Grand Old Partisan

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I salute Edward Valentine, born in Iowa, June 1st 1843. He apprenticed to be a printer. During the Civil War, he was an officer with the 67th Illinois Infantry then the 7th Iowa Cavalry. Peace restored, Valentine relocated to Omaha and studied law. President Grant named him a land office register. He won election to the bench. In 1878, he won first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Following this were three years as U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms. 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...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate the National Negro Committee. Plans for this civil rights organization were made on the one hundredth anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. It was formally established May 31st 1909, at Henry Street Settlement House in Manhattan. Attendees included Republican luminaries Mary Ovington, Ida Wells Barnett and Mary Church Terrell. "The systematic persecution of law-abiding citizens and their disfranchisement on account of their race alone is a crime." Its second annual meeting re-organized as the National Organization for the Advancement of Colored People. 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 .  H...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Jesse Dwight Locker, born in Cincinnati, May 31st 1891. He earned undergraduate and law degrees from Howard University. Back home, the young attorney worked as a janitor while building his practice. Locker led the North Ward Progressive Republican Club and the Lincoln-Douglass Republican Club. He also endeavored with various charities. In 1941, he won first of six terms on the city council, rising to become its president. In 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower named him ambassador to Liberia. A cerebral hemorrhage struck him down two years later. His foremost diplomatic accomplishment was negotiating for use of the principal airport by U.S. airlines. 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....

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Elizabeth Farrington, born in Japan to American parents, May 30th 1898. As a child, she attended schools in Tennessee and Texas and California. Relocating to Hawaii followed graduation from the University of Wisconsin with a degree in journalism. Beginning as a reporter, Farrington published the Honolulu Star-Bulletin fifteen years. She was League of Republican Women president from 1946 to 1948 and National Federation of Women's Republican Clubs president from 1949 to 1953. This tireless activist was delegate at the GOP's 1952 national convention. In 1954, her husband died, during his sixth term as congressional delegate. Prompted by the territorial governor, Farrington ran for the vacancy. She won first of two terms, and on her second day in office met with President Dwight Eisenhower to advocate statehood. Back to Basics for ...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. Located in northwest Ohio, it is the nation’s oldest presidential library. General Webb Hayes founded it on May 30th 1916 to honor his father. The 31-room facility contains more than ninety thousand documents, objects and images. It sits on 25 acres of parkland. President and Mrs. Hayes are buried there. 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 Back to Basics for t...

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I lament an outrage perpetrated by the Virginia Slavery Party. May 29th 1902, a new state constitution went into effect. A convention heavily dominated by Democrats had written it, to implement white supremacy. This new document replaced the truly progressive constitution of 1870, which had been written by Republicans. Chairing the convention was a Confederate army veteran. The most influential delegate went on to promote the New Deal for FDR. Democrats succeeded in reducing African-American voter registration by eighty-six percent. They also imposed racial segregation on public schools. 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.grandoldpartisa...