Grand Old Partisan spotlights an important early step in the civil rights movement. February 1855, a Black schoolteacher sued a New York City streetcar company. Refusing to be denied a seat, she had been severely beaten by the driver and... Read more →
September 26, 2023
September 25, 2023
Joseph Gravely – Missouri Colonel and Lieutenant Governor
Grand Old Partisan salutes Joseph Gravely, born in Virginia, September 25th 1828. He taught school while studying law, then won a state house term. In 1854, Gravely relocated to Missouri. His was among the votes at a state constitutional convention... Read more →
September 24, 2023
a Republican President ended racial segregation at Little Rock
Grand Old Partisan highlights Republican respect for Blacks and other racial minorities. Toward end of his first term, Dwight Eisenhower proposed what would become the 1957 Civil Rights Act. As this GOP bill neared passage, the Democrat Governor of Arkansas... Read more →
September 23, 2023
Mary Terrell, venerable Republican Civil Rights Activist
Grand Old Partisan honors Mary Terrell, born to freed slaves in Memphis, September 23rd 1863. One of the first Black women college graduates, she taught at what is now Dunbar High School in Washington, DC. In 1895, a Republican administration... Read more →
September 22, 2023
Philetus Sawyer – Wisconsin Republican Mayor and Congressman and Senator
Grand Old Partisan honors Philetus Sawyer, born September 22th 1816. Age thirty-one, he relocated from update New York to Wisconsin for better opportunities in the lumber sector. Originally with the anti-slavery Free Soil Party, this savvy businessman joined the GOP... Read more →
September 21, 2023
Abram Olin, early New York Congressman and DC Judge
Grand Old Partisan honors Abram Olin, born September 21st 1808. His father had been a Congressman. He studied law and settled near Albany. In 1856, Olin won first of three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. He firmly opposed... Read more →
September 20, 2023
George Bird Grinnell, the "father of American conservation"
Grand Old Partisan honors George Bird Grinnell, born in Brooklyn, September 20th 1849. This paleontology Ph.D launched the early conservation movement. Native American cultures were another interest. January 1888, Grinnell and Theodore Roosevelt founded an organization for restoring wilderness areas,... Read more →
September 19, 2023
John Schuyler Crosby – Republican Soldier and Governor and Diplomat and Educator
Grand Old Partisan salutes John Crosby, born in Albany, September 19th 1839. He left college before graduation to tour South America, the Pacific islands and China. Civil War disrupted plans for resuming his education. With experience in the state militia,... Read more →
September 18, 2023
a Republican President appointed the first Jewish Military Chaplain
Grand Old Partisan salutes Jacob Frankel, the U.S. military's first Jewish chaplain. September 18th 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed this Philadelphia rabbi as an Army chaplain. He tended to wounded soldiers at various hospitals. Another rabbi, Ferdinand Leopold Samer, was... Read more →
September 17, 2023
Cornelius Cole, the first Republican National Committeeman for California
Grand Old Partisan honors Cornelius Cole, born in western New York, September 17th 1822. He studied law at William Seward's office after graduating from Wesleyan University. This ambiguous young man moved to California for the Gold Rush, later setting up... Read more →
September 16, 2023
William Cameron Sproul, conscientious Republican Governor of Pennsylvania
"Turning away from a path that could have led directly to the nation's presidency, Sproul chose instead to focus his public service on the Commonwealth." Grand Old Partisan honors William Cameron Sproul, born in Pennsylvania, September 16th 1870. Graduating from... Read more →
September 15, 2023
the National Afro-American Council
Grand Old Partisan spotlights the first nationwide civil rights organization. September 14th 1898, several thousand people gathered at Rochester for the dedication of a statute to GOP luminary Frederick Douglass. Following day, guided by Republican journalist Timothy Thomas Fortune, prominent... Read more →
September 14, 2023
Winnifred Huck, early Republican Congresswoman
Grand Old Partisan praises Winnifred Huck, born in Chicago, September 14th 1882. She would be the third woman - as well as the first wife and mother - elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Her father, William Mason, had... Read more →
September 13, 2023
Theodore Roosevelt Jr – heroic Republican
Grand Old Partisan salutes Theodore Roosevelt Jr, born September 13, 1887. He was actually the III, the President’s father also having been named Theodore Roosevelt. After graduating from Harvard, he prospered in investment banking. Having completed officer training, he was... Read more →
September 12, 2023
Jesse Owens, famous Republican athlete
Grand Old Partisan applauds Jesse Owens, born in Alabama, September 12th 1913. Despite discrimination against Blacks, he excelled at track and field while an Ohio State University student. This gifted athlete vaulted to intentional fame by winning four gold medals... Read more →
Substack link for Grand Old Partisan
My father, of blessed memory, wrote a book now available on Kindle:
Soldier Boy: a Memoir of Life and Death and Survival during WWII
Back to Basics for the Republican Party
- "We need to promote Back to Basics for the Republican Party to every single proud Republican!!!!"
- "Every precinct committeeman, every candidate and every teacher with a Republican affiliation should read this book and pass it on to another."
- "Michael Zak takes a novel approach to the culture wars by boldly boasting the historical record of the Republican Party. Rather then sheepishly bow to the Democrat's ongoing myths (and frequently, outright lies) about the GOP, he brings the history and heroes of the Republican Party into the fray."
- “Why is it that we Republicans are so easily outmaneuvered by Democrats?
Why do Republicans so readily fight among themselves?
Why is it so difficult for Republicans to advance their policy agenda?
Here's why."
Back to Basics for the Republican Party - “The past is the cause of the present, and the present will be the cause of the future. All these are links in the endless chain stretching from the finite to the infinite.”
Abraham Lincoln - “The Founding Fathers knew a government can't control the economy without controlling people. And they knew when a government sets out to do that, it must use force and coercion to achieve its purpose. So we have come to a time for choosing.”
Ronald Reagan
Speech Raves
- "Your words at the Lincoln Day dinner were truly inspiring. Thank you so much for your dedicated work and contributions to our Party."
- "Your book is outstanding, and it's nice to have the information come alive during your presentation. You are at once informative and motivating. We've got to get back to basics -- as you say."
- "Thank you for speaking at the luncheon. I've already received many favorable comments. You're absolutely right that the Republican leadership should know our party's history."
- "Thanks for all that you do for the Republican Party and our Nation."
- “Your speech was great and just what some of us depressed Republicans needed. The GOP has taken its eye off of the major issue: freedom v. socialism. You spoke to the core of that issue.”
- “Thank you so much for speaking at the state convention. We received wonderful feedback from everyone in attendance. Everyone was impressed with the depth and breadth of your knowledge, as well as your clear speaking style and sense of humor. You made an outstanding presentation, and we are deeply grateful to you for your efforts.”
- “You have a great vision and hope for the Party, and I think you are embarking on important work.”
- “Thank you so much for speaking at our event. You are offering a tremendous service not only to Republicans, but also to the United States and the world.”
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Each day, my Grand Old Partisan blog celebrates more than sixteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics.
event photos
- Michael Zak is a popular speaker to conservative organizations around the nation -- thirty states so far. His message is that Republicans would benefit tremendously from appreciating the heritage of our Grand Old Party.
Book Reviews
- "Your book is a national treasure.I'm always recommending it to people."
- "Thank you, Michael!!! Every person who calls himself a Republican, and every person who just wants to know the truth. should know your book!!!"
- "If you're a Republican and love history, this book by my friend Michael Zak is a must read. And if you happen to be looking for a Lincoln/Reagan Day dinner speaker, I highly recommend him."
- great information on our rich heritage"Get a copy of Michael Zak's book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party"
- "I recommend Back to Basics for the Republican Party to everyone who wants to be educated on the true history of the GOP and America!!!!
- Phenomenal historyAnyone who liked the Lincoln movie will love this book. This book is perhaps the best kept secret in all political and history books in America. It is something every politico should read. It puts things into historical perspective like few other books I've read. It challenges conventional through thorough documented history. This is a must read for any student of American history and political science. One regret is that I read the book more than a decade after it was published. It truly is something you feel you missed out on. It is also a book that leaves you wanting to learn more about certain individuals such as Thaddeus Stevens. It's an incredible body of work."
- "Thank you for writing your book. I am two chapters into it, and find it fascinating and motivating. This may be a very significant contribution to the rise of the GOP in the coming years."
- "I am a believer in pro-free market and pro-constitutional rights who recently purchased your book Back to Basics for the Republican Party and have not been able to put it down. It is simply amazing you composed a book in 2003 that hits home on the most serious of topics we face today. I completely agree that we must educate and focus on the original plan as laid out by the founders of our party if we are ever to move forward in a positive direction."
- Praise from Alaska"I purchased your book at our Juneau, Alaska Republican Women's Luncheon last month principally because the title intrigued me. I just finished it, reading the last chapter three times. I wanted to burn the wisdom presented into my brain. Thank you again for all your hard work to research and write your book. Thank you for all you are doing to educate Americans on the incredible truth of the founding of our great country.""Thank you for doing all the research to write this book. As a History/American Studies major, I THOUGHT I knew the difference between Republicans and Democrats, the roles of Lincoln and Stevens and Sumner and Reagan, and the history of our country from the revolutionary war through the civil war. Boy, was I soooo wrong."
- Read it and MEMORIZE it!"My copy is dog-eared with notes and underlined parts. “Back to Basics for the Republican Party has been tremendously helpful setting mis-educated Democrats straight on history!"
- It's a fantatic buy!“Back to Basics for the Republican Party is very informative and gives you an insight into the history of the party from the early days to the modern day presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. What the author has done is provide a balanced view, giving the reader a fascinating 150-year journey of the Republicans. This book is a REAL political page turner which will open minds to a wealth of knowledge and history which most are not even aware of.
- “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.”
- “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!”
- “Back to Basics for the Republican Party is more important to our party now than ever before.”
- "one of the best books I ever read"
- “Your book, Back to Basics for the Republican Party, is most timely during this 2010 pre-election period. It is a message that needs to be emphasized to all grassroots activists. From the precinct, county, district and national levels your respected views need to be heard and read on how to take back our country.”
- from the first page: “Democrats control most of the media, but they also write most of the history books, thereby controlling what even Republican activists think they know about our Party's glorious heritage.”