a Soldiers and Sailors Convention empowered Republicans after the Civil War


Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate the Soldiers and Sailors Convention. It began on September 25th 1866, in Pittsburgh.

Union Army and Navy veterans, who had defeated the Confederacy, were angry to see Andrew Johnson, the Democrat President, allying with the former rebels. Led by General Jacob Cox, the Republican Governor of Ohio, friends of freedom gathered to support the GOP and its civil rights agenda.

James Negley, another former General, chaired the arrangements committee. This steadfast Republican later won three terms in Congress. Five thousand people assembled under an immense tent, with another twenty thousand outside. A parade and a choir and a band provided entertainment before the speeches.

The keynote address was delivered by Edwin Dudley. He had resigned from a Treasury Department job when refused three days off to attend the event. The former private thundered denunciations against the Democratic Party.

General Benjamin Butler, a future Congressman and Governor, presented a list of resolutions. They were enthusiastically approved: the 14th Amendment should be ratified; Congress, not the President, should make the laws; and, the Republican Party supports all people everywhere struggling for their freedom.

The convention was very successful. It "consolidated almost en masse the soldiers of the country in support of the Republican Party as represented by Congress."

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.

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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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