Waitman Willey, one of West Virginia's first two U.S. Senators

Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I honor Waitman Willey, born in Virginia, October 18th 1811. Overcoming extreme poverty, he earned a college degree and studied law. He was presidential elector for the 1840 Whig ticket, then congressional nominee. This "universally esteemed" orator asserted the rights of western Virginians. They knew him to be ""man of fine attainments, extensive reading, and high moral character; a bold thinker."

Willey voted a vehement NO at the state's secessionist convention. Patriots established an administration loyal to the federal government and elected him a U.S. Senator. Congress recognized the 'Restored Government of Virginia' and seated him. 

West Virginia having entered the Union, in August 1863 Willey was elected one of the state's first two Senators. Re-elected as a Republican, he was delegate to the GOP's 1876 national convention.

"a statesman, a patriot, an honest man, and an exemplary Christian"

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 an Instagram Video about this article.

Here is a TikTok Video 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"


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

thanking Republicans for the 19th Amendment

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I commemorate ratification of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. It became part of the Constitution on August 26th 1920. Republican Senator Aaron Sargent had written this Women's Suffrage Amendment in 1878, but Democrats delayed ratification for decades. After the GOP won control of Congress in the 1918 midterm elections, Republican Representative James Mann introduced the measure again. Within hours it passed. Twenty-six of the thirty-six states to ratify had Republican-controlled legislatures. 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 an In...
Read more

Democrats enacted their black codes to oppress African-Americans

Image
Grand Old Partisan denounce Democrat devilry. November 22nd 1865, the Democrat-controlled legislature of Mississippi passed the nation's first  black codes . These were laws that Democrats of the post-Civil War South enacted to impose near-slavery on African-Americans. According to these Democrat laws, African-Americans could not:  • vote  • serve on juries  • testify against white people  • own guns  • travel without permission  • assemble for political purposes  • own farmland  • be outdoors at night  • change jobs without permission Democrats decreed that all African-Americans had to:  •sign annual labor contracts with white masters  • be deferential to all white people  • be apprenticed (in practice, enslaved) to white masters until adulthood  • work only in agriculture and a few other occupations Fortunately, after winning a two-thirds majority in Congress, Republicans swept a...
Read more

President Lincoln justifying the Emancipation Proclamation

Image
Grand Old Partisan celebrates more than seventeen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. Today, I spotlight a classic assertion of Republican patriotism and decency. Summer 1863, Illinois Republicans invited Abraham Lincoln to Springfield. Though he could not leave Washington at so critical a time, the President did send a letter, on August 26th. He knew it would be reported nationwide. James Conkling, host of the event and an old friend, read it to the crowd. An observer noted that the letter "will live in history side by side" with the Emancipation Proclamation. "It meets the fears of the timid and the doubts of the reformer. It proves that the Proclamation and the policy resulting from it are the most conservative, both of liberty and of our form of government." President Lincoln wrote: "There are those who are dissatisfied with me. To such I would say: You desire peace; and you blame me that we do not have...
Read more