John Usher, venerable Indiana Republican statesman

Grand Old Partisan honors John Usher, born in upstate New York. January 9th 1816. He studied law, then moved to Terre Haute. Abraham Lincoln was an acquaintance on the Illinois legal circuit. This former Whig won a term in the legislature.

In 1856, the newly-established Indiana GOP nominated Usher for the U.S. House of Representatives. He went on to organize local Republican clubs throughout his state and to assist Lincoln's Senate campaign against Stephen Douglas.

November 1861, the Republican Governor named him attorney general. A year later, another opportunity arose. Looking to replace the sickly Interior Secretary, Caleb Smith, with another Hoosier, President Lincoln named him Assistant Secretary. Usher then joined the Cabinet when Smith resigned.

Usher warned President Lincoln not to attend Ford's theater that fateful evening and was present at his death the next day. Leaving office soon after the Democrat vice president, Andrew Johnson, was sworn in, he served as mayor of Lawrence, Kansas and worked for the Union Pacific railroad.

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. 

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Here is my Substack about this article.

Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.


Each day, his YouTube videos and TikTok videos and Rumble videos and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states.

Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.

"This is the most amazing book about politics that I have ever read. The Overview should be required reading for anyone with even a minor interest in government. The remainder is an enthralling history lesson that I will never forget. For years, we have all been misled about the true nature of the GOP. This is the real deal! Read it and be proud!"

"Your book is a national treasure. I'm always recommending it."

"Michael Zak wrote the definitive history of the GOP."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is the most significant contribution to the Republican Party in the last twenty years apart from Ronald Reagan."

"Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before."

and

"one of the best books I ever read"

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