash refused to have anything to do with the Confederacy. Union restored, he helped write a new state constitution, which extended voting rights to African-Americans and guaranteed free public schools. In 1868, this Republican won first of two congressional terms. The 15th Amendment and the [anti-] Ku Klux Klan Act received his vote. "a kind man whose quiet generosity benefited the needy of all races" 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,...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute James Wadsworth, born in upstate New York. His grandfather was a Republican Congressman and Union General killed during the Civil War; his father, also a Republican Congressman. After graduating from Yale, he served in the army during war against Spain. His wife was daughter of Republican luminary John Hay. Wadsworth engaged in farming and ranching, while rising to speaker of the state house. In 1914, he won first of two U.S. Senate terms. In 1932, this revered politico won first of nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. His tenure consistently opposed federal government power over individuals, particularly the New Deal. "a gentleman unafraid, who served his country well"   "a patriot and an outstanding public servant, not only of his state but of the whole country" Back to Basics for the Republican Pa...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Sidney Edgerton, born August 17th 1818. He studied at Cincinnati Law School. This anti-slavery activist co-founded the Free Soil Party. Four years, he was a county prosecutor. Edgerton attended the GOP’s 1856 national convention. Two years later, he won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Receiving his vote were the D.C. Emancipation Act, the Homestead Act, the Transcontinental Railroad and other Republican achievements. During his second term, he commanded a militia regiment that defended Ohio from a Confederate incursion. President Abraham Lincoln named him Chief Justice of Idaho Territory, followed by Governor of Montana Territory. Later years were devoted to practicing law near Akron. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: "The more we Republicans know ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I praise Henry Winter Davis, born in Annapolis, August 16th 1817. Law studies were at University of Virginia. After nine years in Alexandria, he relocated to Baltimore. In 1854, Davis first won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Though not yet having joined the GOP, opposition to slavery led him to cast a crucial vote for a Republican as Speaker of the House. Even so, in the 1860 presidential election he backed the Constitutional Union Party. Appalled by the Confederacy, Davis became a Republican. "Smite fearlessly the Democratic Party," he thundered, "The union will survive its fragments." The war drawing to a close, he and Republican Senator Ben Wade secured passage of a bill to place Reconstruction firmly under control of Congress, until the slave system was totally eradicated. Page 82 of  Back to Basics for the Republican Party  explains: ...