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Ferdinand Barnett, pioneering African-American Republican Attorney

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Ferdinand Barnett, born in Nashville, February 18th 1852. After purchasing the child's freedom, his parents moved the family to Canada. Returning after the Civil War, he attended Northwestern Law School and became the third African-American to pass the Illinois bar. In 1878, Barnett started publishing  The Chicago Conservator . This newspaper was later sold to his wife Ida Wells, the famed Republican journalist. He worked for the RNC during two presidential campaigns. In 1896, a Republican Governor appointed him assistant district attorney. Democrat Vote Fraud blocked his elections for judge and city councilman. 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...
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a Democrat President premiered "Birth of a Nation" at the White House

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I denounce the Democratic Party for glamorizing the Ku Klux Klan. Back to Basics for the Republican Party  describes on page seven an especially outrageous Democrat outrage. February 18th 1915, President Woodrow Wilson premiered  Birth of a Nation  at the White House. That racist movie was based on  The Clansmen  and  The Leopard's Spots , novels espousing hatred for African-Americans. They had been written by one of Wilson's college pals. While vilifying the Republican Party of the post-Civil War era,  Birth of a Nation  tried to justify Democrat terrorists and Democrat violence against African-Americans. President Wilson called the movie "terribly true... like history written with lightning". Birth of a Nation  spawned the 20th century version of the Ku Klux Klan, which adopted the white sheet uniforms, cross-burning and other rit...
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John Willis Menard, the first African-American elected to Congress

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute John Willis Menard, born a Free Black in Illinois, February 17th 1838. He attended an Ohio college open to African-American students. During the Civil War, he worked at a military hospital. Peace restored, Menard was customs inspector at New Orleans and editor of a newspaper, the  Radical Standard . November 1868, the young Republican won election to a U.S. House of Representatives vacancy, but his opponent contested it based on Democrat Vote Fraud. With only a few days remaining in the term, Congress declined to seat either man. Later years, Menard resided in Florida. He edited newspapers, and during the Benjamin Harrison administration worked for the census bureau. 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 abo...
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the Jubilee Singers performing at the White House

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight a musical milestone. February 17th 1882, a group of African-American vocalists entertained Chester Arthur and guests at the White House. Known as the Jubilee Singers, they performed a sophisticated medley of spirituals including  Swing Low, Sweet Chariot  and  Safe in the Arms of Jesus .  Said the choirmaster: "I never saw a man so deeply moved, and I shall always believe President Arthur to be a truly good man." It was reported that he was moved to tears. Ten years earlier, Jubilee Singers had performed for President Ulysses Grant and Vice President Henry Wilson. 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...
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Sonny Bono, from Hollywood Entertainer to Republican Congressman

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I applaud Salvatore Bono, born in Detroit, February 16th 1935. Knowm as Sonny, he rose to fame as songwriter, singer and actor. Political activism began with opposing burdensome regulation and taxation of his restaurant in Palm Springs. Determined to do something about it, Sonny ran for mayor and won. In 1994, Bono won election to the U.S. House of Representatives. This conservative Republican observed about illegal immigration: "What’s to talk about? It’s illegal." His charisma made him a popular speaker. He died in a skiing accident during a second term. 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  a...
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Chauncey Cleveland, from Democrat Congressman and Governor to Republican Party Co-Founder

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Chauncey Cleveland, born in Connecticut, February 16th 1799. The distinguished attorney served ten years in the state house then was banking commissioner. He twice won the governorship, as a Democrat, and went on to win two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Having left the Slavery Party for the GOP, Cleveland attended the 1856 and 1860 Republican National Conventions. He cast an electoral vote for Abraham Lincoln and attended a conference intended to prevent secession. There followed election as speaker of the state house. 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 ...
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Susan B. Anthony, famous Republican Suffragist

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Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Susan B. Anthony, born in Massachusetts, February 15th 1820. 'B. for Brownell' was related to President Eisenhower's Attorney General, Herbert Brownell, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and author of the 1957 Civil Rights Act. Her career began with teaching at a Quaker boarding school. She joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and campaigned for GOP candidates. In 1860, the Wide Awakes, a Republican marching club, serenaded Anthony and her colleague Elizabeth Cady Stanton to thank them for their support. They founded the Women's Loyal National League, which presented to Congress signatures of nearly 400,000 Republican women in support of the GOP's constitutional amendment to ban slavery. Peace restored, the two suffragists established the American Equal Rights Association and th...
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