Posts

Leonard Swett – Abraham Lincoln's forgotten friend

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Leonard Swett, born in Maine, August 11th 1825. Law studies followed army service during the Mexican War. After that, he relocated to Bloomington, Illinois. This prominent attorney rode the judicial circuit along with Abraham Lincoln. Swett co-founded the Illinois GOP, then served one state senate term. He was among close political allies who helped The Railsplitter win the 1860 Republican presidential nomination. Swett had no further political ambitions. Lincoln sent him to deliver a message relieving General Fremont from command at St. Louis. He later travelled to California on the President’s behalf. Later years focused on his law practice. 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...
Post a Comment
Read more

Edward Salomon, the first Jewish Republican Governor

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Edward Salomon, born near Berlin, August 11th 1828. His revolutionary sympathies led him to flee to the United States while a university student. Settling at Milwaukee, he worked various jobs while studying law. This patriotic immigrant supported Abraham Lincoln for the 1860 presidential nomination. Following year, the Wisconsin GOP successfully nominated him for Lieutenant Governor. April 1862, the top of the ticket drown while visiting the Shiloh battlefield, making Salomon the 8th Governor of Wisconsin. His administration tirelessly supported the Union war effort. Three brothers and a cousin fought for the Union. Peace restored, Salomon was attorney for various German businesses. Age sixty-six, he retired to Frankfurt. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is my civil rights history of the GOP. To quote the book: ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Republicans created the Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I thank the GOP for creating the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.  Doane Robinson, a Republican activist and South Dakota state historian, had first conceived the project. His original vision had been for statues of Native American heroes, but the sculptor he selected opted instead for statues of U.S. presidents. Next, a Republican Governor secured passage of authorization in the state legislature and a Republican Senator did so in Congress. August 10th 1927, the President arrived at the site on horseback. Calvin Coolidge was there for a ceremony marking start of construction. He brought steel drill bits, for use in carving granite. Two thousand people gathered. His speech noted that depictions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt "will constitute a distinctly national monument. It will be decided...
Post a Comment
Read more

Horace White, the Reporter who brought Abraham Lincoln to National Prominence

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I admire Horace White, born August 10th 1834. After graduating from college in Wisconsin, he edited a Chicago newspaper. The anti-slavery activist volunteered for an organization that provisioned pro-freedom settlers in Kansas. White reported on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. Friendship with Abraham Lincoln began when they met on the campaign trail. His articles in the Chicago Tribune helped make the Republican candidate nationally prominent: "Progressing with his theme, his words began to come faster and his face to light up with the rays of genius and his body to move in unison with his thoughts. His gestures were made with his body and head rather than with his arms. They were the natural expression of the man, and so perfectly adapted to what he was saying that anything different from it would have been quite inconceivable. Sometimes his manner was very im...
Post a Comment
Read more

Origin of the Republican Elephant

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I explain how the elephant came to symbolize the Republican Party. August 9th 1860, the Illinois State Journal newspaper described a campaign rally in Springfield. GOP presidential nominee Abraham Lincoln had thanked an immense and enthusiastic crowd the previous day. Atop the article was a picture of an elephant, with the captions WE ARE COMING! and CLEAR THE TRACK! The Cincinnati Gazette reported that "Mr. Lincoln's bearing today, under such a tribute of personal popularity and admiration as I have never before seen paid to any human being, more and more convinces me of the real greatness of his character." Republicans also carried signs comparing Lincoln's running mate to the famous Carthaginian general: "Hannibal Hamlin, the first man who showed the Elephant to the Romans!" Soon, other newspapers be...
Post a Comment
Read more

Charles Nagel, the last Secretary of Commerce and Labor

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Charles Nagel, born in Texas, August 9th 1849. During the Civil War, his anti-slavery parents escaped with their children to Mexico and then to Missouri. He studied at Washington University Law School and the University of Berlin. Political activity began with a term in the state house, followed by chairing the St. Louis city council.  In 1908, Nagel became Republican National Committeeman. Recognized for "strong business instincts and large experience with industrial, fiscal and transportation affairs," he co-founded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Nagel served as Secretary of Commerce and Labor during the William Howard Taft administration. His tenure ended after four years when the Department was divided in two – one for Commerce and another for Labor. He was delegate at the 1932 Republican National Convention. Back to Ba...
Post a Comment
Read more