Reason to be very proud of the Republican Party

More on Emancipation Day...
MICHAEL ZAK, 4/16/2011 - DC Emancipation Day, thanks to the Republican Party "Today [April 16], the nation's capital celebrates "Emancipation Day" -- commemorating the Republican Party's abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, on April 16, 1862. ∴ That's right, the Republican Party freed the slaves in Washington, DC. It was the GOP that passed the DC Emancipation Act, despite fierce opposition from the Democrats. Of course, the Democrat mayor of DC and the Democrat president of the USA don't mention that fact.

One of the nation's leading abolitionists was Senator Henry Wilson (R-MA), who would later serve as vice president during President Grant's second term. In December 1861, Senator Wilson introduced a bill to abolish slavery in the District. The measure met with parliamentary obstacles from the pro-slavery Democratic Party.

The senator most responsible for outmaneuvering Democrat opposition was Ben Wade (R-OH). If in 1868, the racist Democrat president, Andrew Johnson, had been convicted during his impeachment trial, Senator Wade would have become president.

Overall, 99% of Republicans in Congress voted to free the slaves in the District of Columbia, while 83% of Democrats voted to keep those 3,100 African-Americans in chains.

While serving his one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Abraham Lincoln had sponsored a bill to abolish slavery in DC. As president, he proudly signed the District of Columbia Emancipation Act, announcing "I have never doubted the constitutional authority of congress to abolish slavery in this District; and I have ever desired to see the national capital freed from the institution." Finally, it happened, thanks to Republican majorities in Congress.

Due to the fact that DC Emancipation Day is observed on April 15 this year, the federal tax filing deadline has been postponed to April 18. So, for these three extra days, we can also thank the GOP.

Here is a link to this article at Grand Old Partisan.

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country. He is the author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, the acclaimed history of the GOP cited by Clarence Thomas in a Supreme Court decision.

See www.grandoldpartisan.com for more information.

Michael Zak's Email: grand_old_partisan@hotmail.com Read More......

Anniversary, passage of the 13th Amendment

(Hat tip: Bryce Kennedy/Chaplain Tommy Davis) - "Today, January 31, 2011, marks the anniversary of the passing of the 13th Amendment by the House of Representatives abolishing slavery. All 118 Republicans voted to end slavery, and only 19 Democrats out of 82 voted for the Amendment to end slavery; and these were the Democrats from up north." Read More......

Theodore Roosevelt and Booker T. Washington

GRAND OLD PARTISAN, 10/16/2009 by Michael Zak - "On this day in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt (R-NY) hosted Booker T. Washington (R-VA), the famed civil rights activist, for dinner at the White House. They discussed ways of reviving the Grand Old Party in the southern states. ∴ Democrats were outraged. Outraged! Several Democrat-controlled state legislatures passed resolutions censuring the president for this gesture of respect for an African-American. Some Democrats went so far as to demand that President Roosevelt throw away whatever dishes and cutlery Washington had used."

About Michael Zak:

Michael Zak is a popular speaker to Republican organizations around the country, showing office-holders, candidates and activists how they would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party. Back to Basics for the Republican Party is his acclaimed history of the GOP from the Republican point of view. Each day, his Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates more than fifteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. See www.RepublicanBasics.com for more information. Read More......

Republican defender of the slave Dred Scott

"On this day in 1856, Montgomery Blair, one of the founders of the Republican Party, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of the slave Dred Scott, who was suing for his freedom. Blair later served in the cabinet of President Abraham Lincoln. Sadly, all 7 Democrat Justices on the Supreme Court would vote against Mr. Scott, decreeing that "a black man has no rights a white man is bound to respect." Both Republicans voted for him, in the infamous 7-2 Dred Scott decision." --Michael Zak, Grand Old Partisan Blog Read More......

1860: Sumner's "The Barbarism of Slavery"

Grand Old Partisan Blog, June 4, 2007 – Michael Zak wrote,

On this day in 1860, Senator Charles Sumner (R-MA) delivered his classic address The Barbarism of Slavery. Sumner had just returned from four years in France recovering from a brutal *attack by a Democrat congressman. No one in Congress had previously dared openly criticize slavery and slave-holders. His denunciation of the Democratic Party's pro-slavery policies was eloquent and devastating: Read a powerful excerpt from Sen. Sumner’s speech at Michael Zak’s Grand Old Partisan Blog.

*Congressman Brooks (D-SC) was Sumner’s attacker. See the Wikipedia entry for Preston Brooks. See also Sen. Charles Sumner and full text of Barbarism of Slavery. Mr. Zak is the author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party Read More......