"He stood for much that was vital in the progress of the city."
Grand Old Partisan salutes Matthew Gault Emery, born September 28th 1818. At twenty-two, the aspiring architect settled in Washington for work on government projects. His company cut and laid stones for buildings including the U.S. Treasury, the Patent Office and the Washington Monument.
Emery was elected alderman in 1854 and helped establish what is now the DC Republican Party. He served as parade marshal at the presidential inauguration of Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, this militia captain operated a signal fort that communicated between outlying fortifications and downtown.
In 1869, while again on the city council, Emery was elected Mayor. His administration paved more than one hundred streets and constructed a vast riverside seawall. He left office after eleven months when Congress replaced home rule with territorial government. Later years focused on a bank and municipal utilities.
Named for him are the Emery Education Campus and the Emery Heights Community Center.
Here is a Video Version of this article on YouTube: https://youtu.be/NU9ehYrW3pg
Michael Zak is author of Back to Basics for the Republican Party, a history of GOP civil rights achievement.
Each day, Michael Zak's grandoldpartisan YouTube channel and Grand Old Partisan blog celebrate more than sixteen decades of Republican heroes and heroics. And, see Speech Raves for audience feedback from his presentations in thirty-one states so far.
He also wrote the 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar.
Clarence Thomas cited Back to Basics for the Republican Party in a Supreme Court decision.
See www.youtube.com/q?v=IzxKCiXc5Qc for a brief video of a Texas Republican praising Back to Basics for the Republican Party.
"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!"
"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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